An Oral History Video Presentation of Civil Rights in Columbus
"When problems do arise whether in housing, employment, public accommodations... or in some other kinds of discrimination, just lifting up a voice on the other side is so very important." -Owen Hungerford, Oral History Project Participant
Every community has its stories about civil rights, and Columbus, Indiana is no exception. Columbus, a town made up of mostly white citizens, indeed has its own civil rights story to tell. In September of 1999, the Columbus Human Rights Commission's Oral History Project began documenting this local story by capturing on video the oral histories of community citizens who witnessed and participated in the civil rights movement in Columbus, Indiana.
Lifting Up A Voice depicts a time in Columbus's history when brave individuals began the fight against discrimination and prejudice in their small Indiana town in an era when those issues were only beginning to be addressed on a national level. The video also looks at the work of individuals that led to the establishment of local anti-discrimination laws and a local human rights commission in a period when a national civil rights act was barely on the rim of passage in the U.S. Congress.
While the video is not inclusive of all the people who participated or were affected by the civil rights movement in Columbus, the Columbus Human Rights Commission believes that this video provides a representation of this important stage in our history.
The Commission hopes that you, the viewer, will consider this video to be educational, enlightening and thought provoking. If this video accomplishes any of these goals, then the project has achieved its purpose.
To order the CHRC oral history video, please contact:
Columbus Human Rights Commission
123 Washington Street #5
Columbus, IN 47201