Interview with Robert Collins, Lolis Elie, Nils Douglas,

Interview Summary

This interview is available in transcript only.

This is a group interview conducted with Lolis Elie, Nils Douglas and presumably Robert Collins (Warren simply refers to him as Collins). Elie, Douglas, and Collins founded a law practice on Dryades Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. They provided free legal counsel to the Consumer's League, a group of black civil rights activists who protested the discriminatory employment practices of the Dryades Street Merchants of New Orleans. Elie, Douglas, and Collins also represented members of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) during sit-in strikes in New Orleans.

This interview is dominated by Lolis Elie who discusses the reaction of the white leadership in New Orleans to attempts at desegregation and other civil rights demonstrations. Elie also describes his view of Black Muslims and the role of religion in the civil rights movement. Nils Douglas joins the conversation late in the interview and provides his feelings about the goals of the civil rights movement, and he explains the difficulty of electing black government leaders in New Orleans. Douglas also describes changes in African American society in the United States including a transition from a matriarchal to a patriarchal society. As a group, the interviewees discuss school integration and bussing, particularly focusing on events in New York City.

Interview Keyword

Who Speaks for the Negro? (Book)

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Civil rights Race relations

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.