Reparative Oral Histories Project

Oral histories are the stories of people. They provide us a glimpse of diverse perspectives on a moment in time, and with each a better understanding of how a community moves toward monumental change. Oral histories help us reconcile with our past, understand our present, and provide critical insights into our future. 

This project was established to address the relative absence of histories of traditionally marginalized communities within our University Archives collections. These oral histories capture social movements and the evolution of spaces, communities, and individuals.

Unidentified student, Terrapin, 1981. University Publications collection, Student Publications.

“The collection of records, papers, and memoirs, as well as oral history is biased towards the important and powerful people of the society, tending to ignore the impotent and obscure: we learn most about the rich, not the poor; the successful, not the failures; the old, not the young; the politically active not the politically alienated; men not women; white not black; free people rather than prisoners; civilians rather than soldiers; officers rather than enlisted men.” 

—Howard Zinn

Clarissa Corey Bey Oral History, 19 April 2018. LGBTQ+ Oral Histories Project.

Rahman Culver Oral History, 4 August 2021. Black Experiences at the University of Maryland Oral Histories Project.

Michael Pensabene Oral History, 25 April 2018. LGBTQ+ Oral Histories Project.

Aminata Steele Oral History, 24 August 2021. Black Experiences at the University of Maryland Oral Histories Project.