Walter Sondheim, 1976 September 27
Abstract
Walter Sondheim, Jr. (1908-2007) was a civil rights leader and President of the Baltimore Board of School Commissioners. He was heavily involved in the redevelopment of Baltimore’s downtown district, and he pushed for the desegregation of Baltimore City schools. In this oral history interview, Sondheim discusses his fight to eliminate discrimination in department stores and desegregate Baltimore City schools. He recalls acting as an unofficial intermediary between the department stores and Walter White, head of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He discusses his personal relationship with Theodore R. McKeldin, and offers his thoughts on McKeldin as both governor and mayor. Sondheim further discusses the competitiveness that arose between the NAACP and the Urban League, particularly with the handling of desegregation in Baltimore City schools.
Dates
- 1976 September 27
Creator
- Sondheim, Walter, 1908-2007 (Narrator, Person)
Conditions Governing Access
The collection is open for research use.
Extent
57 Minutes (Audio recording)
27 Pages (Transcript)
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Processing Information
There are an additional 2 pages of supplementary material (interview evaluation and biographical data) included after the transcript.
Scope and Contents
This collection is comprised of 87 oral history interviews and 4 other related items. Materials available for the interviews include audio recordings, transcripts, tape indexes, newspaper clippings, biographical information, and interview evaluations. Each item record indicates whether a complete transcript or an uncorrected transcript is available for an oral history.
All recordings within the collection are digitized and continue to be added to MCHC's Digital Collections portal.
Interviews were conducted from 1975-1977, with some earlier recordings made prior to the project added to the collection. Narrators range from leaders in the Maryland civil rights movement and local activists, to people opposed to the movement. Narrators include Lillie May Carroll Jackson’s children: Juanita Jackson Mitchell, Virginia Jackson Kiah, and Bowen Keiffer Jackson; Parren Mitchell, U.S. Congressman, 1971-1987; Donald G. Murray, the first African American admitted to the University of Maryland Law School; Verda Welcome, one of the first Black women to be elected to a state Senate; Thomas J. D’Alesandro III, mayor of Baltimore, 1967-1971; Clarence Mitchell, Jr., chief lobbyist to the NAACP; Vernon Naimaster, Great Titan of the Maryland Ku Klux Klan; and Dr. J.E.T. Camper, a prominent physician who also devoted his career to seeking racial justice and equality.
In addition to these oral history interviews, there are four items related to the project that are included with the collection. There is an audio recording of a radio program on which narrators David Glenn and Judge Robert Watts appeared to discuss the McKeldin-Jackson project with host Alan Christian. There is an audio recording as well as textual materials from the colloquium and exhibition held at the Maryland Historical Society to commemorate the McKeldin-Jackson project on November 16, 1976. There is also a research paper written by a Goucher College student on Theodore R. McKeldin and the civil rights movement in Maryland and a binder containing information on the development and progress of the McKeldin-Jackson project.
Creator
- Sondheim, Walter, 1908-2007 (Narrator, Person)
- Paul, Ellen, 1955- (Interviewer, Person)
Repository Details
Part of the H. Furlong Baldwin Library Repository
H. Furlong Baldwin Library
Maryland Center for History and Culture
610 Park Avenue
Baltimore MD 21201 United States
4106853750
specialcollections@mdhistory.org