Preserving family history with stories passed down through the years has been a tradition with many families. The Black Heritage Society feels that the permanent recording of the unique experiences of African Americans in the Pacific Northwest is most important to preserve.

Members of the Committee will also avail themselves to conduct special interviews upon request.

Each year, the Oral History Committee interviews and tapes those individuals who are featured at the Annual Meeting celebrations. These have included African-American barbers, cosmetologists, doctors, engineers (Boeing), longshoremen, teachers, individuals who attended Washington State high schools during the 1930s and 1940s, and Washington State elected officials.

The interviews held with the 1930s and the 1940s local high school attendees are preserved on cassette tapes. The transcriptions for the eighteen interviewed 1930s individual are currently available at the University of Washington Special Collections section for students, teachers and writers. Those for the 1940s will also be made available at the conclusion of the interview program, with twenty interviews scheduled to be completed by the October 2007.

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