Mukhtar Stones

5/18/15

History-Roy

Oral History Interview: Oreva Stones

Abstract:

For my Oral Interview project for African American History, I choose my grandmother Oreva Stones. What was most compelling about interviewing her was her belief that the system of America Are not doing anything about the problems that African Americans make and all people. She believed that the times had gotten better, but us as people are still having to go through the same problems and difficulties all over again. She connected her beliefs with racism in the workforce, education for blacks during her time,and even going to public places. Such as the Brown V. Board of Education case, part of that her Aunt on her father's side was apart of the case. Her Aunt had bad heart problems and it was hard for her to walk to the black schools which was farther than the white schools which was closer. She believes that all people should be treated equally no matter what and that we should change the system.

Research:

Part of the Brown V. Board of Education, the NAACP created the “separate but equal” doctrine as part of segregating blacks from whites in public school education in 1954. Even though this doctrine was made, the outcome wasn't as it was said to be, black neighborhood schools did not have good educational systems for black students, which made black parents angry to the point where they got the supreme court involved. The case was a part of several other cases, taking place in Kansas, South Carolina, Virginia, and Delaware. There were several black children through their legal representatives, went out to seek admission for public schools that required or permitted racial segregation.

Sources-

http://www.lawnix.com/cases/brown-board-education.html

http://www.pbs.org/wnet/supremecourt/rights/landmark_brown.html

Transcript:

Thursday, 4/30/15

Time 4:30 Grandmother's house

Interview questions:

M.S: Okay, so hello Nanna.

O.S: Hello Mukhtar, how are you today?

M.S: I'm feeling good. Can you give us your full name?

O.S: Oreva Stones

M.S: Oreva stones and you are the mother of my father jihad stones, and when were you born.

O.S: February the third, 1950

M.S: So, as part of your childhood, how did you experience the role of your race in society or other races?

O.S: Well I found out about slavery when I was seven cause my great grandmother was a slave, and I was very upset, very upset, but I didn't really experience racism until I went to Junior high school, because the junior high school I went to was majority white.

M.S: Oh!

O.S: And that's when I experienced racism.

M.S: So do you think the roles that races were set for have changed and are differently now?

O.S: Uh I don't know about differently I would say its more undercover now it ain't so straight outward like it was then, but basically its the same.

M.S: You still think it's the same?

O.S: Um, because we still haven to march and protest after the sixties. When we tore up our neighborhoods, and I was living on a block where they uhh.. In this neighborhood, where I accessorize all the people riding turning over buses, and breaking news stories. You know, and we... in 2015 have to do that again, so to me we had not really did anything. We didn't really move from those things. You know we're still being treated the same way.

M.S: Yeah um, and as a racial society we're stuck in the same place. We're not doing anything, and so when something happens you try to change it but it's not, we're not doing it right. Like what they're doing in Baltimore

O.S: I think now in my opinion is that they know the way um minorities are treated is wrong

M.S: Right

O.S: And instead of treating us right, they still want to go by the old laws and makes us do other kind of things to change the law, when its wrong, and they know it's wrong. They should just change the law without having us going through all changes they makes us make

M.S: Yeah I do see what your saying there.So what do you remember from and during the Civil Rights movements?

O.S: Um...well church of the advocate had black power convention and I believe it was sixty seven, sixty eight, and I lived down the street from there. So I experience uh... the movement I was involved in the movement. Umm the people were marching up and down the avenues with rifles and I witnessed all of that. A guy I was dating was in the national guard and the guys marching up the avenue with rifles, you know. People came all over from everywhere, Chicago, uhh I meet so many interest in people umm...it was...it really changed a lot for me.

M.S: Wow. So tell me how you experience racism in high school, but did you experience a lot of racial segregation, during the Jim Crow Laws?

O.S: No no, that was uhh.. before my time and more down south. It weren't so Jim Crow as we know separate bathrooms and and water fountains and all that, I didn't experience none of that.

M.S: Ohh, I do know that it was more, I mean in the south, but I do know it had some influence on the north, so I was wondering if like is there any occasions you were being segregated.

O.S: No not that way my my experience was was things we just knew we couldn't do because we were black, ya' know

M.S: Oh can you give me a few things.

