Jane Hood Collection of Video Oral Histories of New England Area Leaders of the Communist Party of the United States
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Abstract
The Jane Hood Collection of Video Oral Histories of New England Area Leaders of the Communist Party of the United States (dates 1980s) is composed of interviews with members of the New England Communist Party and children of New England Communists. Oral history interviews in this collection were created in the 1980s by Eric Stange and Paul Buhle for various oral history projects. They were later used by Jane Hood in preparation for a book about her own experience as the daughter of an American Communist. The collection consists of 15 interviews on 74 U-matic tapes. The recordings generally relate to the experiences of American Communists during the Cold War, but details about the topics addressed in individual interviews are unclear.
Historical
Oral history interviews in this collection were created in the 1980s for several different oral history projects. A portion of the videos were created by Eric Stange for his 1989 documentary Children of the Left. Other interviews were recorded by historian Paul Buhle. They were later used by Jane Hood in preparation for a book about her experience growing up in a Communist household. Hood's father, Otis Hood, was the Chairman of the Massachusetts Communist Party in the 1950s.
Arrangement
This collection is arranged alphabetically by interviewee last name.
Scope and Contents
The Jane Hood Collection of Video Oral Histories of New England Area Leaders of the Communist Party of the United States (dated 1980s) is composed of interviews with members of the New England Communist Party and children of New England Communists. The collection consists of interviews with 15 individuals on 74 U-matic tapes. The recordings generally relate to the experiences of American Communists during the Cold War, but details about the topics addressed in individual interviews are unclear. Interviews with Jane Hood, Richard Healey, and Joan Sokoloff also feature their mothers Fran Hood, Dorothy Healey, and Edith Abber. In other cases the names of interviewees are unclear. Recordings include a mixture of masters and dubs, as well several tapes containing still images and background footage.
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Conditions Governing Access
Materials are open without restrictions.
Conditions Governing Use
Any rights (including copyright and related rights to publicity and privacy) held by Jane Hood were relinquished and transferred to the public domain in 2014 by Jane Hood. These materials are governed by a Creative Commons CC0 license, which permits publication and reproduction of materials accompanied by full attribution. See, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/.
Copyright (or related rights to publicity and privacy) for materials in this collection, created by Paul Buhle and Eric Stange, was not transferred to New York University. Permission to use materials must be secured from the copyright holder.
Preferred Citation
Identification of item, date; Jane Hood Collection of Video Oral Histories of New England Area Leaders of the Communist Party of the United States; TAM 655; box number; folder number; Tamiment Library/Robert F. Wagner Labor Archives, New York University.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donated by Jane Hood in 2014. The accession number associated with this collection is 2014.165.
Custodial History
A portion of the video oral histories in this collection were created by Eric Stange. Other interviews were created by historian Paul Buhle. Videos were later given to Jane Hood by Eric Stange.
Audiovisual Access Policies and Procedures
Audiovisual materials have not been preserved and may not be available to researchers. Materials not yet digitized will need to have access copies made before they can be used. To request an access copy, or if you are unsure if an item has been digitized, please contact tamiment.wagner@nyu.edu with the collection name, collection number, and a description of the item(s) requested. A staff member will respond to you with further information.
About this Guide
Processing Information
Video tapes were rehoused into archival boxes, but retained in their original cases. Tapes were originally in rough groupings by interviewee name, and have been arranged alphabetically by interviewee last name.
