The Behind the Veil: Documenting African-American Life in the Jim Crow South project was undertaken by Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies from 1990-2005. Its goal was to record and preserve African American experiences in the American South from the 1890s to the 1950s. Materials in the Behind the Veil project collection date from about 1864 to 2011, with the bulk dating from the 1990s; earlier dates represent original image content rather than the reproduction date. The collection comprises over 1200 oral history interviews with associated transcripts and administrative files, several thousand historic and contemporary photographs, and project records, which include paper and electronic administrative files and audiovisual recordings. Oral histories were conducted in 19 locations, chiefly in the South; topics represented in these recordings include childhood, religion, education, politics, celebrations and other events, family histories, work histories and military service, and details about segregation and the effects of racism in the South. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African American History and Culture at Duke University.

Materials in the Behind the Veil project collection date from about 1864 to 2011, with the bulk dating from the 1990s; earlier dates represent original image content rather than the reproduction date. The core component of the collection comprises over 1200 oral histories conducted by Behind the Veil interviewers with African Americans in cities, towns, and rural locations in Georgia; Arkansas; Michigan; Alabama; North Carolina; Los Angeles, California; Mississippi; Tennessee; Kentucky; Louisiana; Virginia; South Carolina, and Florida. The majority of the interviews were conducted during summers between 1993 to 1995, with additional interviews added from 1995 to 2004. These interviews, originally recorded by Behind the Veil staff and volunteers on audiocassettes, have been digitized; in addition, all other project records and images are currently being digitized and will be made available as they are ingested into the Duke Digital Repository.

A second core component consists of over 2100 historical and contemporary photographic images in the form of black-and-white and color slides, photographic prints, and negatives. These form several large groups: donated historical materials imaged at interview locations by BTV staff; contemporary photographs taken by staff as they gave interviews and explored local communities; and photographs of BTV staff at work, BTV offices, and project events and training. Historic images in slide format include many photographs of African American individuals and families dating from the 1880s to the mid-20th century; they also include images of documents such as news clippings, military papers, political ephemera, school diplomas, and brief publications. The images are described in more detail in their listings in this collection guide.

The remainder of the collection consists of project administrative records. These files - in paper and electronic format - include National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) grant information; correspondence; staffing records; meeting notes and minutes; outreach; files on publication and exhibit projects; and information on classes, seminars, and training given for students and project staff.

The Behind the Veil collection not only focuses on the experiences of individuals, but also reflects the importance of black institutions as the backbone of black communities. The interviews, documents and photographs reflect the crucial role that black churches, fraternal societies, women's clubs, and political organizations played in African American community life. The testimony of educators and students from historically black colleges, agricultural schools and institutes enrich conventional beliefs about black agency in segregated schools.

Although the focus of the interviews was on the Jim Crow era, the life history format of most interviews led informants to comment on events after segregation. Information about civil rights struggles in the 1960s, African American participation in desegregation within local communities, and post-1965 activism and community work are also included in many Behind the Veil interviews. The interviews in this collection also raise crucial questions about the shape of memory and the creation of narratives that can inform not only research in oral history but also literature and anthropology. Research into black religion can be enriched by the voices of Behind the Veil. Studies that examine oppression and resistance could be informed by the rich documentary record of labor and social culture that the collection presents. The Behind the Veil collection illuminates innumerable topics, time periods, and research interests.

Advertising executive at several U.S. agencies, including McCann-Erickson, Backer Spielvogel Bates, Interpublic Group, and Saatchi & Saatchi. Served as U.S. Ambassador to Slovakia during the Clinton Administration.

Collection spans 1946-2014 and contains correspondence, photographs, scrapbooks, printed materials, memorabilia, audiovisual materials and other items pertaining to Spielvogel's career in advertising as well as his public service and community activities. Advertising agencies represented include Backer Spielvogel Bates, Interpublic and Saatchi & Saatchi. Acquired as part of the John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History.

Audio interviews and programs recorded by Charles E. Cobb, Jr., from 2012 to 2014, with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and others around the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer and for research for Cobb's book, THIS NONVIOLENT STUFF'LL GET YOU KILLED: HOW GUNS MADE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT POSSIBLE.

