Housing Our Story: Towards Archival Justice for Black Baltimore oral history collection
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This collection consists of twenty-two oral history interviews conducted in 2018 as part of a project titled Housing Our Story: Towards Archival Justice for Black Baltimore, a grant-funded project led by Johns Hopkins University faculty members Dr. Jennifer Kingsley, Dr. Shani Mott, and Dr. N.D.B. Connolly who worked with undergraduate students to collect oral histories of Black staff and contract workers employed at the university. The aim of the project was to preserve individual histories of Black workers at Johns Hopkins in an effort to make the archival record more representative of the people who "weave Hopkins into the social and political fabric of Baltimore," yet whose stories remain largely absent from institutional memory.
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Item Oral history of Calvin Smith(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-25) Smith, Calvin; Wright, NoahCalvin Smith is the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life at Johns Hopkins University at the time of recording. In this interview, he shares how being a Division I athlete and participating in a Greek-letter organization at the University of Delaware prepared him for life after college. He also describes how he interacts with students in his role as Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life and his perspective on how Hopkins fits into the broader landscape of higher education.Item Oral history of Marie Wilson(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-30) Wilson, Marie; O'Connor-Giles, Jonathan IanMarie Wilson is a food service worker at Johns Hopkins University. Wilson discusses growing up in the Edmonson Village neighborhood of Baltimore in the 1960s. She also talks about her 35-year career at Hopkins, working primarily in food service, including her experience as a union shop steward. Wilson closes with a conversation with the interviewer about race relations at Hopkins and in Baltimore.Item Oral history of Kanita Tavares(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-05-11) Tavares, KanitaKanita Tavares is Academic Program Coordinator for Africana Studies and International Studies at Johns Hopkins University. Tavares discusses growing up in Prince George’s County and Savage, Maryland in Howard County. Tavares talks about her high school experience (with a special focus on teachers and a principal who left impressions) in Savage and her experience with racism in Savage. She also discusses her experience working at Hopkins, first as a “temp” in marketing and communications for the School of Medicine, and later as Academic Program Coordinator for Africana Studies, a position she held at the time of her interview. Tavares also talks in detail about her family, especially her mother, father, and stepfather.Item Oral history of Regine Laforest-Sharif(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-02) Laforest-Sharif, Regine; Egginton, AlexanderRegine Laforest-Sharif is Associate Director of Community Living at Johns Hopkins University, a position she had held for 23 years at the time of this recording. In addition to her position, Laforest-Sharif has served in various service and leadership roles at the University, including time as President of the Black Faculty and Staff Association. Laforest-Sharif discusses her background growing up in a predominantly Haitian community in Queens New York, her move to Baltimore, and her career at Hopkins, with a special focus on her experience as a Black employee.Item Oral history of Myeshia Reynolds(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-02) Reynolds, Myeshia; Haughin, CaseyMyeshia Reynolds is Campus Operations Coordinator at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Education. Prior to this role, she served as a security officer at Johns Hopkins University’s Homewood campus. Reynolds discusses her experience growing up in East Baltimore and attending Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School, which is close to Johns Hopkins Hospital. Reynolds also describes her duties in her current position, as well as her previous experience as a security guard juggling work-related and personal responsibilities as a mother of small children.Item Oral history of Kenneth Ray(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-26) Ray, Kenneth; Hu, Rollin; Oing, LauraKenneth Ray is a member of the custodial staff at the Mattin Center on the Homewood campus. In this interview, he discusses growing up in Northeast Baltimore with his grandmother and his experience in school in the 1970s. He also shares his pride in the work he does each day, and the importance of religion in his life.Item Oral history of Lynnise Norris(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-26) Norris, Lynnise; Mott, Shani; Connolly, Nathan; Kingsley, JenniferLynnise Norris is the Supervisor of Sponsored Projects in the Finance Division of Johns Hopkins University and an active member of the Black Faculty and Staff Association (BFSA), elected President of the organization in 2017. In this interview, Norris describes aspects of her childhood in West Baltimore in the 1960s, including how her neighborhood changed following the death of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr and instances of racism her family experienced in the city. Norris shares her experience working at Johns Hopkins, outlining instances of racism and inequitable treatment she and other Black staff have faced from leadership, and the work she has done to improve advancement opportunities for people of color at the university.Item Oral history of Sharon Morris(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-30) Morris, Sharon; Dong, JasmineSharon Morris is the Director of the D.C. Regional Libraries at the Johns Hopkins Sheridan Libraries and Museums. In this interview, Morris describes growing up in West Baltimore in the 1960s. She also describes her initial perception of Johns Hopkins, as well as how that perception has changed over time. Morris is an active member of the Black Faculty and Staff Administration (BFSA) and has worked on several initiatives to support the visibility and equitable treatment of Black staff at the university, which she discusses in this interview.Item Oral history of Marcus Hudgins(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-26) Hudgins, Marcus; Egbunike, IfeyinwaMarcus Hudgins is a Public Safety Officer based on the Homewood Campus, specifically at the Nine East 33rd building. In this interview, Hudgins describes differences between students at Johns Hopkins and students from Dunbar High School, which he attended. He also shares what it is like to work at a PWI (Predominantly White Institution) as part of a predominantly Black staff. Hudgins describes what he enjoys about his job as well as challenges he faces at work. He also discusses whether the Johns Hopkins University and hospital system have a responsibility to give back to the city of Baltimore.Item Oral history of Shedrick Elliott III(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-15) Elliott, Shedrick III; Ssengonzi, RebeccaShedrick Elliot III is an Assistant Track and Field Coach at Johns Hopkins. In this interview, Elliot shares about his life prior to working at the university, particularly about growing up in the Baltimore area and his religious background. He also describes his initial reaction to the Homewood campus and the perception of a "Hopkins bubble" separating campus from surrounding neighborhoods. Elliot shares what he enjoys about coaching students and how he strives to support student athletes on the track, but especially in their academic and personal lives.Item Oral history of Nyesha Dixon(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-07) Dixon, Nyesha; Lola, Sophia; Adedoyin, MoufidatouNyesha Dixon is a Public Safety Officer on the Homewood campus. In this interview, Dixon shares her thoughts about growing up in West Baltimore and how she came to work at Johns Hopkins. She describes her best experiences working for campus security, as well as challenges she faces on the job.Item Oral history of Joseph Colón(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-11-19) Colón, Joseph; White, JackJoseph Colón is the Director of the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) at Johns Hopkins University. In this interview, he discusses growing up in Brooklyn, New York during the 1980s and key moments in his early life and education which inspired his professional interest in multicultural affairs. Colon also discusses the responsibilities of OMA and his role as a liason between students and supportive resources on campus and in the community.Item Oral history of Zizwe Allette(Johns Hopkins University Sheridan Libraries, 2018-10-26) Allette, Zizwe; Schneider, BenZizwe Allette is an instructor at the Historic East Baltimore Community Action Coalition Youth Opportunity Center, known as YO! Baltimore Eastside, a non-profit organization operated by the City of Baltimore and Johns Hopkins University to support education and job training for out-of-school youth. In this interview, Allette describes growing up in West Baltimore with his parents, who immigrated to the United States from Trinidad and Grenada. He shares how his parents' attitude toward education and politics shaped his own academic career and how he began teaching. Allette also discusses race, politics, and the influence of Johns Hopkins in East Baltimore communities.