J. J. Daniell interview with Dorothy Brooks and an unidentified women (part two)

The John Burrison Georgia Folklore Archive recordings contains unedited versions of all interviews. Some material may contain descriptions of violence, offensive language, or negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or language of a particular period or place. There are instances of racist language and description, particularly in regards to African Americans. These items are presented as part of the historical record. This project is a repository for the stories, accounts, and memories of those who chose to share their experiences for educational purposes. The viewpoints expressed in this project do not necessarily represent the viewpoints of the Atlanta History Center or any of its officers, agents, employees, or volunteers. The Atlanta History Center makes no warranty as to the accuracy or completeness of any information contained in the interviews and expressly disclaims any liability therefore. If you believe you are the copyright holder of any of the content published in this collection and do not want it publicly available, please contact the Kenan Research Center at the Atlanta History Center at 404-814-4040 or reference@atlantahistorycenter.com. This is the second of a two part recording; this part begins with an unidentified woman (possibly Dorothy Brooks) remembering how she braided her hair as a child. The audio is not clear for the first few minutes of the recording during which several women discuss hair lengths and school supplies. At minute 5:10, Dorothy Brooks says hair and clothing styles have mostly stayed the same since she was a child. At minute 8:00 a new, unidentified woman says she is good at one method of braiding, under braiding, but not at another, overbraiding, and describes how to do a fan braid. She says she learned to braid as a little girl using grass, an old comb, and corn cobs. At minute 12:50, she recalls her childhood baby dolls, one of which she buried in her backyard. At minute 15:00 the same woman explains that she creates waves by sleeping in her braids or by wrapping strings, sometimes sourced from stockings, around her hair. She also remembers straightening hair with hot combes heated on the stove. Then around 18:30, she details how long it takes to braid different styles. She also says she saw an advertisement in the paper for new hair styles that combine plaits in an afro. At approximately 21:00 minutes, there is a discussion about combs they used, some of which were painful. Next at around minute 23:30, the unidentified woman recalls attending church via wagon; she also tells a story about when she was a child and her dress fell off when stepping off a wagon. At approximately 26:00 minutes, she reminisces on the importance of plaiting before she was allowed to cut her hair. It was also frowned upon for women to smoke cigarettes, so she chewed sweet gum with her grandmother instead. No biographical information about Dorothy Brooks or the other interviewers has been determined. Hairdressing of Black people; No transcript exists for this recording. A PDF transcript exists for this recording. Please contact an archivist for access. Professor John Burrison founded the Atlanta Folklore Archive Project in 1967 at Georgia State University. He trained undergraduates and graduate students enrolled in his folklore curriculum to conduct oral history interviews. Students interviewed men, women, and children of various demographics in Georgia and across the southeast on crafts, storytelling, music, religion, rural life, and traditions. As archivists, we acknowledge our role as stewards of information, which places us inaposition to choose how individuals and organizations are represented and described in our archives. We are not neutral, andbias isreflected in our descriptions, whichmay not convey the racist or offensive aspects of collection materialsaccurately.Archivists make mistakes and might use poor judgment.We often re-use language used by the former owners and creators, which provides context but also includes bias and prejudices of the time it was created.Additionally,our work to use reparative languagewhereLibrary of Congress subject termsareinaccurate and obsolete isongoing. Kenan Research Center welcomes feedback and questions regarding our archival descriptions. If you encounter harmful, offensive, or insensitive terminology or description please let us know by emailingreference@atlantahistorycenter.com. Your comments are essential to our work to create inclusive and thoughtful description.