Conditions Governing Reproduction and Use

The copyright status of this collection is unknown. Copyright restrictions may apply. Contact Special Collections and University Archives for assistance in determining the use of these materials.

Reproduction or digitization of materials for personal or research use can be requested using our reproduction/digitization form: http://bit.ly/scuareproduction . Reproduction or digitization of materials for publication or exhibit use can be requested using our publication/exhibition form: http://bit.ly/scuapublication . Please contact Special Collections and University Archives (specref@vt.edu or 540-231-6308) if you need assistance with forms or to submit a completed form.

Conditions Governing Access

The majority of the collection is open for research. Restrictions on access to specific items are noted at the item level in the inventory.

Existence and Location of Copies

Several of the interviews in this collection have been digitized and are available online with transcripts. Links to individual interviews are included at the item level in the inventory.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records, Ms1995-026, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Source of Acquisition

The collection was donated to Special Collections and University Archives in several accruals beginning in 1995.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the collection was completed in 2001. Additional materials were integrated and description updated in June 2023.

Administrative History

The Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project was a multi-phase research and educational collaborative program of the Virginia Tech University Libraries and the Women's Center at Virginia Tech. The project involved the identification of the first Black women students, staff, and faculty at Virginia Tech and the collection of their oral history narratives.

Scope and Content

The Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records include interviews focused on the entry experience of the individual into the Virginia Tech community and the interviewees' perceptions of the climate and attitudes within the university community, particularly as pertains to race and gender. The collection includes audiocassette tapes, DAT tapes, floppy disks, and transcripts of interviews with some of the first Black women students at Virginia Tech (Jacquelyn Butler Blackwell, Marguerite Harper Scott, and Linda Edmunds Turner); Marva Felder Davis, first Black homecoming queen; Cheryl Butler McDonald, first Black woman in the Corps of Cadets; and Elaine Dowe Carter, catalyst of the project and doctoral candidate at Virginia Tech. Interviews were conducted by Carter and Tamara Kennelly, University Archivist.

Some materials include copies of items from interviewees' times at Virginia Tech, originally dating to the 1960s through 1980s.

Transcripts of interviews with students and with two staff members (Cora McDaniel Pack and Rhonda Miller Rogers) are also available in the collection.

Arrangement

The collection is arranged alphabetically by interviewee's surname, with project documentation at the beginning.

Related Material

Researchers may also be interested in the Timelines of Black History at Virginia Tech, which includes references to many of the individuals included in this collection.

There are also interviews with additional individuals whose personal experiences at Virginia Tech helped shape the history of the university and of the New River Valley in the following oral history collections:

The Virginia Tech Black History Oral History Collection, Ms2003-011, has been digitized and is available online.

The Multicultural Diversity Oral History Project, Ms2002-001, has been digitized and is available online.

The VT Stories Oral History Collection, Ms2016-015, has been digitized and is available online.

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• African Americans -- History
• Faculty and staff
• Oral histories (literary works)
• Students and alumni
• University History
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute (1944-1970)
• Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (1970-)
• Women -- History

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Black Women at Virginia Tech Oral History Project Records by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/public-domain/cc0/ ).