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Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection

Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection

Descriptive Summary

Title: Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection
Creator: Williams, Brian
Inclusive Dates: 2016
Language(s): English
Extent: 22 interview(s)
Collection Number: RBRL420MA
Repository: Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Collection Description

Historical Note

The Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection was donated to the Russell Library in 2017 by Brian Williams, a doctoral candidate in the Geography Department at the University of Georgia. All interviews were conducted by Williams as primary source research, spanning across various states in the southeastern United States, including Mississippi, Tennessee, and Georgia.

Scope and Content

The Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection is comprised of interviews whose research focus is on the environmental, social, and technological aspects of agricultural change in the Yazoo-Mississippi Delta. Interviews were conducted with a variety of subjects, including large-scale and small-scale farmers, former agricultural workers, civil rights activists, extension agents, and agro-industrial sector workers, documenting their experience of the agricultural industrialization process during the mid to late twentieth century.


Administrative Information

Preferred citation

Mississippi Agriculture Oral History Collection, Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies, University of Georgia Libraries, Athens, Georgia, 30602-1641.

Processing Information

Original media for this collection include digital audio files.

Copyright Information

Resources may be used under the guidelines described by the U.S. Copyright Office in Section 107, Title 17, United States Code (Fair use). Parties interested in production or commercial use of the resources should contact the Russell Library for a fee schedule.

Finding Aid Publication

Finding Aid prepared by Russell staff, 2017.


Related Materials and Subjects

Subject Terms

Agricultural industries -- Georgia
Agricultural industries -- Mississippi
Agricultural laws and legislation
Agriculture -- Mississippi

Note about interview depiction

The Russell Library does not make a claim as to the veracity of the information presented in these interviews. Each interview is a single first-person account situated within specific social, political, and economic contexts in history.


Series Descriptions and Folder Listing

 

MA-001 Clyde Sartor

1 sound_recording(s) 216 minutes
Clyde Sartor grew up in Water Valley, Mississippi. Sartor worked as a cotton scout before he eventually came to receive a bachelor's science and a master's in biology at the University of Mississippi and later, a PhD at Mississippi State University. In the interview, Sartor talks about his former experience as a cotton consultant for a pesticide firm and an independent pesticide management consultant. Sartor also addresses topics including boll weevil and other cotton pest, environmental movements of the 20th century, and extension work as a cotton consultant.
MA-001 Clyde Sartor audio and interview index in OHMS, July 26, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-002 Harry Fulton

1 sound_recording(s) 62 minutes
Harry Fulton was born in Winston County, Mississippi. He grew up on his family's farm, and he attended Mississippi State University where he earned both a bachelor's degree and a master's degree in entomology. Fulton worked as a district inspector for the State Planning Board before serving as State Apiary Inspector and the Pesticide Division Director. He then became the State Entomologist for the Mississippi Department of Agriculture & Commerce. In this interview, he talks about his career and the role of the government in regulating pesticides.
MA-002 Harry Fulton audio and interview index in OHMS, November 29, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-003 Billy Kent

1 sound_recording(s)
MA-003 Billy Kent audio on Kaltura, August 26, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-004 Frank Corban

1 sound_recording(s) 159 minutes
Frank Corban was born in 1934 in Jefferson County, Mississippi. He was raised on the family farm, and he attended Mississippi State University for Animal Husbandry. He worked as a county agent for 55 years in Tunica County, Sunflower County, and Sharkey County where he advised local farmers. In this interview, Corban discusses agricultural changes, pesticides, and his Boll Weevil Eradication Program.
MA-004 Frank Corban audio and interview index in OHMS, September 6, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-005 Kevin Corban

1 sound_recording(s) 82 minutes
Kevin Corban was born in 1961 in Tunica County, Mississippi. He attended Mississippi State University where he received a bachelor's degree in agronomy and a master's degree in crop pest management. He worked as a cotton scout for over twenty years before he began selling crop insurance. In this interview, he talks about his career as a cotton scout and agricultural changes.
MA-005 Kevin Corban audio and interview index in OHMS, September 6, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-006 James Richard Carter

1 sound_recording(s) 50 minutes
James Carter was born in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in 1928. He served in the Reserves during WWII and has been a farmer since he was fifteen. Carter has been a member of the Delta Council, the National Cotton Council and the State-Wide Farm Bureau. In this interview, Carter talks about farming in the 1950s, his work in the Delta Council and National Cotton Council, and his research at the Delta Experiment Station.
MA-006 James Carter audio and interview index in OHMS, September 6, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-007 Mike Ellis

1 sound_recording(s) 90 minutes
Mike Ellis was born in Memphis, Tennessee in 1952, and grew up in Webb, Mississippi. Ellis has been in the field of agricultural sales and services for 35 years and has farmed occasionally throughout his career. Ellis has worked at many companies including Valley Chemical Company, Staplcotn, and Sanders Co. In this interview, Ellis talks about his work experience as a farmer and pesticide distributor, the impact of technology on cotton farming, pesticide drift, and changes in Mississippi demographics.
MA-007 Mike Ellis audio and interview index in OHMS, September 8, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-008 Mary Mackey

