Interview with Anne Braden, December 12, 1997

Interview Summary

Anne Braden was a white southern anti-racist activist, organizer and journalist from Louisville, Kentucky. In this interview Anne Braden discusses her perceptions of her mother, father, and other Annistonians. She talks about the social climate of Anniston during and after World War II and the ways in which it impacted her and her family. Braden also discusses her early journalism career at The Anniston Star, the stories she covered there, her intellectual awakening to racism, and her friendships with fellow journalists. She speaks of college days at Randolph-Macon and Stratford, the friendships she established there, and how they evolved in her post-college life. She particularly speaks about her life-long friendship with Harriet Fitzgerald and Harriet's life as a lesbian and artist. Other topics include Braden's thoughts on dualism, historical materialism, educational reform, and the establishment of black schools in segregationist Anniston, Alabama.

Interview Keyword

Anne Braden Civil rights Women Civil Rights Workers

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Civil rights--Kentucky African Americans--Education Anniston (Ala.) Arnall, Ellis Gibbs, 1907-1992 Beech, Gould Braden, Anne, 1924-2006--Childhood and youth Braden, Anne, 1924-2006--Interviews Braden, Carl, 1914-1975 Civil rights movements--United States Civil rights workers Civil rights--Kentucky College students Dualism Educational change Eminence (Ky.) Fitzgerald, Harriet, 1904-1984 Folsom, James Elisha Friendship Future life Historical materialism Louisville (Ky.) Married life McCarty, Anita McCarty, Gambrell Racism Randolph-Macon College Rationing--United States Self-perception Silver, Dorothy B. (Dorothy Berea), 1925-2008 Stratford College (Danville, Va.) The Anniston Star (Anniston, Ala.) The Louisville Times (Louisville, Ky.) Women civil rights workers--Interviews World War, 1939-1945--Alabama--Anniston

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.