Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive

The Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive began with a list of civil rights collections at USM, an extensive list of links to other online civil rights resources, and the full-text searchable transcripts of more than 60 oral history interviews conducted by USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Civil rights leaders Charles Cobb, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Hollis Watkins are just a few of the interviewees represented in the oral history collection. This archive was expanded last year with a selection of 22 letters and 3 posters from the Joseph and Nancy Freedom Summer Collection, as well as the diaries of civil rights workers Zoya Zeman, Sandra Adickes, Jinny Glass, and Terri Shaw. A grant from the Institute for Museum and Library Services will result in the addition of many other materials, including over 250 photographs by photographer Herbert Randall and another 84 oral histories. The Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive may be accessed at http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/index.html. The index to the oral histories may be accessed directly at http://www.lib.usm.edu/~spcol/crda/oh/index.html. These materials may also be searched through the Hyperion Digital Media Archive.

AAEC Editorial Cartoon Digital Collection

USM Libraries has acquired more than 6,500 editorial cartoons from at least 300 member artists of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists. Originally prepared for newspapers, magazines, and in some cases television, the cartoons address a spectrum of topics ranging from presidential elections to high school sports. These original editorial artworks date from 1782 to 1980, though the bulk of the collection was created since 1960. In addition to the cartoons, the collection contains biographical files on contributing artists. Since the fall 2000, USM Libraries Special Collections has been working to make this editorial cartoon collection available online. Nearly 500 cartoons are now available through the AAEC Editorial Cartoon website and USM Libraries' Digital Media Archive.

Mississippi Oral History Project

The Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at The University of Southern Mississippi is a unique office actively involved with the preservation of cultural heritage by means of oral histories. Oral history interviews are recorded on tape, in the voices of knowledgeable people, Mississippians and non-Mississippians alike. Interviewees recount memories and perceptions of important events, personalities and occasions in the history of the state of Mississippi. The Mississippi Oral History Project is a grant-funded project sponsored by the Mississippi Humanities Council, the Mississippi Department of Archives and History and the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage at The University of Southern Mississippi. The focus of the first year of this two-year pilot project is to train local people at five sites to conduct interviews and assist in planning and setting up oral history projects in their communities. During the second year, interviews will be professionally transcribed, archived, and made available in electronic format. The five sites are as follows: Tupelo/Northeast Mississippi Historical Society; Delta State University/Capps Archive; Noxubee County Public Library; the Lauren Rogers Museum in Laurel, Mississippi; and the Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College/Community Bridges. The Mississippi Oral History Project may be accessed at http://www.usm.edu/msoralhistory/. A list of the interviews by name can be accessed directly at the following website: http://www.usm.edu/msoralhistory/names.htm. These materials may also be searched through the Hyperion Digital Media Archive.

Revision date: July 30, 2003