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​Abstract

This interview is on my neighbor Mr. Win Berd who was born in February 28, 1948. In this interview he talks about his childhood and his education. He also talks about what happened during that time and about all the challenges he face in his lifetime.

Transcript

Oral Interview

Radiatou Diarra

RD: Where were you born?

WB: I was born in Philadelphia, PA.

RD:What is your educational background?

WB: I graduated in 1965 from Ben Franklin High School. From 80-83 I was in Community College and earned an Associate’s degree.

RD: Was Benjamin Franklin that hard back then?

WB: It wasn’t that bad back then either. It was much better back then.  

RD: How old were you during the Civil Rights Movement?

WB:  OK but Civil Rights movement go way back. See I was born in 1948. The Civil Rights movement was going on during that time.

RD: What do you remember about it?

WB: I remember about how my fore parents and my parents how they was hung or lynched during that time because they was not allowed to read or write. Their white, I don’t want to call them slave masters but plantation owners used to lynch em or whip em with a whip if they was caught reading or writing during that time

RD: May I ask did it happen in the north?

WB: It did not happen in the North but it happened in the South but the North was just a bad. They were just a racist as they were in the South.

RD: Wait. So did you grow up here?

WB: Yes, I was born and raised here. I been here for 67 years.

DR: Did the Civil Rights movement change racial relations in the US. ?

WB: No it got worse during that time. Cause it’s still going on. Only thing different they are not wearing hooded sheets. They wearing 3 piece suits. I’m talking about the Klu Klux.

RD: Do you think that progress had been made from now to then?

WB: To an extent. Yes, it had been made. I never thought I would see a black president in my time. So that shows that progress has changed.

RD: Was your community, segregated like  separated?

WB: Yes, yes there were certain parts of certain areas all over the city where like black and white didn’t get along. And it still happens.

RD: Where you lived?

WB: Where I lived. I was raised in North Philly. I only been out Southwest for 1970 like 43 years.

RD: How did you feel about the Civil Rights Movement?

WB: I feel bad because it was a part of my people. How they was trying to keep us  from getting where they were at or equal rights. We were not giving that and to this day we are still not getting equal rights?

RD: Have your feelings changed

WB: To what degree? in which way?

RD: From then to now?

WB: It has changed. At one time I did not like my Caucasian brothers. But now that I see all Caucasian brothers are not bad. You have some good ones. So my feeling have changed.

RD. Thank you so much.

WB: You’re welcome.

1) Describe your project.

For this quarter, I decided to do something simple and pretty. My [project is just a flower pencil. Meaning that I took a pencil and made the top into a flower by using duck tape.

2) What did you learn while completing this project?

While doing this project, I learned a few things. One being that making a flower out of duct tape isn't as simple as I thought. I thought you would just have to fold every piece of duct tape and the flower would come out right. However, that wasn't the case. You have to fold every piece the same in order for the leafs to look like they came from the same plant. Another thing I learned was that making this would take longer than I thought. I waited until late to start this because I thought it would be quick, but in order for the flower to look neat it takes time pin evenly laying out the leafs.

3) What was the hardest part about completing this project?

The hardest part about completing this project would be two things. One being that I had to buy the tape then ran out, then had to buy more, then lost it, to buying it again. The other hardest thing was making the flower neat, and evenly portioned throughout the rows.

4) What was the most fun/exciting part?

The most fun thing about it was seeing the flower actually come alive, where people could tell it was a flower.

5) If you were to do this project over again, what would you do differently?

If I were to do this project differently, I would be sure to start earlier, having lots of tape, and portion my rows.

                                                  Abstract          

In this interview, I’m asking Thomas Grant, the interviewee who was born and raised in Philadelphia, questions about the Civil Rights Movement, his childhood, his education, and things that were happening in his neighborhood. A couple of questions he doesn't know, but his answers to other questions were things I never knew about. This 67 year-old man witnessed a lot of things during work, school, or even when is at home, but he never participated during that time. When you read and/or listen to the interview, you might learn new things that you never would've guessed.

