1960s Oral Histories – New York Community Connectors

FAIN: PN-293397-23

Museum at Bethel Woods (Bethel, NY 12720)
Neal V. Hitch (Project Director: January 2023 to present)

The collection of 120 long-form videotaped oral histories of identified disadvantaged communities in New York, including BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and community members over 65 about their life events  and living through the COVID-19 pandemic. The Museum at Bethel Woods and the American LGBTQ+ Museum would accession the oral histories into their collections. 

1960s Oral Histories – New York Community Connectors will utilize teams to organize, connect, and collect stories of the 1960s counterculture experience with a focus on gathering stories from voices that are under-recorded within the history of the movement. Special attention will be placed on collecting stories from diverse and disadvantaged communities. The geographic focus is New York City. Alongside a project manager and coordinator, a community consultant will serve as the connector in each community. A team of five will work as a collective to develop questions and outlines. Pictures and maps, will aid in storytelling and memory recall. Phase 1 is centered in in Harlem, Washington Heights, and Inwood. It is focused on collecting the stories of people the African American community and other communities of color. Phase 2 draws from the Upper West Side, the Village and Brooklyn. It is focused on collecting the stories of people who identify with the LGBTQ+ communities.