William S. Leventhal oral history interview conducted by David P. Cline in El Segundo, California, 2013-04-13

Summary: Willy Siegel Leventhal discusses his childhood in California, his experiences at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the 1960s, and his involvement in the Summer Community Organization and Political Education Project (SCOPE). Leventhal describes what it was like to be a Jewish child in a mostly Catholic community and how his childhood experiences informed his later activism and identity. Baseball was especially important to him, as he witnessed the first Jewish and African American ballplayers desegregate the Major Leagues. Leventhal became active in SCOPE during his first year at UCLA, after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., visited campus to recruit students. Leventhal describes the SCOPE training in Atlanta, and he shares his memories of living and working in Macon and Americus, Georgia.

Biographical History: Willy Siegel Leventhal attended the University of California, Los Angeles and worked for the Summer Community Organization and Political Education (SCOPE) and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). He later became a special education teacher and baseball coach and worked on several political campaigns.

Acquisition Note: The Civil Rights History Project is a joint project of the American Folklife Center, Library of Congress and the Smithsonian Institution National Museum of African American History and Culture to collect video and audio recordings of personal histories and testimonials of individuals who participated in the Civil Rights movement.

Existence and Location of Copies: Copies of items are also held at the National Museum of African American History and Culture (U.S.).

Conditions Governing Access: Collection is open for research. Access to recordings may be restricted. To request materials, please contact the Folklife Reading Room at http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/folklife.contact.

Related Archival Materials: Artifacts associated with the interview are at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture.

civil rights movements selma to montgomery rights march 1965 selma ala voter registration georgia african americans relations with jews civil rights workers interviews filmed interviews oral histories el segundo calif civil rights history project us civil rights history project american folklife center david p cline willy s willy siegel leventhal film video history interview el segundo high resolution race relations baseball cards

1960 - 1969

Library of Congress

https://www.loc.gov/

Public Domain