“Black at WVU” Oral History Project
Support a "Black at WVU" oral history project to capture the lived experiences of Black people who are WVU students, staff and faculty members
Support a "Black at WVU" oral history project to capture the lived experiences of Black people who are WVU students, staff and faculty members
Project Leader(s): Toni Owens, Davis College of Agriculture, Natural Resources
and Design’s Human and Community Development Program
The “Black at WVU” Oral History Project is an effort to capture the lived experiences of Black people who are students, staff and/or faculty members at WVU. The semi-structured interviews will provide insight regarding the successes and struggles of Black people at WVU. This will include highlighting people, programs and resources that are providing support for the Black community and opportunities for improvement on the WVU campus and surrounding community. During most of 2020, many potential allies asked, “What can I do?” One thing that can be done to show allyship is to listen to the stories of Black people. The best people to shape how their experiences can be changed for the better are the people within that population.
Through this project, Black people will have the opportunity to share their stories with their counterparts, via audio, video or written narrative. All participants will have the opportunity to opt in/out of having their identity revealed or concealed. The final product will be presented in mini-documentary form. Our campus can grow from hearing the truth about the Black experience at WVU and doing so will help us understand how we can better recruit, embrace and retain our Black Mountaineers.