A digital project from Pratt's School of Information
This archive presents the oral history of the Brooklyn chapter of CORE through recordings with key members recounting the major campaigns from 1960-1966.
Rioghan Kirchner joined CORE after reading about its housing campaigns in the local newspapers. She expected she would be doing clerical work, but ended up becoming one of their white testers. Her first experience as a white tester was a disaster but…
WWII veteran and skilled construction laborer, Gilbert Banks joined CORE during the Ebinger’s campaign because of the extreme difficulty he experienced getting unionized construction jobs.
In this recording, Banks discusses his early life in…
Sonny Carson was drawn to the chapter’s militant and dramatic tactics during the Downstate protest. Carson became a regular at meetings in 1964-1965 and recruited new members who were young, black, radical and influenced by black nationalism. He…