Audio interviews and programs recorded by Charles E. Cobb, Jr., from 2012 to 2014, with members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and others around the 50th anniversary of Freedom Summer and for research for Cobb's book, THIS NONVIOLENT STUFF'LL GET YOU KILLED: HOW GUNS MADE THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT POSSIBLE. Transcripts are available for a portion of the interviews. Interviewees and speakers include: Shawn Leigh Alexander, Carol Anderson, Annie Pearl Avery, Willie Blue, Julian Bond, Simeon Booker, Taylor Branch, Fred Brooks, Patricia Ann Brooks, Dorothy Burlage, Jackie Byrd, Clayborne Carson, Hodding Carter, the Chinn Family, Purcell Conway, Mac Cotton, Courtland Cox, Connie Curry, Dave Dennis, John Dittmer, John Doar, Ivanhoe Donaldson, LC Dorsey, Myrlie Evers, George Greene, Carol Hallstrom, Vincent Harding, Jessie Harris, Don Harris, Bruce Hartford, Charles Jones, Lonnie King, Dorie Ladner, Bernard Lafayette, Jim Lawson, Worth Long, Deborah Well McCoy, Chuck McDew, Charles McLaurin, Leslie Mclemore, Bob Moses, Christopher Parker, Willie Peacock, Bernice Reagon, Willie Ricks, Reggie Robinson, Cleve Sellers,Charles and Shirley Sherrod, Jane Stembridge, Patricia Sullivan, Flukie Swarez, Corey Walker, and Hollis Watkins. Topics include: civil rights, SNCC, non-violence, guns, and the backgrounds of interview participants.

Daniel Levinson Wilk is a historian. Muravchik was a longtime staff member of the Socialist Party of America and the Jewish Labor Committee. Collection comprises an audiocassette tape of the oral history interview conducted by Wilk with Emanuel Muravchik while Wilk was completing his graduate work at Duke University. The interview primarily focused on Muravchik's career in the Socialist Party, particularly from the 1920s to the 1950s, and mostly in New York State. There is no transcript for the interview, and two digital files have been created from the audiocassette.

Collection comprises an audiocassette tape of the oral history interview conducted by Wilk with Emanuel Muravchik while Wilk was completing his graduate work at Duke University. The interview primarily focused on Muravchik's career in the Socialist Party, particularly from the 1920s to the 1950s, and mostly in New York State. Related topics include Muravchick's education; the process followed to place Norman Thomas on the New York State ballot as a Socialist Party candidate for the 1940 Presidential election; the relationships between socialists and communists; approaches used to build the Socialist movement; union and other organizing; as well as the impact of WWII on the movement and its leaders. Among the noted persons mentioned was J. Edgar Hoover. There is no transcript for the interview, and two digital files have been created from the audiocassette.

The Center for Documentary Studies is a center at Duke University established for the study of the documentary process. The color photographs and oral histories in the Five Farms: Stories From American Farm Families collection form part of a multimedia project carried out under the auspices of the Center for Documentary Studies. Beginning in March 2008, photographers Alix Lowrey Blair, Andrew Lewis, Tom Rankin, Elena Rue, and Steve Schapiro, along with audio specialists Ben Adler, Rob Dillard, Camille Lacapa, Susannah Lee, and John Biewen, each visited an American farm and documented the farm families' experiences over the course of a year. The locations for the Five Farms series are: a family farm on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; an organic farm in California's Capay Valley; a dairy farm in western Massachusetts; a diversified farm in central Iowa; and an African American-owned hog farm in eastern North Carolina. Details on each farm are found in the series descriptions in this collection guide. Acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

The color photographs and oral histories in the Five Farms: Stories From American Farm Families collection form part of a multimedia project carried out under the auspices of the Center for Documentary Studies. Beginning in March 2008, photographers Alix Lowrey Blair, Andrew Lewis, Tom Rankin, Elena Rue, and Steve Schapiro, along with audio specialists Ben Adler, Rob Dillard, Camille Lacapa, Susannah Lee, and John Biewen, each visited an American farm and documented the farm families' experiences over the course of a year. The locations for the Five Farms series are: a family farm on the Hopi Reservation in northeastern Arizona; an organic farm in California's Capay Valley; a dairy farm in western Massachusetts; a diversified farm in central Iowa; and an African American-owned hog farm in eastern North Carolina. Details on each farm are found in the series descriptions in this collection guide.

The photographs in the collection, chosen for the 2009 project exhibit, feature views of farmers and family members, farm workers, farm animals, and landscapes. The first set of 25 13x16-inch color digital prints, five from each photographer, is accompanied by a second set of 25 prints of the same images, but in varying sizes ranging from 12 1/8 x 17 inches to 13 3/8 x 20 inches. All prints are arranged and foldered by geographical location. The photographer's names are written on the back of all the prints, and the captions are also included on the backs of the prints in the first set.

The oral history interviews and short sound files, over 100 hours of recordings, provide many details on the lives of the families, typical activities on each farm, the local culture and natural environments, and thoughts of individuals on the past, present, and the future. Also included are digital files containing ambient sounds, theme music, and credits, all used in a five-part Public Media radio program broadcast in July 2009. Although most of the files are currently stored in .wav format, there are also a handfule of mp3 files.

