Leslie Barron interview with Billie Branham, Martha Branham, and John Gregory (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 part of a two part interview; in this part, Leslie Barron interviews Billie Branham alongside her sister Martha Brahnam and John Gregory, a local English professor. Billie Brahnam starts by recalling when she worked in medical clinics across rural Georgia. Her first story is about administering syphilis shots to older adult patients, and the second is about a midwife who never lost a patient. She also remembers two children who needed their tonsils removed who lived in such poverty they requested bread when she offered them a gift. At 3:44 minutes, the interviewees discuss Branham ancestors, including Belinda Harris and Joel Chandler Harris. Then at 7:19, Billie Brahnam details her personal history. She moved to Washington D.C. to help her sick brother, then received his permission to attend college to receive medical training. After completing school, she practiced at public health clinics around Georgia, including Thomasville, Eatonton, Jonesboro, and Conyors, then at a private clinic at Emory at Oxford. She and Martha opened a restaurant and boarding house that housed a lot of veterans, called the Briarpatch; then between 1954 and 1973 she returned to medicine, working at the Newton County Hospital. She also notes that their family had lived in Georgia for a long time. At 12:31 minutes, the interviewees tell more family stories about life during the Georgia Campaign and Reconstruction, including one about hiding Izora (Zora) Fair, a Confederate spy. They also recall additional local anecdotes about pranks, local dormitories, the Oxford Hotel. At around 25 minutes, Billie Branham recalls dating a Yankee while training in Pennsylvania, particularly noting their cultural differences as a Southerner and a Northerner. Elizabeth Flournoy Billie Branham (1899-1989) was born in Milledgeville, Georgia, to Walter Richardson Jr (1850-1934) and Adeline Lake Singleton (1861-1947); she had three brothers and two sisters, including Martha T. (1901-1984). She briefly lived in Washington D.C. Later she graduated from Georgia Female College in Georgia (later renamed Wesleyan College) with a degree in nursing, after which she worked around Oxford, Georgia, teaching midwives and working in clinics. For a little while she turned her house into a boarding home for students and professors, then she worked for the Newton County Hospital between 1954 and 1973. POLK-TAL:E COLLECTION Leslie Bi,trron May .30, 19711, . Folklore 301 D1~ John 13urr is on U1:ion lecirning of this 9_sstiigt11ent, I i:rm:nediately .thought of my Alma Mater, Oxford College . .Althoughdurj_ngm:y two years there . . ~- . I was not ex:oosed to the, types of story-telleI'S of' i::rhcmi ~re h9."1,1"$ .'. -_:,..'..r_.,.". '-_.r..'. -.'..-.. ;-._. ,. 0_;.:_ r..,-,... - -r...- .-.1.'."--.-.' ,,,., ~ rn1A s.. en,.,,"' .. -;,.f -'-l,h~ n.a.. ,., -1- 'Jhi ch.,: .. u''e=-~~ra .r1;;, ...... .the s choo'l. , . ,. -: ....... _ J _.__t,. ..... l_.r \J !. L.i Lr F/ ..l.. -- . .. i. .:._,~ C -~--- I - ' d ~... : and surrounding comm0 1_nj_ty,. . OzfoI~d Gollegs <?I~ ~oryU~j_\T6P9,5.ty' f'cu1~ded jn_ the 88'!'."1~.,.;J.