During the interview, Thomas brought up the Million-Man march. He said that he seen a couple people from his job who went down to Washington D.C. When I researched that event, it said that it happened 20 years ago (October 16, 1995) at Washington D.C. and the website Million Man March says: “The Million Man March was one of the most historic organizing and mobilizing events in the history of Black people in the United States.” The person that led the march was Minister Louis Farrakhan who is the leader for Nation of Islam, but besides that he was a black religious and social leader.

      Interview Part 1

Tyrone: Okay, hello, um..my name is Tyrone Grant. What is yours?

Thomas: Uh...Thomas Grant.

Tyrone: Okay, so...do you remember your parents?

Thomas: (chuckled) Yes.

Tyrone: Okay, so what were your parents like when you were a kid?

Thomas: Um...my parents were...giving, but demanding. They were religious and um...they made sure we had everything we needed. As children growing up, we were fed, clothed, sheltered, they were good and it was a good time.

Tyrone Okay, okay, so where were you living when you were a kid? Outside the state or…

Thomas: I was living in Philadelphia.

Tyrone: So, when you were younger, did you see any role of race in society?

Thomas: Yes, on the news for one, just with the police department how blacks were treated compared to the whites. Certain neighborhoods if you went into them, they would stop you, and harass you. It was...a time where when you stayed in your neighborhood, you were fine.

Tyrone: Oh wow, so how about your parents? Did they see any types of discrimination?

Thomas: Uh yeah, well my dad fought in World War II, and he was born in the South and he had to leave the South and came North because of racism.

Tyrone: Alright, so that’s pretty interesting. So what was it like being you know...a son of a man who fought in the war?

Thomas: He didn’t talk about the war much. He was more into providing, so he spent his time trying to make a...make it so we can survive. At one time, I was told he was making $0.76 an hour, so money was not there like it is today. I’m blessed because I’m able to make a lot more. (giggling)

Tyrone: So that’s pretty interesting. So have you witnessed or involved, or were involved (correcting myself) in anything about the Civil Rights Movement?

Thomas: I’ve witnessed...well basically what you saw on the news; police brutality in Philadelphia. We had riots back in the 60’s because of prejudice and racism. Martin Luther King as you know, being on the news and seeing what he was fighting for. Knowing and heard of the...people talk about it; athletes who’ve played basketball, saying that they couldn’t go in the front door of a restaurant where they was going to go to eat. The Boston Celtics, the center for them talked about it, people talked about it, but coming up when we were coming up, it wasn’t too much we could really do.

Tyrone: Okay, so you’ve mentioned riots and stuff in Philadelphia, correct?

Thomas: Yea.

Tyrone: Okay, so were you involved in those riots?

Thomas: No I wasn’t involved in them, but...they were basically in our neighborhood. Police...attacked a boy and before anybody realized or knew what was going on, people gotten together and four or five blocks away from where I was living, Columbia Avenue and Susquehanna Avenue, they were tearing up, destroying stuff, breaking into the stores, and they brought out the National Guard. So yea I’ve seen it, I didn’t get involved in it.

Tyrone: That’s interesting, umm so have you ever witnessed any other types of segregation against others?

Thomas: Yea, uh it hasn’t been as I got older; I kind of stayed away, but yea I’ve seen where people wouldn’t allow you to do things. You couldn’t go into certain neighborhoods like I said before. I was less of a “out on the streets” type of person, I was more home and when I travel, I travel to a place and came back. I didn’t really hangout.

Tyrone: Oh I see, now I know where I got my laziness from. (laughing)

   Interview Part 2

Tyrone: Alright, so did you know anybody that participated in the Civil Rights Movement?

Thomas: Yea, I people-I knew some not a lot, but I knew a couple of people during the Civil Rights time with Martin Luther King. They went to Washington, the million-man march. Not personally, but knowing them from maybe working with them or their parents, not working but...parents who went on the march.

Tyrone: Alright, so you said working, so what job were you working for?

Thomas: Well, I worked for Septa and I wasn’t working during the Martin Luther King march because I was still in school, but I’ve been where they had other marches, so yea I knew a couple of people, but not many.

Tyrone: So um, did you ever attend a school that had segregation?

Thomas: Segregation (whispering), No, because basically the schools I’ve went to were basically black.

Tyrone: So how was it like going to an all-black school?

