This project was conceptualized by award-winning civil rights historian, educator, speaker, writer, and activist Danita Mason-Hogans and UNC faculty Megan Winget to compare lived experiences of Black residents of Orange County with Jim Crow laws flagged by UNC's On The Books algorithm. In 1954, Brown vs. The Board of Education began the end of Jim Crow laws. However, many remained on the books into the 1960s and it can be argued that these laws never truly disappeared. De Jure segregation refers to laws that were recognized by the court, but De Facto segregation refers to a practice that was not necessarily written into law. Grounded in the work of Pauli Murray, On the Books is a data and machine learning initiative that uses text mining and machine learning to identify laws in North Carolina between 1866 and 1967 that were likely Jim Crow laws. While the algorithm can help make more explicit Jim Crow laws visible, its weakness is its inability to identify the De Facto laws of everyday experiences.

It is very difficult to find records of De Facto segregation, except through the instance of oral histories. This project seeks to hear stories of “laws in practice”. These could be understood as rules, behaviors, or just ways of being and surviving. This project is looking for stories about rules that Black folks had to follow in Chapel Hill specifically. These might be unwritten rules, laws, policies or expected behaviors.

We need help from you, the Cates Scholars, in collecting these stories. Documenting local Black history is an important addition to documented national movements. Not only does it fill important historical and archival gaps, but it is also an important learning tool for young activists.

Your Role as Interviewers

In choosing participants, it is important to think about elders’ expertise and experiences. Young people at the time were afraid and often shamed for pushing back against the system. They or their parents could lose work or be victims of violence. Because of the secrecy surrounding acts of resistance and fear of retaliation, memories can often be buried or intentionally left out. Interviewers must approach these questions with nuance, being transparent and creating an open and trusting environment. One of the goals within this work is to encourage participants to open up about perhaps forgotten memories. These are exactly the kinds of memories that can speak the most to the unwritten rules and the expectations of De Facto segregation.

In choosing questions for the interview, it is important to recognize that trauma can lead to a certain amount of denial of experiences that affect how someone tells their story. Understanding what kind of environment your elders came from can allow you to nudge the participants away from an automatic response into a more nuanced, yet perhaps more difficult answer. Using opening questions based on sensory experiences is one way of helping participants remember. The questions suggested in this packet follow three tiers, each tier digging slightly deeper than the last.

As the interviewer, it is important to not be extractive and to always leave the participants with something afterwards. Involve them in the process of owning their story and express your gratitude for taking the time. Talk about how lucky and fortunate you are that they could be anywhere else, but they chose to be there with you.

How to use this packet

We hope this packet can provide guidance in the preparation and conduction of the oral history interview. It is organized roughly in the order of the process starting with a pre-interview checklist and ending with the post interview process. The table of contents is the best way to navigate through the various linked documents. We tried to keep our documents easily readable, so although there are many sections in the packet, most of the documents are only about a page.

This packet will be most useful if you skim through it before reaching out to your participants. Some of the materials will go through deciding on possible interviewees and developing rapport with the participants. A few of the documents contain checklists, which may be useful during different phases of your collection. We have also included some instructions on how to upload and save your materials, as it’s important that you and your team are all on the same page on how you will name and save your audio files.

Although we hope these materials will support you in your collection process, they need not be considered the end all be all. Critical oral history collection requires us to be reflexive with our practices, and open to change when approaching community needs. Consider these materials as a guide, and not a rule book.

About the creators of this packet

In preparation for the oral history collecting, library and information science graduate students Tatiana Hargreaves, Shaina Leverett and Gabriela Santana created this oral history guidebook and the project’s website in completion of their masters practicum project. Danita Mason-Hogan’s expertise around community needs and critical oral history collection has guided the creation of these materials.

• Familiarize yourself with the recording equipment

  • Practice on your own or with a friend, to make sure you understand how your technology will behave. The last thing you want is to spend 2 hours listening to a really great story, only to have realized your recording did not capture any of it.

• Read the interview guide for tips on conducting an oral history interview

  • Use the interview guide for some more information on getting the most out of your interview.

