Oral History with Ellison A. Smyth, March 5, 1991 (Ms1991-019)
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Reverend Dr. Ellison Adger Smyth was born and raised in Blacksburg, Virginia. He attended Blacksburg schools, and he graduated from Virginia Polytechnic Institute in 1925 with a degree in electrical engineering before answering the call to ministry. Rev. Smyth served churches in Canada, West Virginia, Virginia, and South Carolina before returning to Blacksburg in 1948. In this interview, Rev. Smyth describes growing up in Blacksburg as a son to VPI faculty, and he describes race relations in the area from a white perspective. Smyth discusses his desegregation efforts in the Blacksburg Presbyterian Church, and he describes his experience with the Ministerial Association and Blacksburg Human Relations Council, which were organizations that advocated to end segregation in churches and schools.
<a href="https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/thumbnails/spec_forms/PubPermission.doc" target="_blank">Permission to publish material from the Black Appalachians Oral History Project must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.</a>
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Ms1991-019_EllisonSmyth
Oral History with Frank Bannister, February 26, 1991 (Ms1991-019)
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Frank Bannister was born in Wake Forest, Virginia in 1913, and his family members were descendants of Kentland Plantation slaves, which is now Kentland Farm in Whitethorne, Virginia. Bannister describes growing up in Wake Forest, working in the mines, Christiansburg Industrial Institute, Black social life, and desegregation in Montgomery County. Specifically, Bannister discusses his work in the mines and his experience working for President Marshall Hahn at Virginia Tech during the time of desegregation.
<a href="https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/thumbnails/spec_forms/PubPermission.doc" target="_blank">Permission to publish material from the Black Appalachians Oral History Project must be obtained from Special Collections, Virginia Tech.</a>
<a href="/items/browse?advanced%5B0%5D%5Belement_id%5D=51&advanced%5B0%5D%5Btype%5D=is+exactly&advanced%5B0%5D%5Bterms%5D=Oral+histories">Oral histories</a>
Ms1991-019_FrankBannister
Oral History with Charles Johnson, October 18, 2012 (Ms2019-037)
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Charles Johnson graduated from Christiansburg Industrial Institute in 1953 and served as President of the Christiansburg Institute Alumni Association. Johnson employed the barbering trade he acquired at CI for many decades in Blacksburg, Virginia.
<a href="https://digitalsc.lib.vt.edu/files/thumbnails/spec_forms/PubPermission.doc" target="_blank">Permission to publish material from the Christiansburg Industrial Institute Oral History Project must be obtained from Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech</a>
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Ms2019-037_CharlesJohnson