Oral History & Public Humanities Lab
Collecting, curating, and sharing the voices, memories, and lived experiences of people and communities in Mississippi, the broader South, and the nation.
About the Oral History & Public Humanities Lab (OHPHL)
The Oral History & Public Humanities Lab (OHPHL) in African American Studies at the University of Mississippi collects and curates the voices, memories, and lived experiences of people and communities in Mississippi, the broader South, and the nation in efforts to cultivate research and share history and the humanities with the larger public.
The Power of Oral History
The OHPHL operates in the beliefs that the most meaningful history and historical knowledge lie in the lived experiences of everyday, ordinary people who witnessed and participated in the important events and issues of the past and that their histories, memories, and voices should be shared widely and publicly. Thus, it offers a space for faculty and student-led oral history projects and public programs that foster relationships and partnerships between town and gown.
Mentorship and Research
Through the OHPHL and faculty mentorship, undergraduates and graduates gain experience in the traditions and methods of oral history to create research, foster community building and engagement through research projects and public programs, and receive transferable skills and knowledge to excel beyond graduation. In addition, the OHPH Lab serves as a valuable resource for UM students—in all disciplines—engaged in an oral history project or interested in producing oral history centered research and programs.
A Community Conversation
Connecting the UM Campus with Community
UM speakers and guests tour the historical Burns-Belfry site, learn about Black life and history in Oxford and Lafayette County, and engage with Burns-Belfry board members and local residents.
Dr. Tera W. Hunter in 2026 with Burns-Belfry board members and Oxford-lafayette County residents.
OHPHL Oral History Projects
"Black Voices of the Velvet Ditch"
In partnership with Oxford's Burns-Belfry Museum & Multicultural Center, the OHPHL’s inaugural oral history project, "Black Voices of the Velvet Ditch," collects, preserves, and documents the many voices, stories, and experiences of Black people and communities in Oxford and Lafayette County, Mississippi. Starting with the memory and legacy of Central High School, Oxford’s all-Black high school during the days of segregation, it captures the cultural, social, economic, political, and educational history of Black people, communities, and institutions in and around the Velvet Ditch.
The project is the 2026-2027 receipt of the UM ORED Small Grant Program.
“A Black Woman’s Perspective” at Ole Miss
“A Black Woman’s Perspective: The Histories and Stories of Black Women at the University of Mississippi” captures the lives, experiences, and labors of Black women—faculty and staff—who work at the University of Mississippi in various capacities.
Meet the OHPHL Director
As a social and cultural historian, Dr. Rahim's research interests expand to include United States History, African American History, Sport History, and Oral History, as well as Public History and Digital Humanities. Her pedagogy research agenda and innovative scholarship focus on the perspective of often-marginalized people, communities, and institutions that served as catalysts of change with the hope of representing and acknowledging the diverse and global world of the past and present.
Raja Malikah Rahim
Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies
Meet the OHPHL Graduate Coordinator
Ms. Maleah Briggs is a second-year History M.A .student and emerging cultural curator. A native of Jackson, Mississippi, her research engages in placemaking through memory and soundscapes (musical traditions, performance and media) and their intersections with the formation of racial identities in twentieth-century American and African American history. Additionally, Ms. Briggs is interested in public history, digital humanities, museum education programming, and oral history.
Maleah Briggs
Graduate Coordinator
Meet the OHPHL Undergraduate Coordinator
A native of Clay, Mississippi, Jada Pernell is a senior, double majoring in History and African American Studies at the University of Mississippi. She serves as a student ambassador for the African American Studies and an undergraduate research assistant for its Oral History and Public Humanities Lab. Ms. Pernell's research interests include Black culture, civil rights, Black radicalism, and Black nationalism. She is also interested in using Oral History to center the voices of overlooked Black Mississippians and study how Black communities articulated notions of self-sufficiency, autonomy, resistance, and community empowerment.
Jada Pernell
Undergraduate Coordinator
Community Partners
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Burns-Belfry Museum & Multicultural Center
The OHPHL works closely with the Burns- Belfry Museum and Multicultural Center in Oxford, MS to foster community engagement and civic learning through oral history projects and public programs.
Burns-Belfry website