Overview of the Item |
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| Repository: | The HistoryMakers | |
| 1900 S. Michigan Avenue | ||
| Chicago, Illinois 60616 | ||
| (312) 674-1900 | ||
| info@thehistorymakers.com | ||
| http://www.thehistorymakers.com | ||
| Interviewer: | Larry Crowe | |
| Videographer: | Matthew Hickey | |
| Title: | Video Oral History Interview with Sokoni Karanja | |
| Dates: | January 07, 2005 | |
| Abstract: | (ABSTRACT) | |
| Quantity: | 6 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials. | |
| Identification: | A2005.004 | |
| Language: | The interviews and records are in English | |
Founding director of Chicago's Center for New Horizons, Sokoni Tacuma Karanja was born Lathan Johnson on January 7, 1940 in Topeka, Kansas. He was raised in the Tennessee Town section of Topeka by his father, Hubert, a worker on the Santa Fe Railroad, and his mother, Florence, a nurse. McKinley Burnett, president of the Topeka NAACP and catalyst of Brown v. the Board of Education, also mentored Karanja. Karanja attended Buchanan Elementary School, Boswell Junior High School and graduated from Topeka High School in 1958. He attended Ft. Scott Junior College, where he starred in track, and he earned his B.A. degree from Topeka's Washburn University in 1961. He received a masters degree in psychology from the University of Denver, another in social work from Atlanta University, and another in community planning from the University of Cincinnati. He received his Ph.D. degree in urban policy from Brandeis University, where he was assistant dean of students, in 1971.
Studying for his Ph.D. in Tanzania, East Africa, Karanja was influenced by Tanzanian president Dr. Julius K. Nyrere's value-driven educational and developmental programs. There he received his name, which means "person from the sea who is willing to share knowledge." As an Adlai Stevenson fellow at the University of Chicago in 1971, Karanja received funding for The Center for New Horizons. The center, which has 22 sites and serves over 2000 families, offers many services, including early childhood education, childcare, senior care, employment programs and leadership training.
A national leader on child development issues, Karanja is a task force member of the Council for Accreditation; executive committee co-chair of the Policy Council of the African American Family Commission; and an executive committee member of the Child Welfare League of America. He also serves on the Illinois Governor's Task Force on Human Services and the boards of Leadership for Quality Education and Voices of Illinois Children. He chairs the Woodstock Institute and is co-chair of the Grand Boulevard Federation. In 1993, Karanja received a MacArthur Fellowship. Karanja is married to professor Ayana Karanja and is the father of five children.
Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®
This life oral history interview with Sokoni Karanja was conducted by Larry Crowe on 2005-01-07 in Chicago, Illinois and is recorded on 6 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 Sokoni Karanja'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.
Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.
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 |
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| This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms. | ||
| Contributors: | ||
| Crowe, Larry | ||
| Hickey, Matthew | ||
| Karanja, Sokoni, 1940- | ||
| Persons: | ||
| (PERSONS) | ||
| Corporate Bodies: | ||
| (CORPORATE BODIES) | ||
| Family Names: | ||
| Karanja | ||
| Places: | ||
| (PLACES) | ||
| Subjects: | ||
| (SUBJECTS) | ||
| Document Types: | ||
| Video oral history interview | ||
| Titles: | ||
| The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Sokoni Karanja | ||
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.
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.
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Sokoni Karanja, January 07, 2005. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.