WELCOME to the Oral History Archive of the Save Sewanee Black History Initiative. This resource houses an array of interviews the Roberson Project and its friends conducted over the last nine years with the people with roots in Sewanee and the surrounding region.
It is divided into four parts that can be linked in the navigation bar at the top of this page:
Part 1 — St. Mark's — has interviews with present and former residents of Sewanee's two historic Black neighborhoods St. Mark's and Essie Mae.
Part 2 — University — has interviews with persons associated with the University of the South faculty, staff, and students, including persons who grew up in or long resided in neighborhoods of Sewanee separate from the historic Black neighborhoods.
Part 3 — Graduates — has interviews with Sewanee graduates who are part of the Benjamin Network of Black alumni.
Part 4 — Foot Soldiers — is home to the Voices of School Desegregation's Foot Soldiers project and has interviews with present and former residents of Franklin County, Tennessee, who experienced the desegregation of public schools in Sewanee, Winchester, Cowan, Decherd, and other towns inthe county.
These recordings are publicly accessible, but they may not be copied, quoted, or used in any form without the express written permission of the Roberson Project and of the interviewed person, who retains all rights to these materials.