Thomas: Well you don’t know any difference because it is all black and nobody is being treated any differently. You know, it’s not like going to a school that’s half and half, you can see things, but when you to a school that’s basically all black, you don’t get that.

Tyrone: So, in the all-black schools, did you have like cheaper supplies and like...what I mean by supplies, I mean like books and stuff than the white schools?

Thomas: I can’t answer that because we didn’t know. All we knew was that we had books and we did have books, and we had the pencils, and the paper and all that. Let’s say another school had more than our school, it wasn’t put out there because the media today is so much more, and information is passed around so much easier. Back then, you’ve got your books, and we didn’t have basically what you have today: computers, and calculators, and everything we did had to be done by hand and by memory.

Tyrone: So was it tough in school for you?

Thomas: Well you don’t know because you don’t know the difference...we had nothing to measure one from another.

Tyrone: I meant like..just like...you know. Like right now, it’s tough for me in school so I’m saying on a daily basis doing work and everything...so was it tough?

Thomas: I mean, I made it through if that’s what you’re asking. I graduated, but when you  saying tough, I guess all schools had their bullies, but listening to the news today, it was nowhere near as bad as it is today.

Tyrone: I have a quick question, so it’s a little bit off topic. How many brothers and sisters do you have?

Thomas: One sister, two brothers.

Tyrone: What were their names?

Thomas: Joyce, Troy, and David.

Tyrone: Okay I know Joyce, but tell me about Troy and David.

Thomas: What do you want to know?

Tyrone: What were they like?

Thomas: Oh, well we got along fine, everybody was good. When I went to high school, my sister was married, so she was gone. My brother went to the military, my oldest brother went to the military. My youngest brother, when he got out of school, he went to the military.

Tyrone: That’s interesting. Did you lose anybody that you knew personally like a family member because of discrimination and segregation out there?

Thomas: Did I what?

Tyrone: Did you lose anybody?

Thomas: Oh, no. Not that I...no. I can say no. To my knowledge, I don’t know anybody in my family that died because of segregation.

Tyrone: Okay, well that’s good, that’s good. Have you ever faced any types of segregation like you personally?

Thomas: Personally, I’ll say no cause I don’t...I..no no, personally no.

Tyrone: Okay, well that’s it. Thank you for your time.

Thomas: My pleasure.

Abstract

In the interview, my grandmother talks about what it was like being exposed to racism and people of color when she went to school in New York. She talks about the Civil Rights movement, and she shares her deep, and insightful thoughts on the prominent leaders of the Civil Rights movement.

Research

During our interview, my grandmother said something that really stuck with me. She said, “I think it (violence) was necessary so that we could appreciate Martin Luther King's contribution as a peaceful movement”. I think that this is a very deep analysis of the Civil Rights movement’s most important leaders, and I do agree with her statement of us needing the more passive-aggressive Malcolm X, to appreciate the peaceful MLK.

It is like eating a ghost pepper and then drinking a cool glass of milk afterwards. If you just drank the glass of milk on it’s own, it is a pretty normal glass of milk. But, if you eat a ghost pepper and then you drink the milk, the milk becomes this marvelous nectar that saves you from the fiery pain that is burning your mouth, and you appreciate that milk for doing so. The same thing goes for MLK and Malcolm X. Malcolm X was a Civil Rights leader who promoted the defense against white aggression, and was famous for the line “by any means necessary”, meaning that African Americans should do whatever must be done to obtain freedom. MLK spoke out against violence, believed in passive resistance, and implored the African American community to participate in nonviolent protests. If there was no Malcolm X and the “by any means necessary” form of resistance, then MLK and peaceful protesting would be appreciated less. But, since there was a more violent resistance, MLK and the nonviolent protests are appreciated much more. I think that this is a very interesting idea that my grandmother touched on during my interview with her.

Sources

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/malcolm-x

http://www.history.com/topics/black-history/civil-rights-movement

https://lifeexaminations.wordpress.com/2011/03/14/mlk-vs-malcolm-x-similaritiesdifferences/

Transcript

Max- I am interviewing my grandmother, Peggy Harris.

Max- What is your conceptualization of race, and how has it changed?