The Five Farms project culminated in an exhibit from April 27-August 21, 2009 at Duke University's Center for Documentary Studies; other outreach included a multimedia website and programs on public radio stations nationwide.

Acquired by the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

English professor, Duke University, folklorist of Durham, N.C., and founder in 1913 of the North Carolina Folklore Society. Collection centers around Frank Clyde Brown's lifelong exploration and collecting of North Carolina and Appalachian folklore, which resulted in this vast archival collection of original folklore materials and editorial records for the seven-volume Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore (published 1952-1964). Collection is comprised of field recordings on wax cylinders and phonodiscs; tens of thousands of field notes, transcriptions of original songs, stories, and traditional expressions; musical scores; and numerous journal articles, student theses, books, and lists. Also included are the papers of Charles Bond, a Duke graduate student who studied and expanded the collection in 1970. The vast majority of the folklore sources originated in North Carolina, but there are some materials from other regions. Subjects include: African American traditions; ballads and songs (music as well as lyrics); European roots of North American folklore; folk music; folk poetry; games and parties; oral traditions and storytelling; sayings, names, and superstitions; social conditions in the Southern States; work songs; and North American folklore in general. In addition, one can find rich resources on the study and teaching of folklore, and attitudes during the 1920s to 1950s about Southern customs and communities.

Collection centers around folklorist Frank Clyde Brown's papers related to his lifelong exploration and collecting of North Carolina and Appalachian folklore, which resulted in this vast archival collection of original folklore materials and editorial records for the project which published Brown's work in seven volumes as (The Frank C. Brown Collection of North Carolina Folklore, 1952-1964. Materials comprise about 1,049 tunes and songs recorded on wax cylinders and lacquer and aluminum phonodiscs, backup copies of the recordings on glass lacquer phonodiscs made by the Library of Congress in the 1940s, 30,000 written notes on lore, 650 musical scores, and numerous journal articles, student theses, books, lists, and other items. The folklore sources originated in at least 84 North Carolina counties, with about 5 percent from 20 other states and Canada, and came from the efforts of 650 other contributors besides Brown himself. Also included are the research notes and other papers of Charles Bond, a Duke graduate student who dealt with the collection in 1970.

Subjects range widely and include: ballads and songs (music as well as lyrics); European roots of North American folklore; folk music; folk poetry; games and parties; oral traditions and storytelling; superstitions; social conditions in the Southern States; African American traditions; work songs; and North American folklore in general. In addition, one can find rich resources on the study and teaching of folklore, and attitudes during the 1920s to 1950s about Southern customs and communities.

The collection is divided into the following series: Cylinders and Discs, which includes the Library of Congress glass lacquer phonodisc copies, Personal Papers, General Editors' Papers, Associate Editors' Papers, Charles Bond Research Material.

The Recordings Series includes 1,049 performances on original wax cylinders and phonodiscs, re-recordings of the cylinders and discs created by the Library of Congress in the 1940s, and supplementary materials. The original wax cylinders and phonodiscs were digitized and described as part of a CLIR/Mellon grant in 2015-2018.

The Personal Papers series includes Brown's correspondence, research files, and the extensive materials in the folklore collection, which include transcriptions and sheet music. All items were gathered by Brown, and taken over in 1943 by Dr. Newman Ivey White, who served as first general editor of the project from its inception then until his death in 1948. The General Editors' Papers include items which were related to and produced by the work of White, and Paull Franklin Baum who assumed duties at White's death, and saw the project through to its completion in 1964. The Associate Editors' Papers have been organized by editor, and include drafts and typescripts for various volumes.

The Charles Bond Research Material Series stems from the work of Charles Bond, a student of Professor Holger O. Nygard at Duke University. Bond opened the archival collection in 1970-1971, and prepared both an outline as well as a Tabulation of Unpublished Items in the collection. This series also includes correspondence, an index, and card files.

