Gail Smith Oral History
Object number2008.001.0070
Date09/10/2008
ClassificationsOral Histories
Oral history interview subject
Gail Smith
Oral history interviewer
Stephen Fagin
ObjectOral history
Credit LineOral History Collection/The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza
MediumBorn digital (.m2ts file)
DimensionsDuration: 70 Minutes
DescriptionVideotaped oral history interview with Gail Smith. Smith lived in Washington, D.C. at the time of the Kennedy assassination and moved to Dallas the following year, against the advice of friends. She became locally engaged in the women's rights movement and remained active throughout the 1970s.
Interview conducted at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza on September 10, 2008 by Stephen Fagin. The interview is one hour and ten minutes long.
Curatorial CommentaryAlongside local women's rights activist Frances McElvaney, who also recorded an oral history in 2008, Gail Smith co-founded a controversial education program for young women called "Explore" that was taught at Northaven United Methodist Church in Dallas. According to a 1987 profile in D Magazine, "Explore" was designed "to help women determine who they were, what they wanted to do with their lives, and how to do it." In that article, Smith explained that, after moving to Dallas in 1964, she "spent her time looking after two small children, teaching Sunday school, doing artsy-craftsy things, and wondering why she was depressed." Her work with the "Explore" program ultimately inspired her to pursue a master's degree. For many years, Smith worked with the Dallas Independent School District. -- Stephen Fagin, Curator
