Robert Edison, July 17, 2025
Scope and Contents
The Director's Cut Oral History Project is a series of six video oral history interviews recorded in 2025 with current and former living directors of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Participants discuss a wide variety of topics including their professional lives, what brought them to Avery, accomplishments and challenges from their tenure, the role the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture and Averyites from the Avery Normal Institute played in their work, and their thoughts on the impact and liberatory legacy of the Avery Research Center. More information about the specifics of each oral history can be found in the file-level abstract.
The oral histories in the collection are arranged alphabetically by last name at the file-level.
Work is ongoing to make the oral histories and transcripts accessible on the Lowcountry Digital Library.
Dates
- Creation: July 17, 2025
Access Restrictions
The preservation files of the oral history interviews are restricted, but the contents of the use files is the same.
Full Extent
From the Collection: .209 linear feet (1 narrow document box and 78.9 gigabytes (mp4 and doc files))
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
Robert Edison begins by discussing his professional background and how he came to the Avery Research Center. He then discusses the role that the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture and Averyites played during his tenure, accomplishments, challenges he faced, and what he would have done if Avery had unlimited funding. He concludes by discussing his career after he left Avery, how Avery helped foster African American history through its work with community and cultural organizations and what he considers to be the liberatory legacy of Avery.
The oral history is conducted by DaNia Childress.
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu