Kay Tillow Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of five digital files: 2011.174.99.1a, 2011.174.99.1b, 2011.174.99.1c, 2011.174.99.1d, and 2011.174.99.1e.

Kay Tillow describes learning about the Civil Rights Movement as a student at the University of Illinois, where she got involved with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She remembers attending the trials of Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) workers in Cairo, Illinois, and traveling to Ghana in 1962. When she returned to the United States in 1963 she participated in sit-ins in Atlanta, Georgia, and demonstrations in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. She discusses her work with the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) Local 1199, a hospital workers' union, and organizing victories in Pennsylvania. Tillow also discusses her role in the Coalition of Labor Union Women and her current work on health care reform.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 14, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Kay Tillow, American
• Interviewed by: David P. Cline Ph. D., American, born 1969
• Subject of: University of Illinois, American, founded 1867
• Subject of: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, American, founded 1909
• Subject of: Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, American, 1960 - 1970s
• Subject of: Service Employees International Union, American, founded 1921
• Subject of: Coalition of Labor Union Women, American, founded 1974
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 12 min., 48 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 117.59 GB
• Place collected: Louisville, Jefferson County, Kentucky, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Cairo, Alexander County, Illinois, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Ghana, West Africa, Africa
• Place depicted: Atlanta, Fulton County, Georgia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Hattiesburg, Forrest County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Africa
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Associations and institutions
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Labor
• Object number: 2011.174.99.1a-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.