New Jersey Orators, Inc. (NJO) is dedicated to teaching the art of public speaking, an appreciation for literature, reading literacy, civic engagement, college readiness and life skills to youth between the ages of 7 and 18 years. As participants in the Community History program, the organization developed an initial interview framework for their NJO “Experienced Orators” to use for a national rollout of their Oral History Project. NJO high school students interviewed women from Middlesex, Somerset and Union Counties over the age of 90, collecting their recollections and experiences living through the Civil Rights Era and created original oratories based on those interviews.

This was an initial pilot project to form the basis for a national partnership with the National Association of University Women (NAUW). NJO developed the foundation for an oral history project called “Remembering Their Legacy: An Oral History of our Seniors,” where they will interview and record the recollections of the NAUW Forever Emeralds, past presidents over the age of 90. The Orators’ collection of audio and video recordings from this project, as well as the historical digital artifacts uncovered through their research, will be archived at Rutgers University. The Oral History Project will be expanded around the state and nationally in the coming years.