Skip to content

Museum object · video recordings

Robert Bagner Hayling, D.D Oral History Interview

September 14, 2011

Saint Augustine, Saint Johns, Florida, United States, North and Central America; Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America; Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North and Central America

COLLECTION RECORDImage not availableExplore the catalog description and source record.
Visit the source record ↗

Source catalog description

This description refers to material held by Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. Visual details below describe the original material.

The oral history consists of six digital files: 2011.174.48.1a, 2011.174.48.1b, 2011.174.48.1c, 2011.174.48.1d, 2011.174.48.1e, and 2011.174.48.1f. Robert Hayling, D.D recalls serving in the air force during World War II, attending the Meharry Dental School, and participating in civil rights protests in Nashville, Tennessee. He remembers starting his dental practice in St. Augustine, Florida, leading the local National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) youth group, and the exclusion of African Americans from St. Augustine's 400th anniversary celebration, and being attacked by the Ku Klux Klan. He also discusses resigning from the NAACP, the support of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) for local protests, and his move to Cocoa, Florida. LOC ID: afc2010039_crhp0048.

Catalog date
September 14, 2011
Recorded places
Saint Augustine, Saint Johns, Florida, United States, North and Central America; Nashville, Davidson County, Tennessee, United States, North and Central America; Cocoa, Brevard County, Florida, United States, North and Central America
Recorded subjects
African American; Activism; American South; Associations and institutions; Civil Rights; Hate crimes; HBCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities); Medicine

Sources & collection details

Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture — original record ↗

Source collection ↗

Catalog metadata · CC0 · Source checked 2026-10-20

Catalog reference: 2011.174.48.1a-f

Collection: National Museum of African American History and Culture Collection

Continue exploring Series 1

Science & Invention →Civil Rights & Public Life →Education & Ideas →

Explore all Series 1 cards →