The Oral History Project is a planned companion initiative to the Sourcebook Project, intended to preserve recorded memories, reflections, and personal testimony relating to the life and legacy of David Tengelin.
The Oral History Project is a planned companion initiative to the Sourcebook Project, intended to preserve recorded memories, reflections, and personal testimony relating to the life and legacy of David Tengelin.
While the Sourcebook Project focuses on documents, photographs, correspondence, artifacts, and other historical records, oral history provides something different: the opportunity to preserve lived experience, personal perspective, and the memories that cannot always be captured through written materials alone.
Following completion of the Sourcebook Project, recorded interviews and first-person accounts will be gathered and preserved as a separate collection. Preparation for the project will include revisiting locations connected to David's life in New York, including Bryant Park, the World Trade Center site, Pier 40, and other places that formed part of his journey.
Where appropriate, recordings and transcripts may ultimately be offered alongside the Sourcebook Project to participating libraries, archives, museums, and other cultural institutions committed to long-term preservation and public stewardship.
The project draws inspiration from established oral history initiatives, including the National September 11 Memorial & Museum Oral History Collection, which demonstrates the enduring value of firsthand testimony in preserving historical memory for future generations.