Black Voices at Rutgers is a portal that helps you discover African American oral history interviews with a focus on Rutgers and life in New Jersey.
The process of indexing oral history collections from multiple Rutgers repositories is ongoing. Check out the Collections page to learn about the interviews that have been integrated into this portal. This will give you a sense of the scope of the oral histories that have been indexed so far.
How to find an interview
There are three methods to begin your research:
Keyword Search: Simply type a name or keyword into the search bar at the top of this page and hit the “Search” button. Or use Advanced Search to query specific property fields.
Subject Index: Check out the Subjects page to see an alphabetical list of organizations, schools, occupations, and themes mentioned in the oral histories.
Browse Names and Affiliations: Use the People page to browse all interviews by name. This page allows you to narrow down names by the following criteria:
- Group, such as Rutgers alumni, faculty, administration, or non-affiliated interviewees. (Non-affiliated interviewees are African Americans who did not study or work at Rutgers University, but who granted interviews to Rutgers historians; they are typically past or present New Jersey residents who share their perspectives on Black life in New Jersey.)
- Graduating class (relevant for alumni).
- Rutgers campus (New Brunswick, Newark, Camden) or Rutgers school, such as Douglass College, Graduate School of Education, School of Engineering, and so on.
A sorting feature at the top of the People page allows you to arrange the results by last name, graduating class, or birth year.
How to access the transcript or audio
Once you find the interview you want, click on the interview title or portrait to access interview details in our catalog. Scroll down to Transcript or Recording below the interview description, and click the link to access the text or audio. Some interviews provide both audio and a transcript, others only provide one or the other.