African-Americans

George Warren Reed (1920-2015) was an American chemist. Reed was born in 1920 in Washington, DC. He received a B.S. and an M.S. from Howard University, both in chemistry. During World War II, Reed worked on the Manhattan Project at the Chicago Met Lab. He primarily researched fission yields of uranium and thorium to determine […]

[The Atomic Heritage Foundation is very grateful to Mark Morrison-Reed for donating this interview.] Mark Morrison-Reed: How would you describe your mother, grandmother, Mary Elizabeth? George Warren Reed: She was a tough cookie. Nobody crossed her. She ran a tight ship. Never held back. She always gave. Mark: What was Sarah like in comparison? Were they […]

Cynthia Kelly: Okay, why don’t we start by having you tell us your name and spelling it? Collene Dunbar: My name is Collene Dunbar, C-O-L-L-E-N-E, and it’s pronounced Coll-ene. Jeffrey Nalezny: And your last name is spelled? Dunbar: D-U-N-B-A-R. Nalezny: Thank you. Kelly: Great! Thank you very much. Now we’re here to talk to about […]

Cynthia Kelly: Start by telling us your name and spelling it. Carol Roberts: Okay, my name is Carol B. Roberts. C-A-R-O-L, initial B, as in Bobby, R-O-B-E-R-T-S. I came here in June 1944 with my mother and my sisters because my dad had been sent by DuPont out here. That is how I came to be […]

Cindy Kelly: It is Wednesday, September 12, 2018. I’m in Seattle, Washington, and I have Jackie Peterson with me. My first question to her is to tell me her full name and spell it. Jackie Peterson: My name is Jackie Peterson. It’s J-a-c-k-i-e Peterson, P-e-t-e-r-s-o-n. Kelly: I’d love to know more about yourself and how you […]

Jackie Peterson is an independent curator and exhibit developer in Seattle, Washington. She curated an exhibition called “The Atomic Frontier: Black Life at Hanford” at the Northwest African American Museum from October 2015-March 2016. In this interview, Peterson describes the exhibition and what she learned about African American experiences at Hanford during the Manhattan Project. […]

Cindy Kelly: I’m Cindy Kelly. It is Wednesday, April 25, 2018, and I’m in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. I have Eric Pierce, and my first question for Eric is to please say your name and spell it. Eric Pierce: My name is Eric Pierce, and that’s E-r-i-c, Pierce, P-i-e-r-c-e. Kelly: Great. Thank you. Pierce: You’re welcome. […]

Eric Pierce is a senior scientist and leader of the Earth Sciences Group in the Environmental Sciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Born in New Orleans, Pierce has a Ph.D in low-temperature geochemistry from Tulane University. In this interview, Pierce describes some of the work of his team at Oak Ridge, including how contaminants […]

CJ Mitchell: It’s CJ Mitchell, Junior. That’s just CJ. No periods or anything. It doesn’t stand for anything. And Mitchell – M-I-T-C-H-E-L-L. Kelly: Great. I would have made that mistake. Just like Harry Truman. It’s Harry S Truman, no period. Mitchell: Yeah, my dad was a CJ as well. Kelly: Was he? Mitchell: Yes. Kelly: You’re a junior. […]

CJ Mitchell grew up in northeastern Texas. In this interview, he describes moving to Hanford after graduating from high school in 1947. Only sixteen years old, Mitchell took a job working on the trailer park in North Richland, and worked on other construction projects. At first, he lived in a tent with his relatives in […]