~811,D1 s.., 'w.:~~.... .. .the_.r..i. .r.. s.. t_ m~' ai;d, :,:.!,;.. Cioile . I. Tc:. e. : . ii-.-, i...... t~b--is. -~. 9I'e~>6f th~e Southa~d1,'/as the site 'of p~liti.Ca'ffoi-ums ~:na_ cfo',.; . .. . b ~~es . .Th~ Old m~ip~l (which ha_s, of cou_rs~; been renovated).. ' ~- W; 8 utj\i.Zed as e, hosuits_l during the Civil War, and 'there lj_es a :_ . . . : .. C :i.vil 1.nre:r cem:etar.y. j1.ist _l:lehind the ~choo1.. A cormect ~o-n: with this . war is ~.ot al 'e.11 uncominon fbr m~.rnh of Geo~~ia, 1:rut -oxrJrd't ~: tie~ are b oth seen ... monume:hts, P1a.q_ues, gra_ve stone.s ... arid heard;> l\fany of fariii\es living _iri the c on1niu~rlity have beeh:ithe~e: :f'~r gen-- :'> ' '. , erqtions snd . still speak pt-oudly ot nx1eestbrs 1-Jh() :eo~gb,t' :in the 1--i"ar, or' who cl~fianti,-''11.stood Up11 to the Yankee. ~6J.d.ier~L or ~h managed 'to ~,it s:art th;m'in. esca\,fr1g discovery. Traditi6ns. (st~~h/ 8.S ho~oring nnoolefn,. the spiI'i t who watches over Oxford): arid .> leg~~~~: (such. as th~ bell in the tower being pre~ented>to Oxford ' :b ,-y: th.e Queen of England, 9ft~r 1-la:,ring been retreived :rroin the 'sunk'"'. . - . . . ' . . . . . . .. en s1')'.'mish Armada) en.Joy acknowledged presence a.t. Oi.:ford~0 g~'7ing . .. .. :. me a sense of .the, pa,st t,h'lt I had not. experienced oe.fore,.. So when pres8nted with. the task of .. collecting folk"'-trtles, I. natural.,;;. ly looked to Oxford for materis.l. . . . . . CorrespondenCe T,'>J'ith a few of the teachers at. Ox.ford College resulted in an interview with a Miss Billy Branham~ I drove out to Oxford on Wednesday, May 1, 1974 and met Mr John Gregory, one of my former English teachers, who had ar-ranged the meeting . As we lef't the campur we entered the section of Oxford, Ga,., consisting of old, stately, white, arid very Southern homes. Most of these hdmes identify the f'8ri1ily which h~s resided in it for .. generations yard~. on : , on 8: plaque In the the porches there are roe kin~: ~hai} s bet-we en the white ' st one eol umns, which' af,f cn;-d ' a ... - vfev.. J<. hr t~e we11-k~-ot; lawn complete 1-rlth: Magnolia' trees~ : Beyortd , '-this section, a d:is:tinct change in residential, style arid social ',, ~i~~-tu; i~/ :appare~t-.. Newer i1nd ~ore xnod_erntely p'ric~d houses .lead: - 'th~ :way torp.fa:rds<the small cotton and sustenance farms. which sur:... '<: rdtu1d. ~nd ~mriplete the community.' . . :_.-, ._.: ' Mis~ ]?ranpam lliteS in/the first m~ntioned sec/ti~~ of Oxford, just .1,'feii b~oeks n:or~i1: or:<thecoll~ge~.:., Her 'ariiilyhad pursh~se'ci . thi~ roomy J.bode in the 1B9ol s; and. T dt/ beli~ve that each' person' . who had ever entered its hall, hs.d l~ft some relic, either tri:ri,.;._ 1:~t or photograph, f'or ciecore,.tionj; u_J611.'b~ing ~~adiously ushered:. <into the ent;an6e hall,, I was seemingly ::ir.