Carver Heights History Harvest Process

Process of the History Harvest:

We began preparing for the History Harvest by researching and reading materials related to African American suburbs, architectural styles, and other topics crucial to our project.
Before reaching out ot the residents and homeowners, we prepared maps of the neighborhood as well as flyers and social media posts to spread the word.
2-3 weeks before the History Harvest, we leafletted about one-third of the neighborhood with flyers and invitations to the event, while our professor leafletted the other two-thirds.
Also around this time, we all put out a social media alert to gather interest and spread the word.
One week before the event, invitation flyers were mailed to all known homeowners in the community.
Advertisements for the event were broadcasted on local news channels and radio stations.
For the History Harvest, we followed CSU Archive's protocal for gathering information, photographs, and oral histories by having all participants sign a consent form and a Deed of Gift which allowed us to use their stories and photos in the archives.
Following the event, oral history interviews were transcribed and all scanned photographs were labeled and uploaded to our drive.

Personal Interviewee Form

Interviewee Name:_____________________________________

Address: _____________________________________________

___________________________________________________

Home phone: __________________ Date of Birth: ______________

Place of Birth: ________________________________________

Occupation:___________________________________________

Email Address: ________________________________________

Date of Interview:_______________ Place of Interview:___________

Interviewer: __________________________________________

Subject of Interview: _____________________________________

Length of Interview:____________________________________

Additional information about this interview or interviewee:

Before the Interview

Check your equipment (volume, power etc.)
Review the list of questions in your interview guide
Write an introductory segment to the interview that you will read before the interview commences that includes:

At the beginning of the interview:

Archives Informed Consent form
Interviewee Information Form (you can work with your interviewee filling this out).
Deed of Gift (which gifts the interview to the archives).

Response to Transcription: Ask your interviewee if you can send a copy of the transcription by email in the next week for their review (your concern will be correct spelling of names). Ask them if they would have any issues that would prevent them from quickly responding to you.
Equipment: When you start the interview, make certain the sound monitor on the recorder indicates it is actually recording.
Your role: low-key, relaxed, empathetic and nonjudgmental. Try to say the least and get the most historical information in return. Play the role of “perfect listener.” It’s about your interviewee, it’s not about you!
Make notes on your question guide below. Ask how to spell any names your interviewee shares.

After the Interview:

Quick Follow-up: Transcribe your interview as soon as possible. Your turnaround time should be no more than one week. Transcription may take 3-4 hours so please put enough time aside for the job well. Your document will be in the archives for many, many years. Make sure you transcript faithfully and copy edit your work out of respect for your interviewee. They are sharing their time and knowledge with you which are both precious commodities. You should send out only an excellent piece of transcription.
Email a copy of your transcription to your interviewee so that they can correct anything that you didn’t understand or any misspelt names. Follow up a week later if you have not heard from them.
Outcomes: For part of your individual grade you need to hand in: