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Wiregrass Black History Project – Elmaree Gordon Interview, October 2, 2024

Record Group 298

Date Span:  October 2, 2024

Description:  Interview 21:30 min. (2.33 GB) ; Transcript = 8 pages.

Biographical Sketch:  Elmaree Gordon was one of six daughters of James and Geraldine Gordon. Born in Georgia, her family moved to Miami then to Dothan, AL's Southside neighborhood after her father died. She attended S. Alice Street Elementary School, Montana Street School, and Carver High School. Her family attended Bethel Baptist Church on S. Alice Street. Her family picked cotton for extra money. When Dothan razed Southside, Gordon moved to the McRae Homes, a housing project on Dothan's northeast side, then moved to Ashford, AL, when her mother remarried in 1963 (Gordon commuted to Dothan for school). She lived and worked in Norwalk, CT, after graduation, returned to Dothan after securing an Engineering Tech position at Fort Rucker (now Fort Novosel).

Organizational Sketch:  The Wiregrass Black History Project is a collaboration between the Wiregrass Black History Channel on YouTube (by David "Mit" Kirkland) and the Wiregrass Archives. Funded in 2024- 25 by Troy University and the Society of American Archivists Foundation through its Catalyst Grant, the Project's goal is to produce nine video recordings of African American elders in the Wiregrass.

The Wiregrass Black History Channel will host edited versions of the interviews. The Wiregrass Archives will make the raw interviews available on its YouTube channel and create metadata records and finding aids that link to the project and to individual video interviews.

Scope / Content Note:  Video interview and transcript in which Ms. Gordon discusses her childhood, particularly her residence in the Southside neighborhood of Dothan, AL, that the city razed c. 1960 for its first urban renewal project. Gordon reflects on her family's poverty, housing, her education at S. Alice Street Elementary School, recreation, life under racial segregation, and community.

Provenance:  Interview conducted by Mit Kirkland and Marty Olliff.  Provided to the Wiregrass Archives as part of the grant-funded Wiregrass Black History Project.

Processing Notes:  Transcriptions made by MS Word AI, then edited by Dr. Martin T. Olliff.  Revisions planned to update and correct transcriptions.

Cite as:  Elmaree Gordon Interview, The Wiregrass Black History Project, RG 298, Wiregrass Archives, Troy University Dothan Campus, Dothan, AL.

Acquisition Method:  Gift 

Donor Name:  Wiregrass Black History Project

Proc Date:  7/4/2025 

Access / Use:  Open

Processor:  MTO

 

CALENDAR:

298-25-0704-Intv-003     Elmaree Gordon Interview, October 2, 2024 (Southside)

Click here for the Wiregrass Black History Channel (YouTube) edited video, "Life on the Southside: Elmaree Gordon."

Click here for transcript of the unedtied video published below (PDF)

 

Contact Us

Wiregrass Archives
Troy University Dothan Campus
Everett 128
502 University Dr.
Dothan, AL  36303

Phone: 334-983-6556 x21327
Email: wiregrassarchives@troy.edu

 

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