-r&mped. 1ji th \iariOus ., re.:. \ fuefube~&ncik of the pa.st., The heavy ~vocide}r ~alls were cove;ed,, ' < T <f: : .. . t ' , ' . . . ~ri.,h pho,_,os and Supported chains of' mementos, such as comb~., old si1ve~ tei?,ba.lls, or thimbles, B~nd tinx granny glasses,. It-'1lfwa-y' __. . . ... up the :?!tc1ircase stood a spinning wheel. (The loom, I tms told . '. . , . . Tur-as on disp1ay at the college librs.ry) At the risk of soul'lding extreme or hizarre:t, this almost dark confusion of cr~wded 111emeri ... tos gave me this imnression of time-warping into a ~~ch older and forgotten world~ i Mi::Is Brsnham lives iri this house with her sister, a wido1-r, refered to as Miss Marth&. Both these ~adies appeared to take 9leasu.re in my visit, 8.1though Miss Ere.ham-was a bit nervous. ~rhe sight of' my tape recorder and camera iricres_sed her self-con~ l: : _. . ' . . . sciousness -all th~: more.', She told me that she did1rit want her. nicture taken -and infered that: the redorder would make her ner..,; ' ' ' V ous.. I decid;d: that my best coirse of action vrould be t~ sirn;.., _ply 12 aye 'the,, t-:c:p;, ;,?-dord.~ r 0!1 . t}]r'ugho;t ;,nit'v i's i tt\~? rt~,_. 11?,t. t oi: dr2.i0Jfreq,J.ep;t ;ftintfcin. to_-1-6~ 1:1 ;~aJ.iie h2,~-i-thc? f st,ou1>s hsve .. - i'1 eft the c -\--~ntil ~1J~r :nieetin_g had ended amd Miss Br~.nh'1:m had i~e1a~d ~n_d l1;_~med ~rp to me a. bit~. H:oirnver., ~-: After . <a while. she did for.-gef the preserice of the recorder; and having- .: . eo~Yj_C'rn~cl. that I ;,1a8hot ;_ Y~nkee; ,she. proceed_ed smooth1Y! 1iting th/ stories .of. her :fgrr}:Lly, <~ - i Miss Billy B i,an,_~J was boim in 1899 in Milledgeville, Gii, - Her immediate- f';,m:ily_ toolc up -resid_,;nc~ . in the :house. wnen she ~as .'. ., .. ~ieven.. She only_ st~_yed a fffw years before she.moved to WashingSN >Bol-D .G.: iri. O:.-.("l,"r" -tn ":'opt: he,1~ t-,,~(~ith0:t'.'\:, - It vras there sh$ ded ;ti;,:r:d nu-~s ing school at the Womeni s. Co1tige in Ga. As .. . : : . ' - 5 ri sm>?.:11. to1/n8 tlu.r>r-i:ii.ihciing Oxf o:rch \ :. . .:_'.: .. i_ ()ri_eti he:r IT'.B.in -oroj,0ct'~ ~-rit.h _these clinicsuas iri~triicti:ng midC:. . . .. ,,ri"es. .. 1,vlieri the governine?ta~_iy :f1.1-.nded_ 1JJmriey gatie out, closing the .. . < ciini~s' she twned he; horJe :trit;o the '1Bria.rpatch11 ..<t tearoom for :. the .clergy,::pro.t'~~sdrs,: and students 'or bxfo:~d~"',1<'6r~ tim~ :sh~ _. housed'1:,rot8ssors and ;tudeJtg'wheri tl1ere t,raS no room iit the col;;.. : lege/ She left the ,;resta11rna.nt bU~iness'' to work for the Ne1~to:h. County Hospital, wher~ she worked until sh-e :retir~d~ Mis Billie> i.s now 75years old and quite a genteel lady,. As I mentioned before:; I left the recorder on f 0$1ost. of our / visit. Aside from the ten stories I have transcribed, there are. riu1nerous anjecdote s told by he~ fqr.ily and c ornrnuni tj about its 'i .. .. : members. ~'he bulk of the little stories concern the Civil \far., her: i~the.r ts experiences as, a traveling :oreache;., her :_m-m experiences iri the clinics,:,her family, ~nd th~ per~onalitie~ of Ox- f-or.a.-.-.s _. D"r .... .o. r_e_ . s. 801" 'S~- .a ,_.,_a , -.p T... 'PA. lC he-::-.r c.._8 .,... _-1 nt er.s_.. . n.-,'-,.:erse_-d.--. w.e re her_ -re col_ - .. -. - 1e6tions. of {i.r~- hbw it 1..1secl to be' and most :'importaht _;, he; Yan~ - \:' kee> b oyfri~~rid wllose :n;oposal -she: hqd t~rned ctOwri. The ten stor~ ' ies which i;hoke to;transcFib~ $ .. '.r'e,in6rcler_:of,their appearance:: -four -~umskull- st dries 'anboD:t<a: :past;-'Oxford':mathematic.sProfessor; - . .. t1rb $"1:;()ries her father ha.a.' toid hfir' 9_boti.t irtc idi3nceS 11hi1~ tr.9.Vel.;. .\>i~g abau.t '~re:q6hi:ng; one sto;y; ab:otri;; Gocs_.;.G~1a; .on:e3 8:bout; her f'a_m;... i1y1 s '~xpeij_~nhe;with R flcc,Iorl~ m~n'' iiiDahlonega:;.'