*EPF210 08/03/2004
National Tour Seeks to Collect, Share Stories of Civil Rights Era
(Bus tour to document personal accounts of civil rights movement) (680)

By Todd Bullock
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Betty Bunce, an 84-year-old former teacher, recalls with sadness the reaction of white parents when the New Orleans school where she taught was desegregated in November 1960. They removed their children and gathered in an angry mob outside the building to jeer the three black girls who were the only remaining students.

"For a school that was filled with white children, one would not believe how that school emptied out," Bunce said, adding "we didn't have a lot to do. The white children never came back. The next fall that school practically became an all-black school."

Experiences such as Bunce's bring personal testimony to many milestones of the decades-long push for Civil Rights, among them the 1954 Supreme Court decision ordering desegregation of public schools, increased voting rights through the 1960s and the landmark Civil Rights Act of 1964, which banned racial discrimination in businesses serving the public and in hiring.

In Brown v. Board of Education, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the legal basis for school segregation in more than 20 states, ruling "separate educational facilities are inherently unequal." However, many school districts in Southern states resisted desegregation for years, resulting in confrontations between white parents and authorities attempting to enforce the order, and tension between the federal government and resistant state and local officials.

Bunce's story is among the thousands being documented during the month of August as part of a 70-day nationwide tour to collect thousands of untold, firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement.

"Many people are no longer living, or aren't going to live that much longer," said Bunce, explaining why she participated. "I have a story to tell that's of value to me, value to others."

The American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), Leadership Conference on Civil Rights (LCCR) and the Library of Congress launched its Voices of the Civil Rights Bus Tour August 3 in Washingtonl. The 70-day tour will pass through 35 cities, stopping at local commemorative events, before ending at the annual AARP Member Event in Las Vegas on October 14.

According to a Voices of Civil Rights press release, the bus-- staffed with journalists, photographers, and videographers -- will travel, interviewing local residents and helping to capture their civil rights stories.

"Accompanying the Bus Tour, will be an interactive "Digital Front Porch", where visitors can record their stories on audio or video. On an opposite side of the Porch, visitors can log on to the Internet and submit their stories electronically. Here visitors can learn more about civil rights history, including the tactics of peaceful demonstration and protest," said the fact sheet.

"The Freedom Rides of the 1960s were historic and this bus trip will honor and save that history," said AARP President Marie Smith. "These powerful recollections will be preserved and passed down to future generations, to both educate and inspire."

LCCR Executive Director Wade Henderson noted that the Bus Tour will collect stories from a diverse range of people-- including women, people with disabilities, students, and racial and ethnic minorities-- whose personal experiences tell the collective story of the Civil Rights Movement.

The tour is part of the Voices of the Civil Rights project, a multifaceted effort to build the world's largest archive of firsthand accounts of the Civil Rights Movement. Since March, nearly 2,000 previously untold stories have been submitted. The entire collection will be donated as a permanent collection to the Library of Congress.

Librarian of Congress James H. Billington noted, "The Library of Congress is honored to preserve this collection and make it available to people everywhere."

The project's Web site: www.voicesofcivilrights.org features a searchable archive of personal stories, articles on contemporary issues and project updates. Links to an interactive Bus Tour blog will allow visitors to track the day-to-day events through photos, videos, and journal entries.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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