Hi I admire what you are undertaking, which is a mammoth task. I worked at the University of Southern Mississippi (Hattiesburg), The Mississippi Department of Archives & History (Jackson) & Tougaloo College (a famous African American College that housed and was involved with the Freedom Riders in the 1960's). I was working on the audio collections if the Civil Rights Era in MS. I have also done other work at other Colleges & Libraries in MS. Even though I did not hear recordings of the 1930's, and I understand that slavery was abolished in 1865, after the Civil War, I did hear audio interviews of people who had had slaves, and some who 'claimed' they didn't have a slave but they had "blacks' who drove them around, did their cleaning, cooking, etc. I heard stories from people whose mother's & father's had been slaves, along with the family, living on the plantations. To me, it may well have been abolished but it was still going strong. The Civil Rights Movement has done a lot to change racism but, I felt it was still there in a covert way. You only have to hear the words like them and us to realize. On a final note, at the last ARSC conference I played some audio from a black soldier who had risked his life for his fellow Americans in WWII. When he came home he got on the bus with his Aunt and sat in the middle of the bus. He was told - Niggers sit in the back of the bus. I found it very disturbing. If you would like to email me off the list, please feel free to do so. I have some useful contacts you could get in touch with. Cheers Marie Marie O'Connell Sound Archivist/Audio Engineer/Sound Consultant 3017 Nebraska Avenue Santa Monica, CA, 90404 Ph: 310-453-1615 Fax: 310-453-1715 Mobile: 601-329-6911 www.cupsnstrings.com -----Original Message----- From: Association for Recorded Sound Discussion List [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Bob Olhsson Sent: Friday, April 27, 2007 1:32 PM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Sounds of Slavery From Bertram Lyons: "...Did unknown individuals make attempts to capture the sounds of slaves previously to the 1930s?..." There obviously had been no slaves for decades when the phonograph was invented so it really comes down to how one chooses to define "the sounds of slaves." Early recordings were generally a commercial venture and it can be argued that most of what was recorded in the southeastern US is the music of students of former slaves and their children. There are answers at Fisk and the other traditionally black colleges and universities in the southeast that go beyond minstrel show stereotypes. I would hope that unprejudiced research happens sooner rather than later because many of the people who know the story handed down from their parents and grandparents are approaching the end of their life. I'm very offended that I've only begun to learn the real story of African American music at age 61 because of the pervasive racism found in most of the literature I've encountered about American music. I'm sorry if pointing this out steps on toes but to say nothing only perpetuates racial stereotypes and disenfranchises all Americans from arguably our most significant cultural accomplishment. Bob Olhsson Audio Mastery, Nashville TN Mastering, Audio for Picture, Mix Evaluation and Quality Control Over 40 years making people sound better than they ever imagined! 615.385.8051 http://www.hyperback.com