Welcome to the Southern Oral History Program
"You don't have to be famous for your life to be history."
— Nell Sigmon, 1979
These words have guided our work since 1973. At SOHP, we believe every life holds history worth preserving and that the stories of activists, millworkers, educators, artists, and everyday people are essential to understanding the American South.
We invite you to explore the archive, get inspired, and join us in telling this region's varied and complicated story with integrity and care.
About the Southern Oral History Program
Founded in 1973, the Southern Oral History Program at UNC Chapel Hill stewards one of the nation's most significant collections of oral histories documenting the U.S. South. More than 6,000 interviews with activists, educators, artists, millworkers, community leaders, and everyday people are freely available through SOHP via the Southern Historical Collection (SHC).
Our work is rooted in stewardship. We build relationships, honor narrators, and care responsibly for the stories entrusted to us, activating them through research, teaching, exhibitions, and creative practice.
What We Do
We ask questions about the American South that can only be answered through oral histories. Our archive documents the lives of activists, millworkers, educators, artists, faith leaders, and everyday people whose stories shape how we understand this region.
We work with faculty, students, community partners, K-12 educators, labor groups, arts organizations, and tribal communities to make these stories accessible, relevant, and alive. Our interviews are free and open to all through sohp.org and the Southern Historical Collection at Wilson Library.
On the Horizon: 2026 and Beyond
SOHP entered 2026 with momentum. Building on major partnerships with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, the Union of Southern Service Workers, and Project Threadways, we are expanding what oral history can do and who it can reach.
This year we launched the Art and Oral History Incubator, a year-long initiative bringing artists, archivists, scholars, and community collaborators into creative conversation with our archive. The Incubator culminates in a nationally convened Art and Oral History Institute in Summer 2027 and will lay the groundwork for a dedicated issue of Southern Cultures.
Interview Archive
The Southern Oral History Program interview archive is available through the Southern Historical Collection in the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill.
Research Projects
We create original research and partner with interdisciplinary collaborators in advanced initiatives and strive to make our archive useful to communities from which these stories originate.
Opportunities
We enhance oral history training and education by training, supporting, and partnering with community members, students, and faculty to conduct advanced, ethical research.
Resources
We strive to make our unparalleled archive useful to communities, scholars, and practitioners worldwide. The interviews serve as primary sources for bold and compelling research.