Interviews
Oral history interviews as primary source materials offer the ability to make real and meaningful connections between people, places, and things. They inspire empathy and convey the power of story. The Massillon Museum has been recording oral histories since the 1970s, and more than thirty people have been interviewed about the Black history of Massillon.
Videos below are grouped by topic and interview subject.
Use the three bars to see other videos in a playlist.
Videos by Topic
Missing History Project
Achievements
Advice
Mentors & Influences
Community Impact
Careers
Racial Tensions
Videos by Interview Subject
Gloria J. Pope
Marva L. Dodson
Ruby Arrington
Rev. Beverly Lewis & Joy Ellis
Ed Grier
C. Gayle Danzy
Jordan Stock
William Poole
Bobby Grizzard
Mark Bigsbee
Audio interviews
Unedited full interviews
Videos by other institutions
Civil Rights Activists: Charles F. McDew (2011)
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Charles McDew (1938-2018) recalls growing up in Massillon, Ohio, his family's involvement in the steel mill unions and attending South Carolina State University. He remembers being arrested three times in two days for not obeying segregation laws in South Carolina, founding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and registering voters in Mississippi.
Tell the Story: A Personal Recollection of Civil Rights Pioneer Charles McDew (2022)
Charles McDew (1938-2018) may be the most important Civil Rights leader you've never heard of. Come learn about McDew's leadership of SNCC (the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee) and in voter registration drives in the south during the 1960s.
McDew's long-time partner, Beri Gilfix, will tell his story. The event will be moderated by Gann Academy history teacher Yoni Kadden.
Soldier from Massillon prominently positioned in both Civil War and Black history (2021)
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Robert Pinn (1843-1911) was one of only four African American Ohioans to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor during the Civil War. After the war, Pinn attended Oberlin College and returned to Massillon to study law and was admitted to the bar in 1879. In 1973, the National Guard Armory in Stow, Ohio was named in his honor, the first to be named for an African American.
Change-Maker Beverly E. Smith - 26th National President and CEO of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority (2017–2021)
Daughter of Willa Mae (Dumas) and “Mr. Urban League” Louie Evans, Beverly was born in Massillon in 1948. She was the first Black student at St. Barbara’s Catholic School, and graduated from Central Catholic High School in 1966. She holds a BS in education from Bowling Green State University, and a master’s in education from Kent State University.
As an entrepreneur, Smith currently serves as senior vice-president of The HR Group Inc., a management consulting firm she has co-owned with her husband, Stephen. A long-term community volunteer, Smith served eight years as chair of the Cobb County Board of Elections & Registration and various community boards.
Among honors Smith has received are 2020 Georgia Outstanding Individual Award by Georgia General Assembly; UNCF Maya Angelou Women Who Lead award; 2018 Class of the Academy of Distinguished Alumni of Bowling Green State University; Lifetime Achievement Award from the St. Louis Urban League/Urban League Guild in 2017; and receipt of a U.S. Congressional Certificate of Special Recognition in 2017.