Oral history interview with Howard Kester, August 25, 1974
Subtitle: interview B-0007-2, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Frederickson, Mary E., 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: 2007
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; Social reformers; African Americans; Civil rights; Employee rights; Working class; Race relations; Social justice; Religious aspects; Young Women's Christian associations; Young Men's Christian associations; Penn School (Saint Helena Island, S.C.); Fellowship of Southern Churchmen; Southern Tenant Farmers' Union; Southern Summer School for Women Workers in Industry (U.S.); Fellowship of Reconciliation (U.S.)
Other titles: Interview B-0007-2, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Howard Kester, August 25, 1974; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Howard Kester was a Socialist and Christian who advocated for social justice causes throughout the South from the mid-1920s through the 1960s. In this interview, he discusses his involvement with such organizations as the YMCA/YWCA, the Fellowship of Reconciliation, the Fellowship of Southern Churchmen, the Committee on Economic and Racial Justice, the Penn School, the Southern Summer School for Women Workers, and the Southern Tenant Farmers Union. Throughout the interview, Kester emphasizes his radical Christian values and Socialist leanings in relationship to his beliefs regarding fundamental human equality. Kester equates the struggles of African Americans with those of workers, and views social justice issues as relevant to all Americans, regardless of their social standing. He discusses both the progress made towards these ends as well as the obstacles that remained, primarily during the 1930s and 1940s. He also describes the leadership roles and beliefs of fellow social activists such as Reinhold Niehbur, Elizabeth Gilman, Alva Taylor, Elizabeth Jones, Louise Young, Louise (Leonard) McLaren, and his wife, Alice Harris Kester.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on May 22, 2008).

Interview participants: Howard Kester, interviewee; Mary Frederickson, interviewer.

Duration: 01:35:38.

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. 154.6 kilobytes, 175.1 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series B, Individual biographies, interview B-0007-2, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by Susan Hathaway. Original transcript: 38 p.

Funding from the Institute of 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.