Paul Coates Oral History Interview

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

An oral history interview and conversation with book publisher and community activist Paul Coates. It consists of three versions of digital video recording, two camera card files (2025.12.12.1.1 and 2025.12.12.1.2, .mxf files) and one edited file (2025.12.12.1.3, .mov file). Mr. Paul Coates was interviewed by American University student Isabella Salcedo on March 14, 2024, as part of the Social Justice Conversations Oral History Project. The interview took place at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, DC. At the time of the interview, Mr. Coates was 77 years old. This oral history interview consists of two distinct sections: an “interview” section (part 1) and a “conversation” section (part 2, 01:01:16). In part 1, Mr. Coates begins with a discussion of his parents, the family dynamics, and his upbringing in Philadelphia, including mentions of the violent murder of his father, and accusations of rape made by his mother against his father.

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