1 sound_recording(s) 78 minutes
Mary Mackey was born in 1956 outside Tutwiler, Mississippi. Her father was a farm worker, and she grew up chopping cotton. Mackey works as the Quilting Program Coordinator at the Tutwiler Community Education Center. In this interview, she describes her childhood, family, and involvement with the community center.
MA-008 Mary Mackey audio and interview index in OHMS, September 13, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-009 Genether Spurlock

1 sound_recording(s) 85 minutes
Genether Spurlock was born in 1951 in Enid, Mississippi. She grew up chopping cotton before attending college and becoming a teacher. She served as the mayor of Tutwiler and works as the Education Coordinator at the Tutwiler Community Education Center. In this interview, she describes sharecropping, race relations, and her experience in public office.
MA-009 Genether Spurlock audio and interview index in OHMS, September 22, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-010 Eddie Carthan

1 sound_recording(s) 55 minutes
Eddie Carthan was born in 1949 and was raised by his grandparents on their family farm in Mississippi. He attended college and became a businessman and then a farmer. Carthan was the first Black Mayor of Tchula, Mississippi before becoming the County Supervisor of Holmes County. In this interview, he talks about his experience growing up and his fight to keep his farm when faced with the discrimination of banks and the Farm Home Administration (FHA) against black farmers.
MA-010 Eddie Carthan audio and interview index in OHMS, October 3, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-011 James Lowe

1 sound_recording(s) 74 minutes
MA-011 James Lowe audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-012 Charles Conley

1 sound_recording(s) 65 minutes
MA-012 Charles Conley audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-013 Modella Hayes

1 sound_recording(s) 39 minutes
MA-013 Modella Hayes audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-014 Burnester Jones

1 sound_recording(s) 53 minutes
MA-014 Burnester Jone audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-015 Betty Martin

1 sound_recording(s) 84 minutes
MA-015 Betty Martin audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-016 Lucinda Berryhill

1 sound_recording(s) 45 minutes
MA-016 Lucinda Berryhill audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-017 Carlton Layne

1 sound_recording(s) 257 minutes
Carlton Layne grew up in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. He received an education at Clarion State University, leading him to work for the U.S Department of Agriculture and eventually the Environmental Protection Agency. In this interview, Layne talks about his career and experiences as an EPA inspector. Layne addresses topics including the EPA regulation process, EPA pesticide investigations, politics in government, and EPA state plans for U.S southern states.
MA-017 Carlton Layne audio and interview index in OHMS, October 29, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-018 Wendell Paris

1 sound_recording(s) 170 minutes
Wendell Paris grew up in Mississippi and attended Tuskegee Institute where he studied agriculture. During his time as a student, he joined the Student Nonviolence Coordination Committee (SNCC). Paris eventually came to manage the Panola Land Buyers Association where he conducted work in preserving land for African American families who were evicted off of plantations. In this interview, Paris talks about his experience in the SNCC. He talks about working with Fannie Lou Hamer, the Federation of Southern Cooperatives, and as the manager of the Panola Land Buyers Association. Paris also talks about his father's work and the Environmental Protections Agency's impact on the poor farming communities.
MA-018 Wendell Paris audio and interview index in OHMS, November 01, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-019 Samuel McCray

1 sound_recording(s) 121 minutes
Samuel McCray was born in 1949 near Lambert. He was raised by his grandparents who were sharecroppers on a plantation. He attended Delta State University and he worked for various nonprofits before becoming a Field Representative and Caseworker in Marks, Mississippi. In this interview, he talks about growing up on a plantation and his involvement in the Civil Rights Movement.
MA-019 Samuel McCray audio and interview index in OHMS, November 02, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-020 Ray Rounsaville

1 sound_recording(s) 41 minutes
MA-020 Ray Rounsaville audio on Kaltura Access Online
 

MA-021 Frank Mitchener

1 sound_recording(s) 83 minutes
Frank Mitchener was born in 1933 in Sumner, Mississippi. He attended Davidson College before serving in the army for two years. Mitchener was a farmer and agricultural leader in the Delta. He served as the president of the Delta Council and the National Cotton Council. In this interview, he talks about advocating for the deregulation of the cotton industry and the impact of pesticides on agriculture.
MA-021 Frank Mitchener audio and interview index in OHMS, August 15, 2016 Access Online
 

MA-022 Herman Johnson

1 sound_recording(s) 85 minutes
Herman Johnson was born in 1929 in Gilbert, Louisiana. His parents were sharecroppers, and he grew up working on farms. He graduated from Southern University and served in the Army. Johnson worked with Magnolia Mutual Life Insurance Company, taught elementary school, and worked for the Delta Health Center. In this interview, Johnson talks about the history of Mound Bayou and his experiences with racism and sharecropping.
MA-022 Herman Johnson audio and interview index in OHMS, December 02, 2016 Access Online