Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons, Ph.D. Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of five digital files: 2011.174.49.1a, 2011.174.49.1b, 2011.174.49.1c, 2011.174.49.1d, and 2011.174.49.1e.

Gwendolyn Simmons, Ph.D. recalls joining the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) while a student at Spelman College. She remembers directing SNCC's voter registration and Freedom School, called the Freedom Summer Project in Laurel, Mississippi. She discusses learning about Black Nationalism in New York, the decision in SNCC to expel white members, and her work with the American Friends Service Committee's Program on Government Surveillance and Citizens' Rights to interview members of organizations investigated by the FBI's Counterintelligence Program (COINTELPRO).

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: September 14, 2011
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Gwendolyn Zoharah Simmons Ph.D., American, born 1944
• Interviewed by: Joseph Mosnier Ph. D.
• Subject of: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s
• Subject of: Spelman College, American, founded 1881
• Subject of: Mississippi Freedom Schools, American, founded 1964
• Subject of: Mississippi Freedom Summer Project, American, founded 1964
• Subject of: American Friends Service Committee, American, founded 1917
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 37 min., 29 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 154.95 GB
• Place collected: Gainesville, Alachua County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Laurel, Jones County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: New York, 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: Race relations
• Object number: 2011.174.49.1a-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.