John Kirk Civil Rights Movement Oral History Collection

Collection

Identifier: MC 1649

Staff Only
Select files to request

Scope and Content Note

The John Kirk Civil Rights Movement Oral History Collection consists of interviews of persons involved in the Civil Rights movement in Arkansas. It includes audiocassette tapes; paper transcripts and .doc, .docx. and RTF copies for select interviews; and CDs. Audiocassette tapes contain original interviews and are preservation copies; digital access copies of interviews will be made available as they are reproduced. The two CDs are copies of the interview with the Reverend Rufus King Young and are available to researchers.

Paper transcripts of select interviews were made by Cheri Pearce Riggs and Lu Ann Smith-Lacy. In places interviews were inaudible; for clarification, researchers should consult the audio of interviews. JPG files for some transcripts are available in the Special Collections Reading Room; all JPG files are available as paper transcripts.

Dates

1966
1992-1993

Creator

Kirk, John A. (Person)

Language of Materials

Materials are in English.

Access Information

Please call (479) 575-8444 or email specoll@uark.edu at least two weeks in advance of your arrival to ensure availability of the materials. Preservation copies (audiocassettes) may not be accessed. Researchers may request that interviews be reproduced as .mp3 files, which will become available to all researchers; the finding aid will be updated as new files are created. Such .mp3 files as well as .doc, .docx, and RTF copies of selected transcripts may be accessed in the Special Collections Reading Room.

Biographical Note

Born and educated in the United Kingdom, Dr. John Kirk came to Arkansas in the early 1990s to do research for his dissertation on the topic of the Civil Rights Movement in Arkansas. In addition to consulting several archives in the state, he interviewed approximately 40 participants involved in related events.

After completing his dissertation, Dr. Kirk held positions at the University of Wales and the University of London. In 2010 he returned to Arkansas, serving as chair of the History Department at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR) in 2010-2015. Afterwards he became director of the UALR's Anderson Institute on Race and Ethnicity, serving from 2015 to 2019. The author of numerous books, he is currently George W. Donaghey Distinguished Professor of History at UALR.

Extent

2.25 Linear Feet (3 boxes)

.92 Megabytes

Additional Description

Abstract

The John Kirk Civil Rights Movement Oral History Collection consists of interviews of persons involved in the Civil Rights movement in Arkansas.

Arrangement of the Papers

Materials are arranged into two groups. The first consists of materials available to researchers (paper transcripts and CDs). Several transcripts have digital copies of transcripts available; see individual transcript files for more information. The second group consists of restricted materials (audiocassettes).