General Oral History Collection
The BHC General Oral History Collection contains interviews with individuals from all backgrounds, ages, and experiences and spans several decades. The department conducts an ongoing oral history program to collect interviews with members of the Bridgeport community or people with a strong knowledge of the city who have had significant experiences working or living in Bridgeport at some time or have family ties to the Bridgeport area. Additional interviews are added to the general collection each year.
Afro-American Educators Association: Oral History Project
From 1982-1983, Bridgeport’s Afro-American Educators’ Association conducted interviews with black residents of Bridgeport as part of a project funded by the Connecticut Humanities Council. The project aims to examine the social and economic impacts on Bridgeport’s African-American residents during World War I, the Depression, World War II, and the 1960s.
Bridgeport and New Haven Puerto Rican Oral Histories, 2023-2024
Fifth year Yale University doctoral candidate Amanda Rivera conducts oral histories to facilitate her research on the bilingual education movement in Bridgeport as led by Puerto Ricans in the 1970s. Rivera interviews community members about this topic in both Bridgeport and New Haven from 2023-2024. The interviews she conducted are now part of the History Center holdings as an oral history collection.
Bridgeport Cultural Arts Center, 1970-1986
Full audio and transcripts: Michelle Black-Smith Tompkins; Ralph Williams; Yohuru Williams; Wendy Bridgeforth; Richard Stamats; Cyril Lamont Williams; Teddy Daniel Gardner; Lucinda Anderson; Patricia Carey; Ryan Grant
Bridgeport Living History: Department of Youth Services, City of Bridgeport, 1984
Currently available, full audio and full transcripts with chapters: John Arcudi; Angela Baldino; Hillard Bloom; Frank Bridgeforth; Richard Fewell; Emmett Johnson; Elizabeth Josephson; David Kelly; Helen Mensch-Mott; Edna Smith
Bridgeport Working: Voices from the Twentieth Century
The ”Bridgeport Working: Voices from the Twentieth Century” was the concept of former BHC Department Head, Mary K. Witkowski. As Director of the History Center, Witkowski understood the important role that labor has played in Bridgeport’s history. Witkowski wanted to create a website that would provide researchers with valuable information on the City’s varied economy and the diverse group of citizens who have driven it. The site’s oral histories link individuals with historic events and trends and give voice to the people who actually witnessed and participated in them.
[note: this site is undergoing a major reconfiguration in the winter/spring of 2024]
Bridgeport Working: selected interviews with full audio and chapter transcripts
A selection of interviews taken from the “Bridgeport Working” labor history site with complete audio and transcripts divided by subject and chapter for easy access to specific topics.
Please note that the Bridgeport History Center may not have appropriate audio playback devices, depending on the format of the oral history!