Oral History Project:Margaret Colman (D. Scudder)

Posted by Darian Scudder in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - X on

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Abstract:


On may the 7th Margaret Coleman was interview by Darian Scudder and she was born in Alabama greenville 1960 she’s a African American her mom raise her up in church and she played games with brothers and sister’s. Her Dad made her brother ‘s and sister’s pick crops and take care of the farm she enjoyed being home with brother’s and sister’s working on the farm. She had to pick food and cotton and crops from the farm, she would play baseball, hide and go seek, and jacks, hopscotch, her dad drove the school bus, Mom would be at home and when come from school. She would spend a lot of time together with her family and  she would come home from church and they would go shopping , and sometimes her  family would sit outside on the porch and watch the cars go by together. Her parents would always watch out for her health not to eat junk food she would go into town and go into the little stores and get hun buns and little snacks from the corner stores. She would eat ice cream from the dairy queens but mostly her family would eat at home her favorite movies were (Gone with the wind) and (Romeo and Juliet) she would watch them in  school. Her Favorite Hobbies were Fishing, and she Made up her own baseball, and Walking to her neighbors houses she was very close to her mother Dad and sister and brothers, The school’s I went to had all blacks schools and I would be in the country schools. Most of her friends were blacks because the area she was in when her mom did house cleaning her boss was white and he had white children she would play around when she was little they help them when they had a lot of work.


Research:

I my Research I found that: African-American slaves, sharecropping came to define the method of land lease that would eventually become a new form of slavery. Without land of their own, many blacks were drawn into schemes where they worked a portion of the land owned by whites for a share of the profit from the crops. They would get all the seeds, food, and equipment they needed from the company store, which allowed them to run a tab throughout the year and to settle up once the crops, usually cotton, were gathered. When accounting time came, the black farmer was always a few dollars short of what he owed the landowner, so he invariably began the new year with a deficit. As that deficit grew, he found it impossible to escape from his situation by legal means. The hard, backbreaking work led to stooped, physically destroyed, and mentally blighted black people who could seldom envision escape for themselves or their children; their lives were an endless round of poor diet, fickle weather, and the unbeatable figures at the company store.

Sources:


http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1396



http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-1613


http://www.netstate.com/economy/al_economy.htm


Transcript:

  1. What was one of the best things you did growing up?

        My mom raise us up in church, played games with brothers and sister’s, Dad made us pick crops in all this happen in greenville Alabama , enjoyed being home with brothers, working on the farm.

  1. Did you have a rough childhood?

       I  had to work on a farm pick food and cotton and crops  

  1. Did you play any fun games growing up?

       I would play baseball, hide and go seek, and jacks, hopscotch

  1. Did you spend a lot of time with your parents?

 My dad drove the school bus , Mom would be at home and when come from school they would spend a lot of time together and they would got to church and they would go shopping , and sometimes We would sit outside on the porch and watch the cars go by together, My parents would always watch our health not to eat junk food.

  1. What was your favorite food store/place growing up?

I go into town and go into the little stores and get hun buns and little snacks from the corner stores they would eat ice cream from the dairy queens but mostly we would eat at home.

  1. What was your favorite movie?

    (Gone with the wind) and (Romeo and Juliet) We saw it in the school

  1. Did you have a favorite hobbies?

      Fishing, Made up their own baseball, Walk to our neighbors houses

  1. Did you have a person that you were close to growing up ?

       I was very close to my mother Dad and sister and brothers

  1. Did your school allow blacks and whites to be together?

        The school’s I went to had all blacks schools and I would be in the country schools.

  1. Do did you have many friends that were black or white?

  Most of My friends were blacks because the area I was in when my mom did house cleaning her boss was white and he had white children we would play around with them help them when they had a lot of work.


Interview With My Grandmother

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