Collections : [Oral History Archives at Columbia]

Over four sessions, Ann Cotrell Free describes her life, advocacy for animals, and the philosophical underpinning for her activism. She begins by discussing the growth of her consciousness about treatment of animals during her childhood, including incidents with domestic animals, agricultural animals, transport animals, and fox hunts. She describes activism while attending Barnard College, and analyzes how inconsistent attitudes cause injustice. She discusses her entry into journalism and coverage of World War II, working for the United Nations Relief in China, and working for the Marshall Plan in Europe.

Annette Spellen describes growing up in Harlem, Bushwick, and Crown Heights, and changes that have affected the community there. She discusses in detail the struggles for women's equality and racial equality in the New York City Police Department (NYPD). Two organizations that were particularly important in those struggles were the Policewomen's Endowment Association and the Guardians Association. She shares memories of the friends and mentors she had in the Guardians Association, as well as details about her work as an undercover officer and a detective with the NYPD Anti-Crime unit, Department of Investigations, and Hostage Negotiation Team.

In this interview, Barry reflects on her arrival at Columbia University in 1985. She begins by describing her upbringing in Butler, New Jersey, citing the challenges of being one of nine children and a student in an overcrowded small town high school. Barry goes on to describe her time at Gettysburg College and her pursuit of a Master's degree in history at Columbia. Barry reflects on her decision to move to New York. She shares her experience of coming out and her subsequent encounters with homophobia. Barry characterizes her participation in IRWGS and recalls her efforts in GABLES, the Gay, Bisexual, and Lesbian Employees and Supporters group, which existed from 1993-1997 and arose to combat the inaccessibility to married housing, health benefits, and life insurance for queer couples at the University. Barry describes the limitations of GABLES in a larger discussion of the long and difficult process by which queer women, transgender, and LGBTQ people of color struggled at the University.

This is a microfiche compilation of the Annual Reports of the Oral History Research Office (OHRO). It encompasses all reports from 1948 to 1975, covering the period from the founding of the OHRO through the year before this microfiche compilation was published in 1976. The reports give insight into changes over the first three decades of the OHRO, covering oral history methodology, budgets, equipment, outputs, noteworthy interviewees, and more.