NH BLACK HISTORY

Beginning in 1990 historian Valerie Cunningham interviewed over a dozen elderly members of the African American community in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Selections from five of those interviews are included here, All five of those interviewed have since died, but their memories of growing up black live on.

Seacoast Black History
ORAL HISTORY HIGHLIGHTS

This project was inspired by a fear of losing another generation's accounts of life in the region as experienced by African-Americans. The intention was not to write definitive autobiographies but simply to capture some of the memories and images of people who had lived in the region since before WWII. What emerged was a collection of stories reflecting their very different personal experiences and points of view. Interviews were completed between September 1990 and December 1991. Five of the fourteen interviews are represented here. The photographs are all by Kelvin Edwards. -- Valerie Cunningham, African American Resource Center (PO Box 5094, Portsmouth, NH 03801)

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