Peggy- I think as a young kid, I certainly didn’t have much to do with people of color, and I think that it was just, you know, where we lived; the location. So, I really didn’t have much exposure, and when I first went to school in New York City, it was my first time I had actually really interacted with other people like me, but of different color, and I went to school with them. And it was the first time that I had a relationship with others that- well it was a wake-up call for me because i never realized how prejudiced I was against color until I had the experience of having friends who were of other color. So, I think it has changed over time because I recognized how discriminatory I was, and it was kind of a real shock to me, I remember when it happened. And so, I think over time, I have begun to look at people not so much as color, but as to who they are, what relationship they have with me, things we have in common, and I think that is the biggest change I've had. And, it primarily has to do with the fact that I have worked with a lot of people of different color.

MH- In your opinion, what is the role of race in society? Or is there a role?

PH- Is there a role for race? No, I don’t think so, it shouldn't be. There shouldn't be a role for race. And I think that the more we integrate, integrate, integrate at younger ages, the more we will see each other as who we are; people. But, everybody’s different, and stereotyping is really something I find myself doing at times, still. I just hope that my grandchildren don’t do it.

MH- Do you think that the racism and prejudice, along with the stereotypes, do you think that they will eventually go away?

PH- I think it probably will, eventually, one day, I don’t really know. We’re lucky in that in Philadelphia, we really have a large mix of people from all over the world. So, I think that there is more opportunity for kids being raised in the Philadelphia area to stop being- to not even be racist, even at the get-go. It’s an opportunity, and of course a lot of it depends on the parents of each generation, as to how that’s all played out.

MH- Have you recently witnessed racial, cultural, religious, gender, discrimination?

PH- You know, I probably block a lot, so I can’t really think of it. I can’t really think of any time when I was looking at people

MH- What do you remember from the Civil Rights movement?

PH- Well the first thing I remember, I was still living in South America and I was a teenager, and I remember the news reports of the lynchings. The lynchings in the South. As the Civil movement starting to become noticed, there had been a lot of lynchings in the past, but now the news was really starting to pick up on it, and I was really appalled, I couldn't believe people would do things like that to each other. Living in South America at the time I was pretty well divorced from it, it didn't affect me personally, but to this day I remember those reports of the lynchings, and I think that was the beginning of the Civil Rights movement, when people became aware of what was really happening. And it wasn't just in the South, although the lynchings only took place in the South, but it was really all over the United States.

MH- What do you think was the most significant part of the Civil Rights movement?

PH- Well there was a lot of violence, and I was in New York in school, and I remember the violence with Malcolm X, and I have since read his autobiography, and I realized that in many ways he was right, about how you are going to change the people look at you. And I think violence, I don’t like it, but I think it was necessary so that we could appreciate Martin Luther King’s contribution as a peaceful movement. I think that really helped all of us. All of my generation to change, and adapt, and to rethink this whole business with color.

PH- I never quite understood the Southern idea of race, I mean like the bombing in Birmingham, and the five little girls. I could never really understand the violence, that I never could. But I understood the violence and the anger that came out of those riots, and of course it was a time where people were rioting, students were rioting against Vietnam, and there was just an awful lot of unrest in every which way, including women, who were unhappy with being relegated the role of housewife, and never do anything with their lives other than stay at home. Not that raising children and being a wife is a bad thing, but there is more to life than just that role, and I think women wanted a piece of the action out there.

MH- In recent events such as Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown and Ferguson, and Baltimore, what do you think about the rioting?

PH- I think that it is a wake up call again, and the news media has grabbed a hold of it, so people like myself who are not involved directly, are now involved on an emotional level. Do, I think that what is going on is racism, yes I believe so. Someone mentioned, with the police action, it was militarization of the police, and I totally believe that. No longer are you innocent until proven guilty, you're guilty! And that’s what we have been told to do you know? At airports, you’re told to look around for suspicious people and report them, and goodness gracious, I think that we would do that without being told, but now we look at people and think, well are they getting a cup of coffee or... It is just stereotyping, again, and we are just looking at people as though they are guilty.

http://www.dnj.com/story/opinion/2015/01/19/like-martin-luther-king/21999739/

The Secret History Of The Word ‘ Cracker’

http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2013/07/01/197644761/word-watch-on-crackers

Is There a Such Thing as Voluntary Segregation?

http://globalsegregation.com/is-there-such-a-thing-as-voluntary-segregation/

Transcript

CYC: How much segregation have you experienced in your life?

