Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project Collection
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Audio and transcripts from the oral history interviews in the Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project Collection are available online. These interviews were conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of History in 1975-1976 to explore the influence of ethnic fraternal organizations in the Pittsburgh area. A grant from the Recordings At Risk Program from the Council on Library and Information Resources (CLIR) made the digitization of these oral histories possible during the 2022-2023 academic term. As part of this project, all transcripts were machine-generated with minor edits for intelligibility and to identify speakers when possible. Transcripts may contain inaccuracies, misspellings, or omissions depending on original audio clarity.
A Notice on Harmful or Offensive Language
While using the Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project, please consider its context. These interviews were recorded in 1975-1976. Due to the nature of these historical materials, there are occurrences of language, positions, and values that do not align with our values and practices at the University of Pittsburgh.
When harmful, offensive, or misrepresentative language is present and part of the original archival materials, it is recognized as best practice to retain such information so as not to censor or alter the historical record and to maintain an understanding of the context and time period in which these items were first created.
What's in the entire collection?
The Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project consists of interviews from a project conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of History. The project sought to explore the roles and influences of ethnic fraternal organizations in the Jewish, Black, Croatian, Italian, Polish, and other ethnic communities in the Pittsburgh area. In addition to the interview audio, the collection includes photographs and case files for the project. This documentation records information on the interviewee’s ethnicity, fraternal membership, and details about each interview. Other materials in the collection include audio tapes, some transcripts, and documents connected to non-project activities such as the Pennsylvania Oral History Conference, Italo American interviews, and Bradford community interviews.
About the Ethnic Fraternal Organizations Oral History Project.
In June 1975, through a grant from the Buhl Foundation, the Oral History Program for Western Pennsylvania was established at the University of Pittsburgh. The project was led by Stephen P. Zupcic, director of the Oral History Program for Western Pennsylvania, in coordination with the Pennsylvania Ethnic Heritage Studies Center at the University. Using interviewers from the University and the community, the program sought to explore the roles and influences of ethnic fraternal organizations in the principally Jewish, Black, Croatian, Italian, and Polish communities in the Pittsburgh area. There are a few interviews with individuals of Austrian, French, Lithuanian, Greek, Irish, Romanian, Slovak, and Spanish descent. The program was conducted by the University of Pittsburgh Department of History. In August 1976, the department deposited the materials in what is now the University Library System Archives & Special Collections.
