Roland Freeman Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

An oral history consisting of a single digital video recording (2018.78.5.1). It was collected as part of the Poor People’s Campaign Interviews.

In this interview, photographer and folklorist, Roland Freeman, discusses his life and work, and his experience documenting the Mule Train from Marks, Mississippi, to Washington, DC, for the Poor People’s Campaign in 1968.

Freeman begins the interview with a brief discussion of his history as an Arabber in Baltimore. He then discusses his experience attending the March on Washington, which inspired him to want to join the freedom struggle, as well as how and why he got into photography. Freeman then turns to a discussion of the Mule Train from Marks, MS, to Washington, DC, for the Poor People’s Campaign. He recalls how he ended up joining the Mule Train, and his experience documenting the movement. Moving back and forth between his later work as a documentary photographer and his experience on the Mule Train, Freeman also discusses the impact of his experience with the people on Mule Train on his life and work. Freeman concludes by reflecting on why he agreed to sit for an interview with the National Museum of African American History and Culture.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: September 26, 2018
• Created by: National Museum of African American History and Culture, American, founded 2003
• Interview of: Roland L. Freeman, American, 1936 - 2023
• Interviewed by: Kelly Elaine Navies, American
• Recorded by: Kim Moir, American
• Subject of: Poor People's Campaign, American, 1967 - 1968
• Subject of: Marian Wright Edelman, American, born 1939
• Subject of: Andrew Young, American, born 1932
• Subject of: Rev. Ralph David Abernathy, American, 1926 - 1990
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 01:35:28
• Dimensions: 34.36 GB
• Place collected: Washington, District of Columbia, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Baltimore, Maryland, United States, North and Central America
• Place depicted: Marks, Quitman County, Mississippi, 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: Justice
• Topic: Labor
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Poverty
• Object number: 2018.78.5.1
• 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.