Edward Theodore Taylor Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of 2016.129.6.1a and 2016.129.6.2a: two versions (unedited, and edited) of a single digital video recording.

Edward Taylor was interviewed as part of the NMAAHC Donor Oral History Collection. Mr. Taylor donated a photograph of himself that was taken in Korea during the Korean War to the National Museum of African American History and Culture. He was 19 years old at the time the photograph was taken.

Edward Taylor vividly recounts his childhood in the segregated world of Maryland’s eastern shore, including a particularly tragic incident involving racial violence. He continues on to tell the story of his experience as a combat infantryman during the Korean War, after the US military had been recently integrated. This story includes the tale of how he earned two Purple Hearts. Later, after he returns to the United States, he recounts a racial incident that lead him to discard his Purple Hearts in the Chesapeake Bay. The last part of the interview is devoted to his role as a pioneering educator in the desegregation of the public schools in Wicomico County, Maryland.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: July 18, 2016
• Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
• Recorded by: Patrick Telepictures, Inc., American
• Interview of: Edward Theodore Taylor, American, 1932 - 2020
• Interviewed by: Kelly Elaine Navies, American
• Subject of: United States Armed Forces, American, founded 1775
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration (2016.129.6.1a): 95.93 min.
• Dimensions: Duration (2016.129.6.2a): 92.93 min.
• Dimensions: 152.85 GB
• Place collected: Randallstown, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Wicomico County, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Communities
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Korean War, 1950-1953
• Topic: Military
• Topic: Museums
• Topic: Race discrimination
• Object number: 2016.129.6.1a-.2a
• 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 & Culture Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.