- Collection:
- Oral Histories of the American South: The Civil Rights Movement
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Dorothy Royster Burwell, May 29, 1996
- Creator:
- Burwell, Dorothy Royster. 1931-
- Contributor to Resource:
- McCoy, James Eddie (James Edward), 1942-
Southern Oral History Program - Date of Original:
- 1996-05-29
- Subject:
- African American women--Virginia--Soudan
African Americans--Relocation--Virginia--Soudan
African Americans--Land tenure--Virginia--Soudan
Soudan (Va.)--Social life and customs
Reservoirs--Social aspects--Virginia--Soudan
John H. Kerr Reservoir (Va. and N.C.) - People:
- Burwell, Dorothy Royster, 1931-
- Location:
- United States, Virginia, Mecklenburg County, 36.68036, -78.36273
United States, Virginia, Mecklenburg County, Soudan, 36.56292, -78.52056 - Medium:
- transcripts
sound recordings
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Text
Sound - Format:
- text/html
text/xml
audio/mpeg - Description:
- At the time of this interview, Dorothy Royster Burwell was living in what was once Soudan, Virginia, on the North Carolina-Virginia border. In this interview, she describes her family history and the displacement of area residents by dam projects. Burwell's community was washed away in the early 1950s by a man-made lake which covered African Americans' homes, shops, cemeteries, and farms. Burwell remembers a vibrant community; today, it is hard to find on the map. This interview shows what a powerful force water is, even under controlled conditions, clearing families from their homes and erasing communities; it also reveals the power of a government that can demand its citizens vacate their homes. Burwell's memory of Soudan helps keep the community alive.
The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. - Metadata URL:
- http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/Q-0011/menu.html
- Language:
- eng
- Extent:
- Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 14, 2008).
Interview participants: Dorothy Royster Burwell, interviewee; Eddie McCoy, interviewer.
Duration: 00:46:44.
This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.
Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers. - Contributing Institution:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project)
- Rights:
-
