The Civil Rights Greensboro (CRG) project will digitize and provide context for selected archival materials from the civil rights era of 1945 to 1980 in Greensboro. Guilford is working to develop this web site in collaboration with Duke University, Greensboro College and UNCG. The collection will feature items from the Friends Historical Collection such as the 1963 arrest record of former Guilford student Hulda Elizabeth Taylor. She donated a small collection of writings and artifacts from her first year when arrested for participating in a sit-in in downtown Greensboro.

Taylor’s donation of cards and letters from friends and family, as well as a journal of her experiences, will soon be available to view. The CRG expects project completion by spring of 2009.

CRG hopes this free and virtual resource will benefit the Guilford community by providing easier access to primary sources.

“The project will include the Woolworth’s sit-in, school desegregation and the so-called Greensboro Massacre in 1979,” said Ginny Daley, CRG project manager at UNCG. “Lesser known events will also be included that occurred throughout the late 50’s 60’s and 70’s in the struggle for equal treatment in public accommodations, schools, housing, politics and employment.”

In the past, UNCG worked with Greensboro Public Library to combine oral histories into a collection for the Greensboro VOICES project.

The CRG was created when UNCG recognized that combining local archives would serve the public better if they were made accessible.

The State Library of North Carolina awarded the grant funds to coordinate each school’s historical collection online to create stronger libraries and make information accessible to the public.

“Timing of the grant dovetails nicely with the colleges work on antiracism and diversity,” said Gwen Erickson, Guilford archivist and librarian.

“The Web site will be dynamic and user friendly,” said Erickson. “Someone can go deep and pull up a whole document, like Taylor’s arrest record, but also browse what was going in Greensboro simultaneously.”

Guilford project interns collect data from The Guilfordian, photographs, news clippings, letters and other student publications as well as oral history interviews.

“All materials are digitized and catalogued and then combined in a database,” said Daley. “As you can imagine, it takes a lot of detailed work behind the scenes to bring everything together.”

CCE student Scotty Woods enjoys his CRG internship this semester.

“So far it has been very interesting. The majority of the work involves reading through old trustee records, administration meeting minutes and all the Quaker yearbooks.”

Woods’ exposure to campus data allowed him to learn about Guilford’s role in the civil rights movement in Greensboro. “The college did not allow blacks (to register) but would always invite the latest R&B artists like The Drifters and The Platters to perform at the college dances.