The essential nature of oral historical inquiry "naturally" and "relentlessly" brings an oral historian to theory. In this essay, the author argues for the relevance of theory in oral historical research that explores generational transformations in the relational experiences of youth attending desegregated schools in the…

This article contributes to one's historical understanding of student experience in general, and more particularly, to one's understanding of developing cross-group relationships within desegregated schools over the second half of the twentieth century. The article draws from a broader study that examines students' evolving relationships within a…