_a Givi:t-w~r\ - - - f . ..... stor1;: 8Ild a.:stciry i3b.out.:one of Miss Billie's m:i:a_Liriv~S.You > n1aj :fhink lt.: strg~~e that I included( the :st'orY about (}oca-Coia~ 1 did. th:ts hecaui:1'e I have heard sei, ;.any~ niany frmi1ies of the At~> - , ia~n~-a ~re~ rel~'t; how. som.~one in their ancestr;was 'advised :or i : '- i11vit:ed to buy stock::in Coca:-Cola, 'but refused bec.9_U'.Se c,f'' th~ co-' ' - . . caine ~ - I remember th~ first tirtie I hear.d it irifs when I _\ras in.: Girl Scouts ahd when 1 r618.t~(:l ft to my rilother :she' disniissed the.<' story sayj_ng that e;ery family: in ii1anta 1,JiJ.r )et}ortthe ~am~ i forgdne ch~mce ... An .urban legend? With the exc~pti6n 6f the mid_;; wife story, 011 the others are intended to be hu_morous. The hu~ . . mar at times esc1~ped me, but not Miss Billie, Miss Martha, nor ----- Mr. Gregory~ I used hrn taDes, for I messed-inn the tape on the first cassette, qnd thought it best to wait til later to iix it* The 90 minute ta.De is first and n:5.ne of my stories a.re to be :found on it. /\.fter 6L1-5 revolutions) I switched to the 60 rniri.u.te tape, where the last story and Miss Billie's life sketch is to b found,. I must ad.mi t being shocked and en1bar.qs sed at hea:ring myself on t ane~ I sound so inane. 97 11 _5 117 - 123 1-71 - 182 . . ~ TABLE OF CONTENTS Prof~ssor Pead inthe rain ~rofessor Peid ride~ hie horse' . . Pro;eseor Pe;d trimmfog the tree. -Din!ier_- -Kni.ves; :_ . _._:., . . -: i 90 - . 202> Little boy a.l'lcl the hen ' , . . .-: : . . Che8tnut Coffin ::> .. :: .. :.' . . .. , ... . Mid;..1,Tife Tale._ - I Oh, Professor Pead .. ~{chuckle) He ,,vent to a meeting one night J an 9_fter the meeting was over lt W.'ls pouring do1-m rain@ And.~. after the others had leftJ Professor Pes.d was tnlking to that Professor Johnson and Profep.sor Johnson said, "You can't go home in all this rs.in, 11 s-aid 11You je s stay here, spend the. night here~ 11 2o they~,. he went on about his businessJ he thought Prof'es.: sor Pen"i.d was here t>Jhen in a little while he heard somebody knoe.1,::in on the door,, He says, ( i aughtef) he says, he opened the door/ r.nd he SB.id, H Pe>of'ess or Pead! 1'1h8t are you doin '? n Ii He said, \,rJell, I had to go home R.rtd.getmy night clothes~ 11 (lots of laughter) Another time he wac; rid.in his horse and. they daid,,, Profess or, you've got, .you have your saddle ori backwards~ 1} . He 1"icisn' t . . - he was . gettirt rea.d.y to rtde $ And Professor Pe8.d said n,'lli.a, so you don it know wb ich way I'm going;!!. (laughter) . . . . ' . And he came in. the post office. one d?y, 8J:'ld he always t-.rhis..;. tledJ you know, (she gives a little 1;-yhistle) dbin all like that..,' c,nd he cou1dn 1t see very well, and he would str::U~e at these matches . . . .. qnd he 1,,rn.s blowing out the matches with his whistle. and my broth e. r was i n th. e re, art a h e sai a' HiJ \-/P Ll . t er J b_ ave yo. u s een .M a d ame Pead? 11 .... no, '!Ji'Talter, have you seen my wife?H \falter say 11 J\.To SirJ' And uh, he was trirn111in a tree., In,c1tP?d of' go:tn 1tp to the ton qnd trim (don 1 t1et his d:,,;ghter g?t b;:J .. ,::i qr: these) he.ts trimmin a tree snd- inste~01d of going~~ the top,.andtrfo1the limbs . - . : __ . . _. ::_::_: '.