A MEANINGFUL LINK FROM THE PAST TO THE PRESENT.

ORAL HISTORY IS THE RECORDING OF MEMORIES AND EXPERIENCES THROUGH PLANNED INTERVIEWS AND AUDIOVISUAL TECHNOLOGIES.

Oral historians document individual lives through insightful, thoughtful, and well-planned interviews, contributing to broader family, community, and national histories.

THE HISTORY OF ORAL HISTORY

Oral history emerged as a professional field in the 1960s and 1970s, thanks to the availability of recording technology and the popular interest in the life experiences of women, African-Americans, artists, and others not typically included in the canon of political and national history.

Oral history has now become an international effort to make knowledge about living subjects part of the historical record through planned interviews, preservation, and access plans, all held to a strict code of ethics to protect interview subjects.

"The single most important thing you can do for your family may be the simplest of all: develop a strong family narrative."

 - Bruce Feiler, The New York Times

Oral history has an impact both globally and locally. In fact, The New York Times encourages every family to build and share their own oral histories, as studies have shown that people who know more about their families tend to do better when they face challenges. They recommend sharing your family narrative with your children, covering both moments of success and of failure, to increase a child’s sense of security and stability that their family is able to triumph over adversity.

Oral History Today

Today, organizations, individuals, and oral history movements work together to create a rich tapestry of experience and understanding.

• The Oral History Association, The American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress and the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum have outlines, practices, and protocols for conducting interviews, as well as preserving stories for posterity.

• The New York Public Library is collecting stories about New York City neighborhoods, experiences, political movements, and periods of change.

• Acclaimed novelist, artist, philanthropist, and activist Dave Eggers created Voices of Witness to advance human rights by sharing the stories of those impacted by injustice.
   
• The New York Times has discussed the impact of a strong oral history on families, citing a study which discovered that ‘The more children knew about their family’s history, the stronger their sense of control over their lives, the higher their self-esteem and the more successfully they believed their families functioned.’

• The Library of Congress Veterans History Project collects and preserves first hand accounts from the brave service men and women who serve our country. Mea Historia is a proud supporter of the Veterans History Project and will gladly interview veterans to add to their collection.
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