YC: All my life I just don't pay it no mind

CYC: how intense have the events of segregation you experienced been?

YC: they are much stronger than they were today because we have come so far to get here today

CYC: What do you remember about the following events Murder of Emmett Till,  Lunch-counter sit-ins, Freedom Rides, murder of Jimmie Lee Jackson, Bloody Sunday”?

YC: Please tell me what happened with them

CYC: Bloody sunday was a march on a bridge to ballot

YC: Bloody Thursday.

CYC: No sunday.

YC: Oh only that it  happened.

CYC: How involved were you and your family in the civil rights movement?

YC:  I guess We were very active we all played out some more than other I was the more kind of guy.

CYC: Can you give an example

YC: Militant because whatever it took i was done with it as long as it was for the proper cause

CYC: Do you see a difference in segregation from back then and today

YC: oh most definitely it's much lighter than now because it got a bit better now and they camouflage it more so.

CYC: can you explain what you mean by camouflage ?

YC: They didn’t care if people knew or not

CYC: So you feel as though segregation still exist but it is camouflage?

YC: Right.

CYC : How do you feel as though it is camouflaged ?

YC: Crackers are different now thats all because they were more aggressive with it now they try to posses it off

CYC: Other races besides caucasian and hispanic participated in the civil rights movement

YC: They do because weather the participate or not they are people of color and people don't like to realize that a lot

CYC:  Is there one  story about segregation or the civil rights movement that you would like share

YC: It would probably be life of MLK , because i didn't like him until after he was kilt isn't that strange  but i didn't like for women and  kids to get hit .  hosed down and dogs  stuck on em you know they use to stick them dogs on them people and I tell you it was so vicious I still think it's vicious

CYC:  So you feel as though it was MLK fault?

YC : Not at all he was for the right cause they was for the wrong cause.

JH; Hey I’m here with my grandma, Merian Campbell and umm so, where were you born?

MC: In Whiteville, North Carolina.

JH: So, do you think you faced racism more in North Carolina than in Philadelphia?  

MC: I-I faced it more in Philadelphia I think.

JH: What makes you think that?

MC: Well, it’s really hard to say actually- because being born in the 50s um whenever a whole lot of racism was going on, I wasn’t around it um... I wasn’t around it. Only when we went into the city. And, nobody actually bothered us, we had no problems even though we wasn’t allowed to go in the restaurants and sit down and stuff like that, but that didn’t matter because we never went to restaurants.

JH: Did you ever signs- segregation signs that said whites only and blacks only?

MC: Uh,  I’ve saw signs that said um, whites only bathroom at the bus station, um basically that’s it.

JH: Did you understand like,  why did anybody ever tell why they had those signs?

MC: Not really, it was just that we don’t go in that bathroom.

JH: So, Jim Crow laws never really impacted you.

MC: No, nope.

JH: Well, what year did you come to Philadelphia?

MC: I came to Philadelphia in 1970.

JH: So, segregation was over by that time, so what racism- did anybody say anything?

MC: Uh, Segregation was over at that time, but where we came from schools did not mix until 1970.

JH: So, besides black people in your school were there any other races.

MC: No.

JH: You told me that there were Native Americans in your um… near your hometown. They didn’t go to your school or anything?

MC: They had their own school.

JH: Did you ever talk, like were you ever friends with someone outside your race.

MC: Uh, nope.

JH: Well-

MC: Well Native Americans yes, I’m sorry. With some Native Americans, but that was it, that was only because they lived in the community.  

JH: Did any other- any whites live in your community, was your neighborhood diverse?

MC: Nope. All Black. Even it was segregated, I mean, the Native Americans lived in one section of the community and the blacks in the other. The Native Americans and the Blacks, they did you know socialize.

JH: So, they didn’t like hate each other?

MC: No.

JH: Were there any racist remarks to each other?

MC: No.

JH: Well, in my school there is a lot of self-segregation, why do you think that is?

MC: I really don’t know, maybe because they think they’re different.

JH: Well, I know there was self-segregation in your school, but you told me about our uncle, who went to an all white school. How do you think that was for him?

