The "getting word" oral history project at monticello: "an archive of black freedom" [the "getting word" african american oral history project is a unique archive of oral histories and associated…

The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, Inc., which operates Monticello, received a two-year, $375,482 National Endowment for the Humanities Project Grant under the Promotion of the Humanities Division of Preservation and Access federal grant program (CFDA 45.149). The purpose of this award is to support staffing and resources needed to migrate the "Getting Word" African American oral history archive onto a new digital platform. The "Getting Word" project documents the histories and lived experiences of families who were enslaved by Thomas Jefferson at Monticello or lived there after emancipation. Suspending the effort to make these oral histories accessible online due to the COVID-19 pandemic weakened Monticello's ability to fully commemorate the nation's history. This NEH funding will allow the oral history archive migration work to resume, benefiting the descendants of individuals enslaved at Monticello as well as researchers of American and African American history through improved online access to these unique primary sources.

Expected outcomes

?this grant would allow staff to continue making these oral histories accessible to the public online, an effort that had been suspended due to the pandemic.&nbsp

Intended beneficiaries

  the project will benefit the descendants of those enslaved at monticello as well as researchers of american & nbsp; and african-american & nbsp; history.&nbsp

Subrecipient activities

?the recipient does not intend to subaward funds. ]