>_ goin on down, he'd trim, trim them goirt on up. I bet he had a hard t.ime get tin dmin. (la1.:1.ghter) B1.1t he i-Jas real i:Jweet and nice,. . , .. . :Leslie - Can. yo~ tell me any stories that your fc,ther told you? T hat your aunt told you? I understand that your whole f amL1 y l s a .L" .<,I!ll,_1 y entertained. of storytellers~. Must have kept you :. : .-- ._. Miss ff' ranham - Well, D.h.Tfl~ .. e. When PaD9a first started out preach~ in, he and Momma had to ride horseback, you knmr1 on the circuit, and hB.d to spend the night with these families~ An_d uh., one day they sat down to the dinner, and after Pappa said the blessin., .the. old man said, 1iSon, where is the knives?11 W e said ''H ere they is Pa,. Here I s Big B -utch, Little Butcbj; No mindl e, and Sturo:py;; 11 , ; ._ .. . . . . ., . '. ,. : ... .. -: - ... __ Miss B~k11-nam ~- il~e got' a Little .Butch, ancluh,; ... :Big Butch'~ (Sh~ goes into, the kitcheh and brings out,to show me these twci kniv~s. }<- , 6-r~ d:9:y~ -.~ft(\~'.: 1;pu!"'.0h, ',l.tllj they 'were in .~is hdm'e upL there. '' . and M6m111a 1,,ra:s in the, kitchen,' with.Jhis wife' yotl kl'161~\' ~hd w'as l~oi~il1 out the _1,dicto~iJ, ', I mejri:' outthe door 'arid ha.ct:' he; on the door- -sill ~~.d 'whole lot of little goodies and a h.en was out there. And this little bey c~:e in the -kitchen and he was . . .. standin there looidn out, too, e:nd he said "Don't be lookin at ml3, I ai:n,t the one that et you:rpawl" They.ate the rooster-for dinner~ {she laughs) : . . . . . T hat I s when Coca-Gola ei.:i.me out., And Bishop Ca.ndler begged P-9.npa to buy some .. ~ uh . ,. . stock in Coca-Cola~ And Pa-ppa said, no, he wouldn't buy it because it had cocaine in it. And that's why they ca11ed :l..t dope2 But they .finally made 1em take it out. Bi:it they say.,..iI re?..d an article the other day that eYery nerson '"rho bought .. ~. uh . ,, .. stock back thr1-n when it first csme out are mill iohaire s ... ~ B ut I say if ~1.Gtd~ 1 s in heaven on the front row., he is, and after all that's what counts,. But, one Other thing Up there in nahl one ga Ma'rnma l 3. gr andf 8.ther was first direct8r of thah~ uh, gold mine up there, and; uri, h~. had athier colored man t~ho lived in the. basement~ And baskets down there and he 1"7aS gettin along in years,. day he wirn talkin to him, told him he ~as getting ~l{)ng in year~> and J uh, wan.t e d t O know if the sunimons Came :i.f he Id : . C . Apd. when I di$, I want. you to 'bury me in' 'chestnut co:ffin so'.t' c0n' go' pop9in through hell! 11 ' ' ' Oh Uncle Ed, Pappa I s brother, was ii s~J:.;geon in the C onfed..;. he had this body ga:Jrd that went ;yith him] ~.nd one . . . . . day, .one e 8.rly morning, Grandra ther,. I mean Grandmother Branhs.111~ ~. ~ ' " somebody tapped on the door, the window out there, on the blinds,' ar..d she said 11w110 is it? 11 ' ' 6 Jurd11 (I've forgottenwhathis name was.) And, uh, he said ss, have you heard from Marsta.Ed?n She said, "Last time I heard from him, it was, uh, during the ffJattle of the Seven Pines," He s2.id, "Lord God, Ole Miss,!! says, r1if there I s seven pines there, I know he's hiding behind one. He's alright 11 t laug.,.l-iter) . . __ .. : __ :: Anoth8; mid---,liife meetiri; uh; this mid-wife got up 9-Ild they 1. were -tel}ln their different eX'.peri~nces: .. She got 1ip B.nd said, iiHoney.,. 