The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz




Overview of the Item

Repository: The HistoryMakers
1900 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60616
(312) 674-1900
info@thehistorymakers.com
http://www.thehistorymakers.com
Interviewer: Julieanna Richardson
Videographer: Paul Bieschke
Title:Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz
Dates:April 26, 2001
Abstract: (ABSTRACT)
Quantity: 3 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
Identification: A2001.011
Language: The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Peggy Cooper Cafritz was born on April 7, 1947, in Mobile, Alabama, to the well-known and respected Cooper family. Her upbringing was decidedly Catholic. Her father, a well-respected community leader, and her mother, an astounding beauty, worked to provide the correct upbringing for Peggy and her siblings. After graduating from a private Catholic high school, Cafritz attended George Washington University, where in 1968 she earned an undergraduate degree in political science and, in 1971, a law degree.

Cafritz became involved with education and the arts in the Washington, D.C. area when, as a law student, she founded the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Initially a summer arts workshop for minority children, the program was accepted into the D.C. public school system in 1974. Since then, she has continued to serve the school and its nonprofit fundraising affiliate, the Ellington Fund, in numerous positions. Cafritz served on the executive committee of the D.C. Board of Higher Education from 1972 to 1976, which implemented the merger of Federal City College and Washington Teachers College into the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). From 1979 to 1987, she chaired the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, and in 1993 President Bill Clinton appointed her vice chairperson of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities.

Cafritz was the youngest person ever selected to serve as a fellow at the Woodrow Wilson Center for Scholars. She worked as a programming executive for Post-Newsweek and a documentary producer for WTOP-TV from 1974 to 1977, earning both Emmy and Peabody awards for her documentary work. Her work as an arts reviewer on WETA-TV's Around Town has also earned her an Emmy. Cafritz worked to develop a dramatic literary series for the Community for Public Broadcasting and the Public Broadcasting Corporation from 1977 to 1979 as executive director of the Minority Cultural Project, a joint venture between Harry Belafonte and WQED/Pittsburgh.

In November 2000, on a platform stressing the importance of academics, athletics and the arts, Cafritz won election as president of the D.C. Board of Education. Her cousin is former Secretary of Labor, Alexis M. Herman.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®


Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz was conducted by Julieanna Richardson on 2001-04-26 in Washington, D.C. and is recorded on 3 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Peggy Cooper Cafritz's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.


Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.


Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
Contributors:
Bieschke, Paul
Cafritz, Peggy Cooper, 1947-
Richardson, Julieanna
Persons:
(PERSONS)
Corporate Bodies:
(CORPORATE BODIES)
Family Names:
Cafritz
Places:
(PLACES)
Subjects:
(SUBJECTS)
Document Types:
Video oral history interview
Titles:
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz


Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.


Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz, April 26, 2001. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.


Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Tape 1, April 26, 2001, TRT: 00:28:03:17.

Educator and philanthropist Peggy Cooper Cafritz describes her family background and her life growing up in Mobile, Alabama, depicting a deeply Catholic household that was rocked by her father's suicide while she was in college. Cooper Cafritz talks about the race discrimination she faced during her schooling, and describes the oppressive segregation in Mobile.



Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Tape 2, April 26, 2001, TRT: 00:29:11.

Educator and philanthropist Peggy Cooper Cafritz describes her childhood personality, explaining how her rebellious spirit laid the groundwork for her activism during high school and college. Cafritz details her time at a private boarding school and at George Washington University, sharing many examples of her early activism, including her efforts to desegregate restaurants and public facilities with Alexis Sherman. Cafritz also discusses her decision to attend law school.



Video Oral History Interview with Peggy Cooper Cafritz, Tape 3, April 26, 2001, TRT: 00:13:24:19.

Educator and philanthropist Peggy Cooper Cafritz describes her role in opening an arts school for inner city youth in Washington D.C., the Duke Ellington School of the Arts. Cafritz also describes a series of photos depicting her life, family, and career.