| Title: |
W. J. Cunningham
|
| Document type: |
Oral history
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| Accessibility: |
Free Only
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| Repository: |
University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage
|
| Collection: |
Civil Rights Documentation Project
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| Description: |
Interview conducted on August 6, 1981 with Dr. W. J. Cunningham at his home in Memphis, Tennessee. William Jefferson Cunningham was born on December 23, 1905 in Iuka, Mississippi. In 1929, he graduated from the University of Mississippi with a degree in liberal arts. Cunningham went on to obtain a Master of Divinity degree from the Candler School of Theology of Emory University. In 1952, Millsaps College conferred on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity. After serving various congregations around the South, Cunningham was appointed to the Galloway Memorial Methodist Church in Jackson, Mississippi. His appointment, from September 1, 1963 through June 1, 1966, was short and fierce. The official board of Galloway had adopted an illegal resolution to bar African Americans from the Galloway church. Cunningham's task was to unite the congregation around an open door policy. He became one of the ministers who lost his pulpit in the struggle for civil rights in the 1960's.
|
| Extent: |
1 page
|
| URL: |
http://anna.lib.usm.edu/%7Espcol/crda/oh/ohcunninghamwp.html
|
| Restrictions: |
The transcript is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright.
PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage
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| Original Language: |
English
|
| Time span: |
Not indicated ... to 1981 (Year of interview)
|
| Speaker: |
Cunningham, William J., 1905-
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| Speaker gender: |
Male
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| Speaker date of birth: |
23-Dec-1905
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| Speaker place of birth: |
Iuka, MS; Mississippi; United States; North America
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| Speaker occupation: |
Minister
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| Age at speaking: |
76
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| Document date: |
06-Aug-1981
|
| Interviewer: |
Caudill, Orley B.
|
| Organizations discussed: |
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Baltimore, MD; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, US; White Citizens Council
|
| Historical events discussed: |
Martin Luther King's March on Washington, DC, August 28, 1963; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1966-
|
| Locations discussed: |
Mississippi; North America; United States
|
| Topics discussed - ASP terms: |
African Americans; Civil rights demonstrations; Civil rights movements--United States; Martin Luther King's March on Washington, DC, August 28, 1963; Mississippi; National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Baltimore, MD; North America; Oral history; Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, US; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1954-1965; U.S. Civil Rights Movement, 1966-; United States; White Citizens Council
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| Topics discussed - Other terms: |
Activism
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| ASP release: |
2005-06
|
| Document code: |
OHI0023555-25067
|