1lve b'~en. eq,;:ti5.l~ br1-bi.E; . 01'1t,O forty J.o,St :nsr. mothef n6; Et b~by~ < . I <s~:i.d] i1Wei1 0Enlv,.,o . :,r:-;u: tA11 the cidss ~rbif: yo,) J.~'1'.18. ii Sb.0_, . ."t!:'!.... . .J. _c1. 1.1.. Icr~l1. 1. ~ V P.. r:rot . ti ;o b oni f.,.;. ;t. h. A. Go o a. :..B. 0.: 0' k< "'nrr +b e J ---, - O' :, . Vc,.~j. .. _ v. ' . .> . J .. C>.--" V . O.<J8to'i> boCJ1L 11 Ancl saia., 11Wher1 I gets iri tr6{i~1e, if I caln1 t get i:t out of .~~e d~ctor book, _It. said,. n- I n.Is:t TT;[ bt1G:tinfs,<: .;1)J:;s .. it,. \hegbod\bbo~ u,hder.her henrt :ip\the_~~a.ck. Arni th:kh i 0 8\J_fr~;.s it tothe Lora .. n'i Res e1:-1rch i.n Thbnrnson' s Motif Index did not produce very marry corn111on motifs in Miss Billie Is stories,. The stories on Professor Pe.qd contained elements of four motifs - jolrns ori teachers was motif x350; the humor of bad eyesight was motif. X120; numskull ride.~ back~J8.rd~ ijas. motif J2024; and a -irariatinn of numskull cuts off tree~1irnb on ;,rhich he ~its, motif J2l33~[~ could beat- . . ..: : . tribu.ted-" to the tree. trifrLrnj_ng: st6ry" - 'I'hB ~:;ic::'-\:.rife. story- ~O:nt:7.ineci . . .-. ''1c+ifsI0 Ghildret1 br~ti.ght bt':rnid-1;r1:fe was fobt:Lf 'I''.li9-6 .. 2; - . : . . T'di.d re-iid'<throiigh. A~i'rne - -T~ompsoriis: ry~oes of\ the .Folktale;> Bu.t found r10 ta1e-types 1,,rhich could be relatecl to, my m.iterial,. -RELEASEDy letting us collect your traditions--sto:~ies, songs, lllUsic, rememberences, or beliefs of earlier days-yo,J. ll.a~,e made a valuable contribution to preserving and understanding f.out:iern history, and especially the way of life of your communi::y. Bec.~use you have given unselfishly of your time to do this9 the Geoigia Folklore Archives, whose representatives are dedic~ted to pr~serving these traditions 9 wants to protect your rights to this material by guaranteeing that it will not be used. for unscrupulous commercial profits. By signing this sheets you are giving-us per~ission to use this m.aterial for educational purposes so ~hat people who are interested can understand how life was in the aid days. If you don't want your name to be used, say so--we respect your right to privacy. Thank you for the time you have given to help us record a heritage that is an il!).portant part of American life. "In consideration of F1Y intent in helping to preserve EY folk heritage~ I hereby grant permission to the Georgia Folk Archives and its Director, John Burrison .. to publish, ot otherwise make use of, the material recorded from ~1e by- the agent of the Georgia Folklore Archives whose name appears on this sheet. Address Agent ti Georgia Folklore Additional Witness ---------------------------- Georeia Folklore Archives c/o Pro~essor John Burrison Georgia State University 33 Gilmer Street Southeast Atlanta, Georgia 30303 Date --------------~---..... GEORGIA FOLKLORE ARCHIVES CATALOGUE COLLECTOR nanent11 address and phone number: l. II GEORGIA FOLKLORE ARCHIVES CATALOGUE INFORl'iANT Lk~<Ab.._-H, (6ill,~) 8, 1~<c~~"'"" tg address and phone number: ~0'ic.~Si 1 (:_ ~ }s;- md/ or ethnic affiliation: Co......__,,_~ !r, Year and clo.-c,,,_: II 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.