Oral history interview with Ellen Black Winston, December 2, 1974
Subtitle: interview G-0064, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Smith, Annette, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2006
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Women government executives; Women; Political activity; Public welfare; Politics and government
Other titles: Interview G-0064, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Ellen Black Winston, December 2, 1974; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Ellen Black Winston was born and raised in North Carolina during the early twentieth century. Growing up, Winston was especially influenced by her parents' social and political views. Her father worked as a civil lawyer and as a banker and her mother was actively involved in various community organizations. As Winston describes it, "a very liberal, democratic attitude . . . prevailed in our home." As a result, Winston was expected to attend college. In the 1920s, she studied English and French at Converse College in South Carolina with the goal of becoming a school teacher. By the late 1920s, however, Winston made the decision to continue her education at the graduate level. With the active support of her husband, Winston completed her doctoral degree at the University of Chicago in 1930. She returned to Raleigh and taught social science for several years before relocating temporarily to Washington D.C. to work for the Federal Emergency Relief Administration. In the late 1930s, Winston returned to Raleigh and worked for the Works Progress Administration program in North Carolina. In the 1940s, Winston spent time teaching at Meredith College and became increasingly involved in organizations aimed at improving social welfare in North Carolina. In particular, she was actively involved in the American Association of University Women. In 1944, Winston was appointed North Carolina Commissioner of Public Welfare, and in 1963 she became the first United States Commissioner of Welfare. In this interview, she focuses specifically on the status of women and opportunities for professional women; her philosophy of social welfare and her goal to improve standards in North Carolina; and her efforts to work with all government at the local, state, and federal level.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on December 17, 2007).

Interview participants: Ellen Black Winston, interviewee; Annette Smith, interviewer.

Duration: 01:54:23

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Mike Millner.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 102 kilobytes, 209 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series G, Southern women, interview G-0064, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Joe Jaros. Original transcript: 45 p.

Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.