Ernesto Vigil Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History
Ernesto Vigil Oral History Interview: Date: June 25, 2019. Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003. Interview of: Ernesto Vigil, American, born 1948.
The object in the museum catalogue
An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.11.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.
In this interview, Ernesto Vigil, author and Chicano Movement activist, discusses his early life in Denver, Colorado; his work with Rodolfo “Corky” Gonzales and the Crusade for Justice; his experience of the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968; and his current work as an author.
Vigil begins the interview with a discussion of his family history in New Mexico and his parents move to Denver by the time of his birth. He then discusses his upbringing and education in the Elyria neighborhood of Denver and his experience at Goddard College in Vermont before dropping out and returning to Denver in 1967. Throughout this discussion of his early life, Vigil traces the experiences that led to his growing political consciousness.
Vigil then discusses the history of the Crusade for Justice and talks about his involvement with the organization. He then turns to a discussion of the Poor People’s Campaign of 1968 and reflects on the legacy of the movement. This reflection leads Vigil to talk about the need for sustained political activism in the present to dismantle the systems that horde wealth and keep the majority of people poor. Vigil then discusses changing terminology for people of Latin American heritage and concludes by speaking about his latest book project, Decades of Deception: the American Indian Movement, the FBI, and the death of Anna Mae Aquash.
Materials, dates and provenance
- Date: June 25, 2019
- Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
- Interview of: Ernesto Vigil, American, born 1948
- Interviewed by: Kelly Elaine Navies, American
- Recorded by: Trudy Hutcherson, American
- Subject of: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
- Subject of: Corky Gonzales, American, 1928 - 2005
- Subject of: Southern Christian Leadership Conference, American, founded 1957
- Subject of: Federal Bureau of Investigation, American, founded 1908
- Type: video recordings
- Type: oral histories
- Type: digital media - born digital
- Medium: digital
- Dimensions: Duration: 02:37:31
- Dimensions: 14.3 GB
- Place collected: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: New Mexico, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: Denver, Denver County, Colorado, United States, North and Central America
- Place depicted: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
- Topic: African American
- Topic: Activism
- Topic: Civil Rights
- Topic: Humanitarianism
- Topic: Identity
- Topic: Justice
- Topic: Labor
- Topic: Politics
- Object number: 2018.78.11.1
- 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.
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