Julia Matilda Burns Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of two digital files: 2011.174.73.1a and 2011.174.73.1b.

Julia Matilda Burns describes her experience in segregated schools in Humphreys County, Mississippi, where she grew up. After becoming a teacher at Marshall High School in Belzoni, Mississippi, she began to take notice of the Civil Rights Movement, but her involvement was limited because she did not want to lose her job. Burns describes protests by whites against school desegregation in Tchula, Mississippi, and her experiences as a teacher in Tchula. She also discusses her successful election for a position on the school board and the work she accomplished during her tenure.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 13, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Julia Matilda Burns, American, born 1938
• Interviewed by: John Dittmer Ph. D., American, born 1939
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 54 min., 32 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 83.81 GB
• Place collected: Tchula, Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Belzoni, Humphreys County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Segregation
• Topic: U.S. History, 1961-1969
• Object number: 2011.174.73.1ab
• 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.