Oral history - M. Vinson

MV: When were you born?

CV: May 5th, 1933

MV: where were you born?

CV: south Carolina?

MV: How was it like your first ten years of growing up?

CV: It was good, I learned about the old government. my grandmother worked for the pension fund. I went with my grandmother to wash and iron for the white families.

MV: did they treat you any way?

CV: yes

MV: how did they treat you?

CV: we ate after they did, we had to walk to their house to do their laundry. I used to go with my grandmother when she worked in tobacco.

MV: what was your grandmother's name ?

CV: Della

MV: What was her last name?

CV: Della Peterson.

MV: What was your mothers name?

CV: charity

MV: Charity Peterson?

CV: yes.

MV: Where did she [charity Peterson] work?

CV: She did domestic work.

MV: Was she around the house a lot

CV: No she sleep in.

MV: Father?

CV: My father was a farmer.

MV: What did he farm?

CV: He had his own farm.

MV: Did he make a lot of money farming?

CV: Yes he owned it. He had cotton pickers.

MV: What do you remember about school.

CV: Yes, I started the school when I was 5 years old, the school I went to was in a church and all the classes were in one room.

MV: Any white kids in the school?

CV: NO

MV: Did you ever think about going to school with white kids?

CV: Not really, I went to school with white people just not in south Carolina.

MV: Are you still living in south Carolina while you were in grade school.

CV: yes.

MV: did you ever think that white kids education was better?

CV: no, I didn't think it was better.

MV: Did you think you were getting a solid education at that school?

CV: yes

MV: Do you remember the name of the school or the church it was in?

CV: Antioch.

MV: Where did you attend high school:

CV: Junior high school in Philadelphia, and senior high in south Carolina.

MV: So you were moving back and forward between Philly and south Carolina.

CV: Right, right.

MV: So when did you first move to Philly?

CV: 1946

MV: Did you notice a big difference between Philly and south Carolina ?

CV: yes I did.

MV: What differences:

CV: It wasn't as Jim crow. The whites and colored were the same.

MV: So the whites and blacks would mingle in the streets?

CV: YES.

MV: Was it segregated?

CV: No it wasn't segregated

MV: So would you say you felt more comfortable living in Philly for the time?

CV: yes.

MV: When you went back to south Carolina how was the feeling?

CV: It was OK.

MV: would you have liked to live in Philly more after you been their?

CV: yes.

MV: When did you first hear about martin Luther king?

CV: in 1960’s

MV: Remember your first job

CV: yes

MV: what was it

CV: IT was uniform laundry

MV: How long did you work their?

CV: 44 years.

MV: 44 years.

MV: do you remember any speeches martin Luther king had?

CV: Yes, The I have a dream speech.

MV: Any other speeches?

CV: No that's the one that stood out the most.

MV: So when you first heard-

CV: Free at last, free at last thank god almighty I am free at last.