• Familiarize yourself with the questions you will ask

  • Become comfortable with your prepared questions and brainstorm possible directions the conversation might go. During the actual interview, you may find it going in unexpected directions.

• Familiarize yourself with the topics you will cover in the interview

  • It can be helpful to do some background research about the topics of the interview. For example, if the interviewee worked at UNC hospitals, research the history of UNC hospitals during the time they worked there.

• Send the consent form to your interviewees in advance

  • Sending the consent form in advance allows the interviewee to become familiar with the interview process.

• Set up a preliminary meeting with your interviewees

  • The preliminary interview could be on the phone, in person or whatever is easiest for the interviewee. Follow the preliminary interview checklist for guidance.

• Conduct research based on the preliminary meeting with the interviewee

  • Now that you know your interviewee a little bit, you can do some more research into relevant topics so you can be more prepared when the oral history happens.

Setting up a non-recorded preliminary interview is your chance to introduce your oral history project to possible interview subjects. This is your opportunity to have an informal conversation with your elders to develop trust and see if they would be comfortable with participating in your oral history collection. Here is a checklist of some things to consider for your preliminary interviews.

Share the project goals with the participants

Feel free to use this prompt to share the project goals with the participants:

“We are looking for stories about rules that Black folks had to follow in Chapel Hill. These might be unwritten rules, laws, policies or expected behaviors. We want to hear about your experiences related to these practices in the town of Chapel Hill, at your workplaces, and in your communities.”

Discuss the timeline

Give them expectations of how much time it will take and what you will be discussing. 60-90 mins per interview is usually a good estimate.

Discuss the location and the technology

Talk about where you will be conducting the interview. This is an opportunity to speak about the logistics of your meeting space. Let them know who will be present for the interview, what the room will be like, and what technology they will be using.

Ask about photos

Photos are a great addition to oral history collections. They can jog someone’s memory and offer a greater context to the stories. If they are willing to share their photos, ask if you can scan them there at the library after your interview. The scanners allow you to save the photos to memory drives, or send them to your email.

Explain how the recordings will be used and accessed

It's important to share with your subjects how these stories will be used. Let them know that these stories are recorded under the supervision of Bridging The Gap. Explain that they will be stored on a website where the public can listen to the recordings.

Respect the right to refuse

For some folks, telling their story can be hard. Give them time to think it over if they are apprehensive. The best thing you can do is be open and honest about why you are doing the oral history.

[LINK TO CONSENT FORM]

Think of the interview as following a trajectory from warming up, situating the interviewees back in time, getting more comfortable, going deeper with more difficult questions, and finally cooling down. Throughout the interview, think about building a relationship with the interviewee and be curious about what they are sharing. Most importantly, make sure to express gratitude at the end and give the participant something that they can take home with them.

The elders you will be interviewing will have many stories to share, but because of time limitations you will have to keep them on track. Don’t spend too much time on the general questions, get to the specific, targeted questions as soon as you can. Continue to ask follow up questions to dig deeper.

What we are looking for are stories about rules and policies that Black folks had to follow, especially the unwritten rules. Be curious about these rules – whether it was behaviors, laws, expected practices, or assumed policies.

At the end of the interview, it is important to leave the participant with something. Express gratitude for taking the time to share their stories. Emphasize how lucky and fortunate you are that they could be anywhere else, but they chose to be there with you. Tell them that they will receive a copy of the interview when it is finished. Don’t be extractive. Involve them in the process of owning their story.

• Using the list of Questions

Don’t feel the need to strictly follow the list of questions. They are there for you to use as a guide and to help you get back on track if the interview veers off subject. The interview should still feel like a conversation.

• Keeping people on track

Be patient, but keep moving the conversation forward.

If you get stuck on a topic for too long, feel free to say something like:

“Ok, let's move on to the next section”

• Be aware of your time limit

Be clear about time limitations before the interview starts, or it could turn into 3 hours.

Give the participant an idea of how long you are expecting to talk about certain topics. For example: “we’re going to spend 10 minutes talking about growing up in Chapel Hill, and then transition into talking about your workplace.”

