Oakland, CA–February 8, 2008. Just in time for Black History Month, Mills College has announced it will be the depository of a unique collection of African American musical history and tradition, In Our Own Words—The Negro Spirituals Heritage Keepers, recordings of Oakland's first oral history project on negro spirituals.

"This collection has broad historical significance," said Nancy MacKay, head of technical services and special projects at the Mills College F.W. Olin Library. "We expect it to inspire further scholarship in musicology from a wide range of users; students at all levels; teachers; and researchers in music, history, and ethnic studies," she said.

The collection consists of 10 DVDs and transcripts, each containing a 50-minute interview with a member of this special group who has been preserving the tradition of negro spirituals in Oakland. These designated ‘Negro Spirituals Heritage Keeper' retell their stories of how they learned the spirituals, its 200-year history tracing back to American slavery, and how they're teaching this tradition to the next generation.

"Whether by arranging the music, conducting choirs, singing, researching, teaching, or lecturing about the spirituals, each spirituals heritage keeper is a vital link in a long chain of contributors to the survival of this historic tradition," said Lyvonne Chrisman, vice-president and co-founder of the Friends of Negro Spirituals, who oversees the project.

Participants are available for interview by the press. To schedule an interview with a ‘Negro Spirituals Heritage Keeper,' contact Chrisman at 510.869.4359.

The participants include:

William "Bill" Bell, jazz pianist and the conductor of the Oakland Bay Area Community Chorus; Lyvonne Chrisman, vice-president and co-founder of the Friends of Negro Spirituals; Marcella Conley, retired college professor; Helen Dilworth, professional soprano and music professor at San Francisco City College; Doug Edwards, jazz programmer and producer, radio station KPFA, 94.1, FM; Sam Edwards, president and co-founder of Friends of Negro Spirituals; Jacqueline Hairston, pianist and composer; Autris Paige, baritone singer and professional narrator; Linda Tillery, cultural historian and artistic director of the Linda Tillery Cultural Heritage Choir; Cleophas Williams, retired ILWU president; and his wife Sadie Williams.

Funding for the project was provided by the City of Oakland's Cultural Funding Program, the Alliance for California Traditional Arts, the Walter and Elise Haas Fund, the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, the James Irvine Foundation, and private donors.

The In Our Own Words—The Negro Spirituals Heritage Keepers collection will be added to the Mills College F.W. Olin Library's Oakland Living History Program, which includes oral histories on Mills alumnae and faculty, Oakland neighborhoods, especially the MacArthur Corridor and Lake Merritt, and a series on Japanese Americans.

MacKay said Mills students and the public have accessed the college's collections for a variety of projects. For example, a middle school teacher used excerpts of the Japanese oral histories for classroom projects; anthropology, history, and ethnic studies students have used them in research papers; and dancers, studio artists, and poets have incorporated oral histories—both sound and text—into their creative works.

Mills College will also host a free community program on Sunday, March 30, 2008, from 3:00 pm to 5:00 pm at Lisser Hall, 5000 MacArthur Blvd., Oakland, CA, to introduce the new collection.

Nestled in the foothills of Oakland, California, Mills College is a nationally renowned, independent liberal arts college offering a dynamic progressive education that fosters leadership, social responsibility, and creativity to approximately 900 undergraduate women and 500 graduate women and men. Since 2000, applications to Mills College have more than doubled. The college ranks as one of the top colleges in the West by U.S. News & World Report and one of the Best 366 Colleges by the Princeton Review.

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