Tidewater Stories oral histories

Content Description

This collection contains audio files, vtt files, transcripts, and release forms documenting the Tidewater Stories Project. Tidewater Stories is a publicly available audio collection of oral histories of Black residents in the Hampton Roads region, with a particular focus on how these communities experienced and fought against environmental racism and inequality. The interviews explore the region’s 20th-century social and environmental history. The files document the stories of Javon Bennett, Keela Boose, Ann Creasy, Vernon Crump, Helen Davis, Randall Griffe, Monet Johnson, Sharon Johnson, Lathaniel Kirts, Tiara Lassiter, Carl Poole, Ray Smith, Kim Sudderth, Lawerence Turner, and Dianne Davis Wagner who live in the Virginia coastal cities of Norfolk, Portsmouth, Newport News, and Hampton. The project was made possible by the Repair Lab, a former lab of the Karsh Institute for Democracy at the University of Virginia. Haley French and Katie Wu, graduate students at the University of Virginia, conducted the oral history interviews from June 2023 to November 2023.

Acquisition Type

Gift

Provenance

Gift of Andrew Kahrl, 1 July 2025.

Language of Description

English

Restrictions Apply

Yes

Access Restrictions

Appointments must be made to request digital files. Please use our online born digital request form (https://library.virginia.edu/special-collections/born-digital) to request access to these materials or for further information.