Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Ph.D., Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An oral history interview with author and Black feminist scholar Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall. It consists of three versions of digital video recording, two camera card files (2025.12.13.1.1 and 2025.12.13.1.2, .mxf files) and one edited file (2025.12.13.1.3, .mov file).

Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall was interviewed by American University student Isabella Salcedo on March 19, 2024, as part of the Social Justice Conversations Oral History Project. The interview took place at Spelman College’s Women’s Research and Resource Center in Atlanta, Georgia. At the time of the interview, Dr. Guy-Sheftall was 77 years old.

This oral history interview consists of two distinct sections: an “interview” section (part 1) and a “conversation” section (part 2, 1:00:15). In part 1, Dr. Guy-Sheftall talks about her early life in Memphis, TN, reflecting on her family life, educational experiences, stories she was told about racial violence and lynching, and her early understandings of race and gender. Dr. Guy-Sheftall goes on to discuss her time as a student at Spelman College, Wellesley College, and Atlanta University. She also recalls her initial journey into women's studies, her pioneering work in the fields of Black women’s literature and Black feminist thought, and her time as a doctoral student at Emory University. Dr. Guy-Sheftall talks about her long career at Spelman, discussing a variety of topics, including the establishment of the Women’s Research and Resource Center, her fight against negative perceptions of feminism, and her work to establish a “radical Black feminist presence” at the college. In part 2, Dr. Guy-Sheftall reflects on her pro-Palestinian work, the impact of feminist friendships, and growing up during the Civil Rights Movement. Salcedo reflects on her relationship to feminism, and Dr. Guy-Sheftall discusses teaching race and women’s studies to younger generations and the growth of Spelman's women's studies program. Dr. Guy-Sheftall and Salcedo also speak about multicultural and LGBTQIA student groups and spaces. Finally, Salcedo talks about her desire to teach, and Dr. Guy-Sheftall describes her experience as a Black female professor and her desire to write an intellectual memoir.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 19, 2024
• Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
• Recorded by: Trudy Hutcherson, American
• Recorded by: Candace Dane Chambers, American
• Interviewed by: Isabella Salcedo
• Interview of: Beverly Guy-Sheftall, American, born 1946
• Subject of: Atlanta Student Movement, American, founded 1960
• Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881
• Subject of: Barbara Smith, American, born 1946
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration (2025.12.13.1.3, edited): 2 hr., 15 min., 41 sec.
• Dimensions: File size: 208 GB
• Place filmed: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Memphis, Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Wellesley, Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Montgomery, Montgomery County, Alabama, United States, North and Central America
• Place captured: Charlottesville, Albemarle County, Virginia, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Families
• Topic: Feminism
• Topic: Gender
• Object number: 2025.12.13.1
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.