• Respect the space

  • Silence your phone

  • Nod your head instead of saying “mhm” so your voice isn’t prominent in the recording.

  • An interview can be taxing, so be sure to offer breaks.

  • Respect the right to refuse. Your subject is allowed to change their mind at any point during the interview.

• Taking Notes

Write down words, topics or themes that come up during the interview.

Don’t get too absorbed in taking notes. You want to remain engaged with the person you are interviewing.Consider having a second person to be the designated “note taker” if you do not want to be distracted during the interview process.

After the interview, write a short summary of the topics discussed while it is fresh in your head.

Remind participants about the project goals:

“We are looking for stories about rules that Black folks had to follow in Chapel Hill. These might be unwritten rules, laws, policies or expected behaviors. We want to hear about your experiences related to these practices in the town of Chapel Hill, at your workplaces, and in your communities.”

Below is an example of how you might start with basic warm up questions, moving on to sensory questions to trigger memories, and then slowly digging deeper and into more difficult subject matter. The questions suggested in this document follow three tiers, each tier digging slightly deeper than the last.

Warm up questions:

• Where/when were you born

• What part of orange county did you grow up / live now?

• Where did your parents grow up?

• Where did you work?

• What schools did you attend?

Tier One Questions

Tier 1 speaks to the senses, encouraging participants to reminisce and open their memories.

Tier 1 question examples:

• What was your job?

• Was it loud?

• What did it smell like?

• How long did you work there?

• What music was popular during the time that you worked there?

• Who were some of the people that you worked with?

When the interviewee stops using descriptors and begins to share opinions, it’s time to move on to tier 2.

Tier Two Questions:

• What was the pay like?

• What were your responsibilities?

• Did those responsibilities match your skill set?

• How do you feel you were treated by the university?

• How did the workplace environment differ from home? At UNC vs. in your community?

• What did you have to do that was different from the white folks working on your job?

• Where did you have to walk to get to that door

• Did everyone use the same door? (leading into tier 3)

If they start sharing difficult things, it is time to move on to tier 3 and to probe deeper. For example, “They didn’t need to be doing that” is a statement that signal issues of justice/fairness, and it’s time to move to Tier Three questions.

Tier Three Questions

• Were you a part of the strike?

• What specific rules did Black people have to follow that may have been different than what white folks had to follow?

• Where did you feel uncomfortable in town?

• Are there places you didn't go? Are there places you couldn’t go?

• Were there places you would go but you knew you were going to have conflicts with someone?

• How do you feel you were treated by the university?

Cooling down:

Always leave them with something - express gratitude for taking the time.

• Tell them that they will receive a copy of the interview when it is finished. Let them know when and where their interview will be available to the public.

• Talk about how lucky and fortunate you are that they could be anywhere else, but they chose to be there with you.

• Don’t be extractive. Involve them in the process of owning their story.

[LINK TO INTERVIEW NOTES FORM]

• Make sure the consent form is signed

To the best of your abilities, answer any questions they have about the consent form. Let them know they can change their mind at any point.

• Scan Photos

If the interviewee agreed to have their photos scanned, you can use the scanners located on the lower level near the computers. Photos can be scanned directly to your email address or on to a memory drive.

• Name the scanned photos:

[LASTNAME]_[FIRSTNAME]_[DDMMYYYY]_[INTERVIEWERLNAME]_[PHOTOTITLE]

For example: Hargreaves_Tatiana_17032023_Leverett_Enoriver

• Name your files

Having consistent standards for file names helps with the storage, organization and discovery of the interviews.

Name the audio file:

[LASTNAME]_[FIRSTNAME]_[DDMMYYYY]_[INTERVIEWERLNAME]

• Complete the notes

Keep the physical copy of your notes in the packet and scan or take a photo.

• Name the notes file:

[LASTNAME]_[FIRSTNAME]_[DDMMYYYY]_[INTERVIEWERLNAME]_notes

Save all files to google drive

• Thank your Interviewee

Make sure to send a Thank You email, letter, or phone call expressing your gratitude to the person for participating in your oral history collection.

This section includes many images, so we have linked to a Google Docs file.

This guide is available HERE