MC: That was when they first started mixing the schools, and he went and it was only a few blacks, uh he faced uh racism. I didn’t, because I didn’t go there.

JH: Did- Did he ever come home and like was angry or upset about what they said?

MC: At first, um, maybe the first month he had a pretty rough time, uh he didn’t really talk about it a lot it was just uh I know he got in trouble a couple of times, over somethings that was said to him.

Abstract

My grandmother, Merian Campbell, told what it was like for her in school before they stop segregated school.  She also talked about my uncle going to an interracial school and the struggles he had to face. Since, she had a brother she got to see how different the education was between white and colored school.

Research

North Carolina, though not one of the major states during civil rights movement, still faced segregation. In 1954, public schools were determined unconstitutional for being segregated. But in North Carolina the desegregated slowly. In fact, Greensboro school was the first to agree with the Brown vs Board of education laws. “In Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Education, a federal court ruled that busing could be used as a tool to help integrate the public schools,” which was attempt to desegregate schools.    

Sources:

http://ncpedia.org/history/20th-Century/african-american-civil-rights

http://civilrightsproject.ucla.edu/research/k-12-education/integration-and-diversity/segregation-again-north-carolina2019s-transition-from-leading-desegregation-then-to-accepting-segregation-now

Ms Landman interview

Aliya:  Hi this is Aliya I am here interviewing Ms Landman

Ms Landman:  Hi!

Aliya:  What was your job before working at SLA?

Ms Landman:  My job before working at SLA was um Alexander Mcclure Elementary School  and I was a K-5 education teacher.

Aliya:  How would your friends describe you?

Ms Landman:  Uhh I think my friends would describe me as really and serious really silly.  So sometimes i'm really serious and other times i'm really silly.  

Aliya:  What do you do for fun?

Ms Landman:  Uh for fun I’m really into music and so is my husband we like to go to lots of shows and listen to bands.  

Chloe Bartlett interview:

Aliya:  Hello how are you today?

Chloe:  Fantabulous!

Aliya:  I am going to start with your questions alright?

Chloe:  Mhm!

Aliya:  How would you describe yourself

Chloe:  Weird, um, weirder, um really weird?

Aliya:  Okay!  What are your biggest strengths and weaknesses.

Chloe: My strengths are sleeping and breathing.  My weaknesses are everything else.  (Laughter)

Aliya:  (Laughter)  I am so sorry to hear that.  What is something you're proud of?

Chloe:  My hair!!

Aliya:  Have you ever been outside the country?  If so where?

Chloe:  Yes I went to France and Spain… and Tokyo.  No I didn’t go to Tokyo.  (laughter)

History Benchmark Design

Abstract:

In this interview, I am viewing Kimberly Marable. She talks about how she grew up learning about what happened to Emmett Till and learning that Rosa Parks wasn’t the first African American to give up her seat. She also discuss what it was like when she was growing up.

Research:

I looked up that according to the modern-day civil-rights establishment, most of the problems that currently afflict African Americans result directly from the intractable white racism that allegedly continues to plague blacks in every region of the country -- across all age groups, all educational levels, and all income brackets. This civil-rights elite largely ignores the role of issues within the black community, such as the calamitous breakdown of the black family since the 1960s, in framing its critique. Black community has been the worst struggle in the 1960’s and more. They dealt with a 14 year old boy getting killed for something wrong, a woman arrested for trying to reice freedom, and they had to deal with the civil rights.

Sources:

http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/sixties/resources/guided-readings-major-social-issues-1960s

Good evening it is April 29, 2015. Today we will be doing an interview based on personal background and during the civil rights. I will be interviewing my grandmother.

Me: Hello Grandma, how is your day?

Grandmom: it is good , how is your?

Me: Good as well. SO I will start off with basic questions then jump into the civil war. What is your name?

Grandma: My is name is Kimberly Marie Marable.

Me: How old are you?

Grandma: As of today I am 55 years old.

Me: Okay do you remember anything that happened in the civil rights movement?

Grandma: Yes. I remember 14 year old Emmett Till was killed by two white men in 1955.

Me: Do you remember why he got killed?