Jesse Pyrant Andrews is an American photographer based in rural southern Virginia. Collection comprises 291 black-and-white photographs and 46 oral history interviews by photographer Jesse Pyrant Andrews, documenting rural and small-town life in the Piedmont region of Virginia and North Carolina. Major themes center on the landscapes and people of the region; tobacco cultivation; the lives of farmers, war veterans, small business owners, and laid-off workers; local architecture and historic sites; traditional crafts and music; and new patterns of economics and society in rural Virginia. Andrews's Veterans Project has become a larger focus over the years; it now comprises over 30 portraits and associated audio interviews, chiefly with veterans of the Vietnam and Gulf Wars. Additional projects include materials related to the Carter-Wooding families of southern Virginia; views from an Amtrak train; views of an historic plantation home, Mountainview; and street scenes and portraits taken in New York City, California, and Massachusetts. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Collection comprises 291 black-and-white photographs and 46 oral history recordings by Jesse Pyrant Andrews documenting rural and small-town life in the Piedmont plateau of central southern Virginia and northern North Carolina. Most of the images are portraits of local people, along with scenes from homesteads, small towns, farms, and grave sites. Major themes include tobacco cultivation; the lives of farmers, migrant workers, war veterans, small business owners, and laid-off textile workers; regional architecture; historic sites; and traditional activities such as music-making, constructing handmade firearms, and working with leather. Together, the images and interviews speak to significant changes in this rural Piedmont region's cultures and economies as it has transitioned into the 20th and then the 21st centuries.

In the Veterans Project series, Andrews documents through portraits and in-depth audio interviews the experiences of U.S. military veterans, primarily in the Vietnam and Gulf Wars, but also in World War II. The series includes a Vietnam War veteran's manuscript memoir and a tribute essay to one veteran, written by Andrews. Some of these resources may contain disturbing content.

The Carter-Wooding Project, also comprising photographs and several oral histories, documents two Halifax County, Virginia families, the Carters and the Woodings, and their rural property dating back to an 18th-century Huguenot land grant. This project forms part of the Portraits series in this collection. Interior and exterior shots of a former plantation, "Mountain View," in Tightsqueeze, Virginia (sold at auction in 2020) are featured in the series Life At Large.

Photographs from the series 13-Month Crop, documenting tobacco farming, were featured in a solo exhibit of Andrews' work hosted by the Rubenstein Library at Duke University in 2002.

Portraits and oral histories in the Burlington Mills series document the experiences of former southern Virginia textile workers.

Another series documents a trip on an Amtrak train. Rounding out the collection are images of street life and people in New York City, California, and Massachusetts, and a few of patterns in plants and ice.

Most of the photographs are accompanied by captions written by the photographer, commenting on the individuals, their life experiences, and aspects of local culture and society. Captions for the Veterans series include biographies as well as historical details related to several wars in which the U.S. was involved.

A large selection of photographs from the Andrews collection has been digitized and is available on the Duke Digital Collections website; links to this content are included in this inventory for corresponding prints.

John Hope Franklin was a historian specializing in Southern and African American history. The papers document his entire career as well as his personal life and political interests: his prolific writings on African American and Southern history; his role as a mentor and colleague, including his time as professor at Duke University; his role in associations such as Phi Beta Kappa, the American Historical Association, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History, and others; his participation in the civil rights movement, including his work with the NAACP Legal and Educational Defense Fund, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and Justice Thurgood Marshall; and his engagement with numerous civic, community, and educational organizations such as the Board of Foreign Scholarships and Fisk University's Board of Trustees. There is also a significant amount of material from Franklin's work on President Clinton's Advisory Board for the President's Initiative on Race in 1997 and 1998. Items in the collection include files of correspondence in original order; research sources and notes; writings by and about Franklin; materials relating to family history; papers and diaries of other family members, including his father, and wife, Aurelia; printed material; event folders; many informal and publicity photographs; video and sound recordings; and awards and other memorabilia. Acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture at Duke University.

The John Hope Franklin papers document the whole of Franklin's professional career as a historian, as well as his personal life, early student years, and political interests. Collection materials include correspondence, research materials assembled by Franklin, writings by and about Franklin, drafts of writings, materials relating to family history, printed material, notebooks, information and multimedia packets, clippings, photographs, video and sound recordings, as well as a few artifacts. The collection was acquired as part of the John Hope Franklin Center for African and African American History and Culture.

The Academics series chronicles Franklin's career as a professor of history. It includes materials documenting his role as a mentor and advisor to numerous undergraduate and graduate students, his lecture notes and other classroom materials, and his administrative and committee work at various institutions, including Brooklyn College, University of Chicago, and Duke University. Portions of this series are restricted.

The series on the Advisory Board for the President's Initiative on Race contains items Franklin gathered during his work on President Clinton's race initiative, "One America in the 21st Century." The bulk of the series dates from the year-long work of the Advisory Board, from 1997 to 1998, and primarily comprises items sent to the Board for consideration in its work, meeting materials, publicity, and scholarly materials.

The videos and sound recordings in the Audiovisual series were created or assembled by John Hope Franklin. The series has been arranged into three subseries: ABPIR Materials, Recordings of Franklin, and Recordings of Others. Originals in the Audiovisual Materials Series are closed to use. Use copies are available for some items. Please contact Research Services staff in advance before coming to use this series.

