Oral history interview with Angeline Emma Butler, March 2005.
(Document/manuscript/pamphlet/archival material)

Materials housed in Special Collections Division of the Main Library, Nashville Public Library.

The interview consists of a transcript and sound recordings in two formats: 3 original audio cassettes recorded in 2005; and a set of 3 data CDs containing MP3 files (a master, a copy master, and a use copy). The original cassettes were digitized during a conversion project in 2006.

In library use only. Available by appointment.

Scope and content: Oral history interview with Nashville Civil Rights Movement participant Angeline Emma Butler, conducted on 21 and 30 March 2005 by Rachel Lawson as part of the Nashville Public Library's Civil Rights Oral History Project. During the ca. 2 hour and 30 minute interview, Butler discusses such topics as her family and growing up in segregated South Carolina; her education, particularly studying music and attending Fisk University; her involvement in the civil rights movement in Nashville and other places, including being arrested several times; other people involved in the movement, such as the Fusons, James Bevel, John Lewis, James Lawson, Diane Nash, and Bernard Lafayette; the nonviolence training received by the students, including workshops at the Highlander Folk School; how the movement affected the participants; and her singing and acting career.

Cite as: Oral history interviews with Angeline Emma Butler, Civil Rights Oral History Project, Special Collections Division, Nashville Public Library.

This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code)

Angeline Butler was born in Columbia, S.C. to Vivian Ayers, who was 17 at the time. When only a few days old, Butler was adopted by Rev. and Mrs. I.B. Butler. At age 15, Butler won Miss South Carolina Shrine and Miss National Shrine, but lost the national title due to being too young. Butler attended Fisk University, where she began refining her musical talents Butler got involved in the Student Movement while at Fisk, going to talks at the International Student Center, getting involved with the Fusons, and going to Highlander with others, including James Bevel, John Lewis, and Bernard Lafayette. Butler was arrested several times for her involvement in the movement, and she was a student advisor for the 1963 March on Washington. During the movement Butler became acquainted with Jackie Robinson and Septima Clark, about whom she wrote the play "Voices of a Sit-In." Butler moved to New York and was awarded a scholarship to attend Julliard. Butler's television career began in 1962 with her appearance on the NBC Bell Telephone Hour. From 1964 to 1965, she appeared on CBS Camera Three. In 1966, composer Elmer Bernstein took Butler on Joe Franklin's Memory Lane to sing the theme of his new film "Hawaii" and "A Wishing Doll." During the same year, Butler made her fiirst appearance on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show and was invited by Carson to tour with "Johnny Carson in Concert" in 1967. Also in 1967, Butler was invited by Count Basie to be a special guest at the Tropicana Blue Room with the Count Basie Orchestra. In 1968, Butler made 10 appearances on the Dick Cavett Show. During her career, Butler also appeared on the Joey Bishop Show, the Steve Allen Show, Allen Ludden's Gallery, the Donald O'Connor Show, and many other talk and variety shows. Butler worked with Duke Ellington in the Sacred Music Concerts during the early 1970s. In 1970 she recorded an album, Impressions, on the CoBurt label. She attended graduate school at Columbia University from 1972 to 1974, and received a Masters in Ethnomusicology, with a minor in Asian studies. She has also been involved in the theater, appearing in performances of "House of Flowers" with Josephine Premice, "King Lear" with James Earl Jones, "Time is for White Folks," and, in 2001, "The Missing Face." Butler was one of the founders of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Museum at the Crenshaw High School in LA. Butler has worked internationally, appearing in Ireland, Germany, Australia, Paris, and Belgium.

In English.

Transcript available in repository.

Forms part of: Civil Rights Oral History Project.