Grandma: He was visiting his family in Mississippi. He was caught flirting with  21-year old Carolyn Bryant at a small grocery store. Bryant's husband Roy and half brother kidnapped him, gouged out one of his eyes, choked him with a cotton wire fan then shot him.

Me: Do you think that has made a huge impact dealing with racism?

Grandma: Yes. Back then in the earlier days us as black African American slave, we have dealt with alot of racism and since this situation has occurred, it shows that racism was and still is a problem.

Me: Do you still remember anything that happened before?

Grandma: Yes. I learned that Rosa Parks wasn’t the first African American lady to sit in the front of the bus.

Me: Who was the first then?

Grandma: Her name was Claudette Colvin.

Me: How did you figure this out?

Grandma: I figured this out because I was reading a newspaper and she was on the front cover with her name in bold stating that she was the first one to give up her seat.

Abstract

​In this interview, Vanessa Anderson-Smith, remember their lives in South Philadelphia. This interview offers more information on the young life of Vanessa Smith as she grew up going to middle school, high school, college, and later onto the real world. She talks about how students of her skin color were treated in middle school, high school, and college. She also talks about her neighborhood friends, how she raised three children of her own and much more.

Research

We drank water from the tap not a bottle and nobody knew about the dangers of lead poisoning so even cribs were painted with brightly colored lead based paint. Medicine and Bottles with tablets did not have child proof lids. No seat belts or air bags in cars, nobody knew or if they did told our parents smoking and drinking was bad for the baby, kids shared coke from one bottle, soda had masses of sugar and we ate real white bread and butter and everything else including full fat milk that we are now told is bad for you. Parents couldn't reach us ( no mobiles ) and most of the day we would be out playing with friends and parents knew we would be safe with hardly any weirdos wandering the streets. If we got caught doing stuff we shouldn't the cops would take us home and we may well have a got a hiding for breaking the law ( but no do gooders saying mustn't smack children ). And if we played up in school the same applied. While playing we got cuts and bruises and the occasional tear in jeans but it was just part of being a kid and no visit to the hospital. We had no fancy games but could play for hours making a Go cart or a new tree swing and for other games most times we would find a ball and whatever we could use as a bat. or in the summer all jump into the nearest place we could find and if the water wasn't that clean we just didn't swallow it. We rode our bikes with no helmets and doing whatever stunts we could ( bikes were so much heavier and hard waring) and always had punctures to repair or get dad to help with. If we didn't get in the team we were not good enough and that was that. But most of all we were allowed to be kids. To dream, to invent and to play. It's no wonder that the generation that grew up then created some of the most innovative and exciting technology we have today. Thanks for those years and all those "BAD THINGS" that is why we are who we are today.

Sources(s)

• http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/50s-memories.html

Transcript

Shaelin: 1. When exactly were you born?

GMOM: “January 25th, 1956”

Shaelin: 2. How old are you?

GMOM: “59 years old”

Shaelin: 3. What was it like in your generation when you were my age?

GMOM:  “When i was just starting high school, i was in a all girls catholic high school, uniforms had to be below our knees, no makeup, no hoop earrings, post back earrings.”

Shaelin: 4. When you were my age did you have white and black friends? just blacks? just whites?

GMOM:  “Yes because I went to a racially diversified school, black, white, hispanic, vietnamese, all types, so i ended up making many different skin color friends.”

Shaelin: 5. Did you go to a segregated high school?

GMOM: “Uh, no. All of the students collaborated with one another”

Shaelin: 6. Was everyone treated fairly?

GMOM: “I would say yes for the most part. We had black students that had a walk out, however I do not remember what for.”

Shaelin: 7. Do you think that high school prepared you for college?

GMOM: “It did to a certain extent because the big issue in college there was no one to tell you to do your work, the professor would give us a syllabus with all of our work and due dates but wouldn’t remind us when it was due.”

Shaelin: 8. After finishing college was it challenging to find a job?

GMOM: “Originally it was, I had a couple side jobs, first real job was at temple university. It was kind of hard, then chop and I worked there every since.”

Shaelin: 9. Did one of your jobs eventually lead you into a career?

GMOM: “I got my third job at temple for a year after I graduated, I then found a job at chop and worked there every since for 28 years which was in the field that I studied in college.”

Shaelin: 10. Was it hard adapting into the real world?