Library of Congress Acquires the Vast Archive of The History Makers

RichardsonThe Library of Congress has announced that is has acquired the vast archives of The History Makers. The nonprofit project was launched in 1999 by Julieanna Richardson, an attorney and television producer who wanted to preserve the oral histories of notable African Americans. Richardson is a graduate of Brandeis University and Harvard Law School and had a successful career in cable television in Chicago.

The archive includes more than 9,000 hours of video interviews of 2,500 Black Americans. The collection includes 14,000 analog tapes, 3,000 DVDs, 70,000 paper documents, and 30,000 digital images. This vast archive will now be preserved and made available to the public. A list of the oral history interviews that are available can be seen here.

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2 COMMENTS

  1. Awesome! I did some transcribing for them in the past. Ms. Richardson has done a commendable job in documenting African American history!

  2. Congratulations Julieanna for a truly history making contribution! Love seeing Ayisha’s interview and clips! Thank you for an outstanding contribution to our culture!

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