This collection documents the perspectives, reflections, and advocacy work of residents in Portsmouth, Norfolk, Newport News, and Hampton, Virginia. This intergenerational collection, primarily drawn from African American residents, aims to deepen both the public and future scholars' understanding of the region’s social and environmental history. The interviews include the perspectives of young organizers committed to issues of housing justice and clean air and elders within the community sharing their reflections on the civil rights movement and desegregation in the Hampton Roads region. Topics include: family, work, religion, local politics, environmental concerns, education, segregation and the carceral state. A question guided these interviews: “what would you want future historians, advocates, or community members to know about your city and your experience as you have lived it?”
Why Audio?
Oral histories emerge from a long tradition of communities sharing knowledge and preserving stories. For years, advocates have relied on audio as an important tool for shifting public perspectives around important community experiences. Governmental regulatory bodies, like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) often rely on testimonials from residents experiencing environmental harm. This collection was created within these traditions, and also includes several short testimonials about residents’ experience with coal dust that were sent in a petition to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in June 2022.