O.S: Uh, lets see what I could give you well there wast that many people playing football or basketball or baseball or or things like that and ya' know there were no umm managers in the job situation or supervisors, none of that none of that were black when I was a little girl, ya' know by time I got out of high school and stuff they were just changing where they would let us get those positions at work. But where as before my job seniority when you got seniority you could move up, but when they start letting the black people moved up, instead of just moving up because of the seniority they would make us take test to get the position the same position the white people got we would have to take test in order to get those positions

M.S: Well it's somewhat like that now but not racially with sometimes getting jobs or getting into schools, so i think i think i know what you're saying there. Um how was the educational system back then and how do you think it's different now.

O.S: Umm... I think it's better now because you know my aunt your great aunt was in that brown vs the board of education  she was involved in that because my aunt had heart problems, and to walk to school was a hard on her because her heart so this is how she got involved in that because the white schools were closer to her and she could walk without the problem and she had to walk the way to get to black schools and that's how she got involved i have a jet magazine that they were in did i ever show that to you?

M.S: No but that's like interesting because we were just learning about that in school

O.S: Hahahaha!

M.S: Yeah so I... such a great coincidence.keep on going.

O.S: So my so my aunt was involved in that, so i do know a little about that but umm.. when I went to school umm the neighborhood schools were all black..

M.S: All black?

O.S: Mhm. And umm I went out to neighborhood to school which is how I ended up in a school that was majority white.

M.S: So that's somewhat like that now, majority of the neighborhood schools are black, now they have white students, and other racial groups, but mainly black and white. More black than white, so I see what your saying it has change, it has gotten better, which is which is good for the African American society more today.

O.S: Yeah because you had to go to the school in your neighborhood, now the kids can go to any school they wanna go to any school they qualify to go to.

M.S: SO when you were growing up what was it like to be a younger Black/African American girl?

O.S: I didn't have a problem growing up because the whole neighborhood were, ya' know everywhere I went it was majority black. You know what I mean, its only going to be black like in town or or um to the movies n stuff, and that's when i I saw racism because we would be in line and they would wait on the white people before they would wait on us and um they wouldn't want us to sit in seats that weren't that really good or comfortable, where they would give white people with better seats, seating arrangements and things like that. That wasn't until I got older, when I was a little girl I didn't really experience but when i started getting older and started going out of the neighborhood, going places where I saw that at.

M.S: At least its not like that now cause I would have a fit at least you get your own seat cause I would have a fit.

O.S: Yeah.

M.S: When you were growing up did you have black and white friends, white friends, or just black friends.

O.S: When I started junior high I started making white friends, up to that point I didn't have any white friends.

M.S: Oh okay, not even now.

O.S: Oh now I have white friends, but then I didn't, so I've learned to expect people for who they are not just uh she white or she Puerto Rican or ya know you learn to treat people quarter to how they treat you and that's how you get along with people.

M.S: Yeah that's how the world should work.

O.S: That's how the world should work.

M.S: Do you believe all people should have equal rights? No matter who they are?

O.S: No matter who they are.

M.S: Awesome! Have you ever encountered racism, from a police man, teacher, or a random person?

O.S: When I first started working, and this will be seventies after your dad was born, when I started working, at the Philadelphia gas works, that's when I saw really opened racism, umm me and my closest friend, my closest friend at the time was white her name was Debbie and we did almost everything together and she got a cold i got a cold, and when she went to our dispensary, they gave her more medicine or better medicine then they gave me, she would go and she would "Reeva go down to the dispensary, they give you so and so.", but they would never give me the same things that they gave her.

M.S: Oh did she even know that?

O.S: And this is this is like when I started working at the gas company in the 80s, no she didn't know that because i never mentioned it to her at the time but that's when i started um... getting notes and again when i started working at the gas company, because we were melting in the sixties and you would go up o different places and you would learn that people are people but when I started working at the gas company I.. i started getting militating again because there was so much open racism.

M.S: Oh!

O.S: Ya' Know I had to threaten my job with getting a lawyer in order to get the position i should of gotten because of my seniority but they wanted to give it to this white girl and they thought I would let it go and i wouldn't. When i first started working at the gas company i was really amazed at how they did to black people and the black people would say "Reeva this is how it is here" and I would say not for me, because it's not right and I'm not gonna let them treat me like that so i had to get back to being militant and fighting for what i deserve.

M.S: You gotta fight for whats right.

O.S: Yes, you gotta fight for whats right.

M.S: If you could be more involved in the Civil Rights movement how much involvement would you contribute?

O.S: If I could be more involved...

M.S: That's a tie.