A new oral history project is gathering stories of Black alumni at Rutgers University–Camden. The Black Camden Oral History Project grew out of the research for our recently published book Scarlet and Black, Vol. 3: Making Black Lives Matter at Rutgers, 1945–2020, edited by Miya Carey, Marisa J. Fuentes, and Deborah Gray White. While archival research helped us reconstruct important events in the history of Black student protest at Rutgers–Camden, our work for the book also highlighted the urgent need to preserve the memories of Camden alumni and local community leaders through oral history interviews.
Kendra Boyd (Assistant Professor of History at Rutgers–Camden and ISGRJ Early Career Fellow) and Jesse Bayker (Research Project Manager / Digital Archivist at the Scarlet and Black Research Center) teamed up with the Rutgers Oral History Archives to interview African American alumni as well as community leaders and entrepreneurs in Camden.
Recruitment is currently underway, and we encourage you to contact the Black Camden Oral History Project to learn more and schedule an interview.
Visit blackcamden.org to learn more about the Black Camden Oral History Project.