Black Appalachians Oral History Project (Ms1991-019)

Title

Black Appalachians Oral History Project (Ms1991-019)

Subject

African American history
Montgomery County (Va.)
Kentland Farm
Christiansburg Industrial Institute.
Coal mines and mining

Description

The Black Appalachians Oral History Project consists of a series of interviews conducted by Dr. Michael Cooke of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University concerning black life in Appalachia, especially in Montgomery County, Virginia. The narrators represent communities such as Blacksburg, Christiansburg, Elliston, Riner, Shawsville, and Wake Forest.

Creator

Special Collections, Virginia Tech

Rights

Permission to publish material from the Black Appalachians Oral History Project must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.

Rights Holder

Special Collections, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Collection Tree

  • Black Appalachians Oral History Project (Ms1991-019)

Reverend Kenneth B. Wright was born and raised in Elliston, Virginia. Wright attended Montgomery County Public Schools, Virginia Union University,…

Roxie I. Bryson was born and raised near Shawsville, Virginia in Kirk’s Hollow. Bryson spent her life working in a local restaurant in the post…

Sarah J. Wade grew up in Accomack County Virginia, and she moved to Blacksburg, Virginia when she was fourteen years old in search of domestic work…

James C. Wade was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. Wade graduated from Christiansburg Institute in 1959, and served in the Army before moving…

Reverend Dr. Ellison Adger Smyth was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended Blacksburg schools, and he graduated from Virginia…

James E. Sherman--who also went by Steve Sherman--was born in Whitethorne, Virginia and grew up in the Wake Forest community. Sherman attended…

Homer C. Sherman was born and raised in Wake Forest, Virginia. Sherman attended a local, one-room school until the eighth grade. After primary school,…

Valerie Dow Scott was born in 1904, and she grew up in Montgomery County, Virginia. Scott’s parents--the Dow family--sent Valerie to high school in…

William Waymon Pack was born in Montgomery County on August 7, 1920, and he grew up in Riner, Virginia. Pack attended a local primary school before…

Christine Paige Price was born in Giles County Virginia on July 21, 1915. Her family moved to the Blacksburg area when Price was young in search of…

Joseph Homer Pack was born in 1910, and he grew up in Riner, Virginia. Pack attended his local primary school, a two room schoolhouse, before briefly…

Walter Lewis was born in 1926, and he grew up in the Radford-Blacksburg area. After graduating from Christiansburg Institute, Lewis served in the Navy…

Thompson V. Lester, Sr. was born in Christiansburg, Virginia in 1915. Thompson Lester met and married his wife, Elizabeth, in New Jersey. After…

Charles A. Johnson was born in Wake Forest, Virginia, where he grew up and received his primary education. Johnson graduated from Christiansburg…

William Burrell Morgan, who went by Burrell, was born in Iowa before he moved to the Christiansburg area. Morgan attended Hill School and graduated…

Rosa Thomas Holmes, originally born in Beckley, West Virginia, grew up in the Christiansburg area. Holmes attended Hill School in and Christiansburg…

Rice Dobbins grew up in Riner, Virginia in an area called Piney Wood. Dobbins primarily worked as a farmer in the Montgomery County area, specifically…

Leola Burford, a resident of Christiansburg, worked as a teacher in the Richmond area before getting married, and, eventually returning to the…

Frank Bannister was born in Wake Forest, Virginia in 1913, and his family members were descendants of Kentland Plantation slaves, which is now…

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