Administrative Information

Access Restrictions

Collection open for research.

Use Restrictions

CDs for use by patrons will be made on demand; cassettes not to be used; .wav file use only

Preferred Citation

Black History Committee Oral History Project, 2000-2006 (M 012), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Acquisition Information

Black History Committee of Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Inc.

Alternative Form Available

Sound recordings: cassette tapes; digital files: (.wav format).

Accruals

2000.01, 2001.04, 2002.0002, 2003.0027, 2003.0034, 2004.0185, 2004.0204, 2005.063, 2005.0216, 2005.0217, 2005.0218, 2005.0219, 2005.0220, 2005.0221, 2005.0227, 2005.0239

Processing Information

Shannon Fuller, 13 November 2012

Historical Information

The Black History Committee of Friends of the Thomas Balch Library Inc. (BHC) was formed in June 2000 as a result of an anonymous $50,000 donation. The committee's first task was the naming of one of the rooms in the recently renovated Thomas Balch Library in honor of an African American as stipulated by the donation. Howard W. Clark Sr. (1876-1960) was selected. The mission of the Black History Committee was and still is "to preserve, collect, promote, and share the history of African-Americans who lived in and contributed to the emergence of Loudoun County" (Black History Committee, 2000). Upon its creation, Pauline Singletary took up the mantle of the first chair of the Committee.

BHC continued in operation following naming of the room, and discussed possible projects and goals. Mary Randolph expressed the concern that many black communities around the county were disappearing due to people moving away or being destroyed by development; as a result the BHC began the Community History andamp; Mapping Project. The committee applied for and was awarded a grant from the Loudoun Library Foundation to collect and transcribe oral histories and document these communities. The BHC began working on the Oral History Project in 2000. The project's goal was to preserve and share Loudoun County's African American history.

Deborah Lee, a member of the BHC, resigned as a voting member of the BHC and began managing the project. With the help of the committee, Lee identified thirty-two stand-alone African American communities and thirteen communities that were part of larger towns and hamlets. She worked with Loudoun County Office of Mapping and Geographic Information to produce a map of African American communities for Thomas Balch Library and county planners. The result was African American Architectural Surveys in Loudoun County, 2004 (M 013 and OMB 003). Thanks to the initiative of Planning Commissioner Kathryn Miller, the map was a catalyst for the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to commission History Matters, LLC to do a formal historic resources survey of the county's African American sites. The files of both projects have been placed in the archives at Thomas Balch Library.

The Loudoun Library Foundation and the BHC continued to fund the oral history project and a grant from the Virginia Foundation for the Humanities was used to develop and print Loudoun County's African American Communities: A Tour Map andamp; Guide (2004), written by Deborah Lee with the editorial assistance of members of the BHC.

Work on the Oral History Project continued until 2006. Many African Americans and a few whites were interviewed for this project. These interviews were transcribed and recorded on tape by individuals associated with the BHC.

Scope and Content

This collection consists of oral history recordings and written transcripts of the recordings related to African American history in Loudoun County. These sound recordings were made on cassette tapes and include information on family histories, race relations, segregation and desegregation, the Civil Rights Movement, and the socio-economic issues faced by African American communities in Loudoun County. The majority of the interviewees were African American, but some whites with African American connections were also interviewed. The collection also includes photos of many of the interviewees. The collection is filed by format in 8 boxes. There are 3 boxes of transcripts and photos and 5 boxes of cassettes. The oral history recordings are only accessible in digital format (.wav files), which can be placed on CD on request. The date of each interview (transcript and tape) is included in the container list.

Arrangement

Box: folder

Related Material

James P. Roberts Photograph Collection, 2003- (VC 0019), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA; Student Oral History Collection, 1981 (M 008), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA. African American Architectural Surveys in Loudoun County, 2004 (M 013 and OMB 003), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA. Lee, Deborah, African American Heritage Trail, Leesburg, VA, Leesburg, VA 2002 (V REF 917.5528 LEE). See also: publications of the Black History Community: Black History Committee of Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Inc., The Essence of a People : Portraits of African Americans who made a Difference in Loudoun County , Leesburg, VA, 2002(975.528 ESS).; Black History Committee of Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Inc., The Essence of a People II: Portraits of African Americans who made their world anew in Loudoun County,Virginia, and Beyond , Leesburg, VA, 2001(975.528 ESS).; Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Journey through Time: Events Affecting African Americans in Loudoun County, VA , Leesburg, Virginia, 2006 (975.528 JOU).; Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Loudoun County's African American Communities: A Tour Map and Guide, Leesburg, Virginia , 2004(975.528 LOU).

Adjunct Descriptive Data

Bibliography

Ancestry Library Edition, Thomas Balch Library, http://www.ancestrylibrary.com/ (accessed 2 November 2011).

Black History Committee of the Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Loudoun County's African American Communities: A Tour Map and Guide , Leesburg, Virginia, 2004.

Black History Committee Oral History Project 2000-2006 (M 012), Thomas Balch Library, Leesburg, VA.

Friends of the Thomas Balch Library, Black History Committee, http://www.balchfriends.org/bhcommittee.htm (accessed 2 November 2011).

Friends of Thomas Balch Library, Black History Committee, African-American Timeline, http://www.balchfriends.org/AfricanAmericanTimeline.swf (accessed 2 November 2011).

Lee, Deborah, a member of the Black History Committee. E-mail correspondence with Alexandra S. Gressitt, Library Director, and Shannon Fuller, Library Associate, Thomas Balch Library, December 14, 2011.

Loudoun Cemetery Database, Thomas Balch Library, http://www.leesburgva.gov/index.aspx?page=940 (accessed 2 November 2011).

Oral History Index, Thomas Balch Library, http://www.leesburgva.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2451 (accessed 2 November 2011).

The American Folklife Center, The Civil Rights History Project: Survey of Collections and Repositories, Black History Committee Oral History Project, http://www.loc.gov/folklife/civilrights/survey/view_collection.php?coll_id=1265 (accessed 2 November 2011).

The History of Loudoun County, Virginia, Chronology of Important Events in African-American History in Loudoun County, Virginia, http://www.loudounhistory.org/history/african-american-chronology.htm (accessed 2 November 2011).

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Other Finding Aid

Oral History Index, Thomas Balch Library, http://www.leesburgva.gov/Modules/ShowDocument.aspx?documentid=2451

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Technical Requirements

CD player and computer software (Roxio Creater and/or Windows Media Player)