The Honorable Robert G. Clark, Jr. Oral History Interview: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

The oral history consists of eight digital files: 2011.174.75.1a, 2011.174.75.1b, 2011.174.75.1c, 2011.174.75.1d, 2011.174.75.1e, 2011.174.75.1f, 2011.174.75.1g, and 2011.174.75.1h.

The Honorable Robert G. Clark, Jr., describes the early life experiences that led up to his successful campaign for political office in the Mississippi Legislature, where he became the first African American elected since Reconstruction. He discusses his childhood in Pickens, Mississippi, and he describes the family farm that he now owns, his relationship to his family, and the expectations that they had of him to receive an education. Clark discusses his career as an educator, and he describes how the Civil Rights Movement influenced him. After a failed campaign for school superintendent, he volunteered to run for state office. Clark describes his experiences in the Mississippi Legislature, focusing on how he helped to pass the Education Reform Act.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 13, 2013
• Created by: Civil Rights History Project, American, founded 2009
• Interview of: Honorable Robert G. Clark Jr., American, born 1928
• Interviewed by: John Dittmer Ph. D., American, born 1939
• Subject of: Mississippi Legislature, American, founded 1817
• Type: video recordings
• Type: oral histories
• Type: digital media - born digital
• Medium: digital
• Dimensions: Duration: 1 hr., 58 min., 24 sec.
• Dimensions: Total: 191.94 GB
• Place collected: Pickens, Holmes County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Agriculture
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Education
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Social reform
• Object number: 2011.174.75.1a-h
• 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.