The Correspondence series is one of the largest series in the collection, and comprises personal and professional correspondence received and sent by Franklin throughout his adult life.

The Engagements series includes invitations, correspondence, programs, and itineraries related to Franklin's participation in scholarly, civic, and social events. These materials have been arranged chronologically.

Franklin's Honors and Awards series includes certificates and diplomas, as well as logistical and administrative documentation for many of the awards ceremonies. The series is divided into Honorary Degrees and General Awards, both sorted in chronological order.

The Personal and Family Materials series contains the earliest items in the collection, with materials from Franklin's parents and grandparents. It includes files documenting Franklin's life and interests outside of his scholarship and public service. Materials are arranged by family member, with Franklin's wife, Aurelia, and his father, Buck Colbert Franklin, heavily represented. Also contains papers related to Theodore Currier, Franklin's mentor; John Hope eventually served as an executor of his estate.

The Research, Biographical, and Subject Files series contains newspaper clippings, subject files, travel guides, and photocopies of Franklin's FBI file. Also contains publicity and newspaper coverage of Franklin's many interviews and public appearances throughout the twentieth century.

The large Service series includes files acquired through Franklin's government, professional, and community service with various organizations and projects. Materials range from the early 1950s through the 2000s and are arranged alphabetically by organization or project name.

Franklin's prolific writing career is documented in the Writings series, which includes materials on his many books, articles, speeches, book reviews, essays, interviews, and other works, many unpublished. A portion of this series is restricted; please contact the Rubenstein Library for more information.

The Writings by Others series documents the ongoing relationship Franklin had with other authors and historians. It includes correspondence, drafts, and printed materials. Files are arranged alphabetically by author.

The Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Art degree program at Duke University has been awarded since 2013. Collection houses MFA/EDA theses submitted by graduates of the program, in the form of typescripts; handmade books; digital video and audio, three-dimensional artwork; photobooks; photographic prints; digital still images; and film of multi-media performances. Subjects range widely and include: U.S. and Southern cultures; world cultures; street photography; childhood; environmental narratives and documentaries; city and rural communities; themes of social justice, memory, and identity; women and spirituality; and abstract constructs. Other places documented include China, Poland, Vietnam, and the Middle East. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Collection contains masters theses submitted each year by graduates of Duke University's Master of Fine Arts in Experimental and Documentary Arts program (MFA/EDA).

The collection is arranged by program year, then in two groups, Written Theses and Creative Theses. Written theses exist in both analog and electronic form; many include handmade books, digital video, or audio files. Creative portfolios include three-dimensional artwork or artifacts; photobooks; color and black-and-white photographic prints in varying sizes; digital still images; digital film, audio, and video; and images and film of multi-media performances and exhibit installations. Artifacts are sometimes part of the project, including one large magic lantern apparatus.

Themes range widely, and include U.S. and Southern cultures; cultures around the world; street photography; environmental narratives and documentaries; city and rural communities; social justice, memory, segregation, and identity; and abstract constructs. Most projects are based in the United States, but some are centered on Middle Eastern, Southeast Asian or Chinese history and culture.

Most authors have contributed both creative and written theses; others have elected to contribute only one or the other. Not all authors have both written and creative theses. Participation in the archival project is voluntary; therefore this archive represents the graduates of the MFA EDA program who submitted their work for inclusion.

Collection consists of seven creative projects produced by students in the class "Picturing Activism," taught by Lisa McCarty in Fall 2017 at Duke University. The projects utilize archival and contemporary photographs, narrative, poetry, illustrations, digital documents, posters, and oral history interviews in digital audio format to explore themes related to activism, cultural experiences, and visual culture. Subjects include murals in Durham, N.C.; activism in Alamance County, N.C.; African American women, racism, and political activism; environmental crises and activism through photography; pit bull rescues and animal rights; and Chinese cooking as cultural expression. Some of the archival photographs are from the Rubenstein Library's collections. Aquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.

Collection consists of seven creative projects produced by students in the class "Picturing Activism," taught by Lisa McCarty in Fall 2017 at Duke University. The projects utilize archival and contemporary photographs, narrative, poetry, illustrations, digital documents, posters, and oral history interviews in digital audio format to explore themes related to activism, cultural experiences, and visual culture. Subjects include murals in Durham, N.C.; activism in Alamance County, N.C.; African American women, racism, and political activism; environmental crises and activism through photography; pit bull rescues and animal rights; and Chinese cooking as cultural expression. Some of the archival photographs are from the Rubenstein Library's collections. Acquired as part of the Archive of Documentary Arts at Duke University.