Cleveland Sellers, Ed. D. Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of five digital files: 2011.174.81.1a, 2011.174.81.1b, 2011.174.81.1c, 2011.174.81.1d, and 2011.174.81.1e.

Cleveland Sellers, Ed. D. shares memories of growing up in Denmark, South Carolina, especially the influence of Voorhees College in the community. He organized a Youth Chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in Denmark, and he describes the group's activities. He discusses his first impressions of Howard University, where he joined the Nonviolent Action Group (NAG). He shares memories of the March on Washington and the role of students in organizing it, his involvement in the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and his role in the Mississippi Freedom Project. He also describes the goals of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the tensions that developed within SNCC in the late 1960s.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 21, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Cleveland Sellers Ed. D., American, born 1944
• Interviewed by: John Dittmer Ph. D., American, born 1939
• Subject of: Vorhees College, American, founded 1897
• Subject of: NAACP Youth Council, American, founded 1936
• Subject of: Howard University, American, founded 1867
• Subject of: Howard University Nonviolent Action Group, American, founded 1960s
• Subject of: March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, American, founded 1963
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 48 min.
• Dimensions: Total: 170.08 GB
• Place collected: Denmark, Bamberg County, South Carolina, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities)
• Topic: Social reform
• Object number: 2011.174.81.1a-e
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture in partnership with the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress
• 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 & Culture and The American Folklife Center, Library of Congress Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.