Meredith, Zach Oral History, 2025

Scope and content:

In this interview, Zach Meredith discusses how his experience as a student at William and Mary shaped his understanding of community and belonging. He discusses how he was drawn to W&M for its intellectual community, and subsequently found his community through the American Studies department and the Williamsburg Documentary Project course. Further, Zach details how the WDP exposed him to new ways of approaching history through archive work and understanding of his positionality. He recounts how his research on the Triangle Block during the WDP developed into his senior thesis project, "Urban Renewal in the Colonial Capital: Contextualizing the Williamsburg Redevelopment & Housing Authority"(2019). Now teaching at the same high school in Durham, North Carolina that he attended as a student, Zach hopes to develop a Durham History elective, incorporating aspects from the WDP. This interview was conducted by undergraduate students Sarah Kinlaw and Leah Schrum and was indexed by Caroline Cromwell. The interview took place in the Samuel E. Jones building on the William and Mary campus and on Zoom on the afternoon of 3/4/2025. This interview was conducted for research purposes by the Williamsburg Documentary Project, taught by Molly Robinson and Tijuana Reeve.

Access and use

Location of collection:
College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
400 Landrum Drive
PO 8795
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
Contact for questions and access:
Phone: (757) 221-3090
Fax: (757) 221-5440
Parent restrictions:
Portions of this collection may be restricted for privacy reasons. Consult a staff member for assistance. Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, such as the Virginia Public Records Act (Code of Virginia. § 42.1-76-91); and the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (Code of Virginia § 2.2-3705.5). Confidential material may include, but is not limited to, educational, medical, and personnel records. If sensitive material is found in this collection, please contact a staff member immediately. The disclosure of personally identifiable information pertaining to a living individual may have legal consequences for which the College of William and Mary assumes no responsibility.
Parent terms of access:
Before reproducing or quoting from any materials, in whole or in part, permission must be obtained from the Special Collections Research Center, and the holder of the copyright, if not Swem Library.

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