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  *SAMPLE* Oral History - M. Roy

Posted by Matthew Roy in African American History - Roy - E on
Below is a sample of the post that you should create for your oral history interview. It should be divided into the abstract, research (with sources), and the transcript. All of these portions will be put in the "Write Text" portion of the post. I suggest that you type up everything in a Google Doc first and then copy/paste it here in the event that there is a problem saving the post. Your audio file should be uploaded through the "Upload Media" tab. If you encounter any problems, see me ASAP to resolve them.

The example below comes from an oral history found at:

http://dc.lib.unc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/sohp/id/13824/rec/1

Abstract

In this interview, Floyd Alston and his mother, Ethel Thorpe Alston, remember their lives in Granville County, North Carolina. Floyd and Ethel trace their family lines, some of which lead to slaves, others to sharecroppers, some to brothers and sisters who died, still others to factory workers. This interview offers more information on the Alston and Thorpe families than it does about African Americans’ lives in the rural South generally, but it does offer some revealing insights into racial identity and the struggles of post-emancipation African Americans to find economic and social security.


​Research

After the end of slavery, many African Americans were drawn into sharecropping. Without land of their own, former slaves raised crops on land owned by whites in exchange for a share of the profits. Sharecroppers generally purchased all of their supplies on credit from the landowner and usually found themselves still in debt once the crops were sold. “As that deficit grew, he [the sharecropper] found it impossible to escape from his situation by legal means.” Sharecroppers often ate a poor diet, suffered ill health, and lacked the freedom to choose a new path for themselves. In the interview, Floyd Alston references his grandfather’s experiences with sharecropping. Somewhat unusually, Alston’s grandfather did not come to this practice after emancipation. Rather, he was born in New York and moved to the South later. He managed to leave sharecropping by getting work in a mill.

Sources

  • http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/poets/a_f/brown/sharecropping.htm
  • http://www.pbs.org/tpt/slavery-by-another-name/themes/sharecropping/
  • http://digital.library.okstate.edu/encyclopedia/entries/t/te009.html

Transcript

Interview with ETHEL THORPE ALSTON and FLOYD ALSTON, JR.

29 NOVEMBER 1995

JAMES EDDIE McCOY: The date is November the 29th, 1995. I’m visiting with Floyd Alston, Jr. His mother Mrs. Ethel Thorpe Alston. The address is 201 First Street. Mr. Floyd Alston's birthday is 6-15-1933. Age sixty two. Mrs. Ethel Thorpe Alston's birthday is April 29th, 1916. Mrs. Austin, what area that you growed up in?

ETA: Well, uh, we were raised up most around in the county.

EM: But when you was a kid, you came up in Tar River Station? 

ETA: No, that's when.........????????? Uh, two years, or three years, you know people you used to farm one year and move to another farm. 

EM: Were your parents sharecroppers?

ETA: Uh-huh. 

EM: What was your daddy's name?

ETA: Ather Thorpe 

EM: What? 

ETA: Ather. 

EM: Ather. 

ETA: Ather Thorpe. 

EM: Ather Thorpe. Where did he come from?

ETA: He must have come back.........??????????????? 

EM: What about your mother's name, what was her name? 

ETA: Pearl Thorpe 

EM: What was her name before she was a Thorpe?


oral history sample post

History Interview

Posted by Jordan Escobar in African American History - Roy - E on

gladysrivera42_2014-05-22_20-38-47 (audio-extractor.net) (1)

Interviewer: Jordan Escobar


Abstract: Gladys Rivera, a Puerto Rican woman growing up in Miami during the 1960s describes her experiences with African Americans in her environment, and her encounters with the movements pushed by them. She also makes mention of MLK, and feels that he made a difference in the end. She remembers how they marched, what it was like to see them push for what they wanted, and how these events could’ve been dangerous. She may not remember the details, but this is how she remembers that era.

However, keep in mind she is old. The answers she give are not always 100% related to the asked question. But she is not lying, this is her account of what happened.


Research: During the conversation my grandmother mentions Martin Luther King Jr., and the marches inspired by him. Martin Luther King is most famous for his speech “I Have A Dream”. This speech was given during the Washington March that he organized, where thousands of African Americans marched on Washington DC for a peaceful protest. Martin Luther King Jr. followed a strict doctrine of non-violence. Gladys remembers the “I Have a Dream” speech, and how after all these years, she’s seen with her own eyes that the movement did make a difference.


JE: What kind of environment did you grow up in? How were African Americans a part of your life.


GR It was a lot different. People got together. People got along very good. But today everyone is more to themselves


JE Now, did you ever see African Americans being treated unfairly?


GR Not really, I see that everyone was being treated fine.


JE: Do you remember seeing marches for movements? Can you describe them?


GR I saw marches for Martin Luther King, and rights. Blacks and hispanics.


JE You saw them march together?


GR Yes. Together.


JE What would you say was the goal of the marches?


GR They were trying to get people to get together.


JE: Was it a success?


GR: Not really but they tried.


JE: Compared to today, was integration worse back then?


GR: They didn’t care how African Americans did. Now people care, what they say matters.


JE: Do you think they were alone (African Americans)?


GR: No, a lot of people were together


JE: Do you think they handled the situation well (blacks and whites)?


GR: Black people didn’t get anywhere before. Whites didn’t listen to blacks, but now they do.


JE: At anytime did you think it got dangerous?


GR: Yes, they had violent encounters using weapons.


JE: How long did it take before integration sunk in?

GR: Things really changed in the early 2000s. Things have changed a lot. Everyone is treated the same now


JE: How did whites treat blacks on the street?


GR: They treated them like they were nothing; badly. Now they are treated right


JE: Do you think there’s a problem today with racism?


GR: No, not for the most part.


JE: How did African Americans interact with you? (interviewee is of hispanic descent)


GR: Fine, normally. They treated me with kindness. They treated whites with the same respect.


Troy Taylor's History interview

Posted by Troy Taylor in African American History - Roy - E on

​

Abstract- In this interview with my grandmother, she talks about her personal experiences with the civil rights era. She tells how she went to the March on Washington and the Emancipation Oak at the college that she went to, Hampton University.


Research- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipation_Oak
http://www.hamptonu.edu/about/emancipation_oak.cfm


G- "Yes I would."

T- "Okay."

G-"I was, umm coming home from Virginia. I went to school in Hampton, Virginia. And I was coming home and my art teacher was driving us; a bunch of, you know, college kids; and we stopped to get something to eat in Maryland. And we sat down at the table and the waitress came over to where the art teacher was and she told the art teacher that she could not serve us because the students were black, she was white."

T- "Mmhhm"

G- " And I remember saying that they couldn't do that and the art teacher said, 'Yes they can', so she got us up and we went out"

T- " There was nothing you could do about it?"

G- " Not then, no."

T- " Hmm"

G-" The restaurant was just one of those that would not serve black people."

T-" And what year was this in?"

G- " Well it had to be in '64 or '65, in Maryland."

T- " Another question, did you have any close encounters with any like Civil Rights' Acts like the March on Washington or like sit-ins?"

G- " I went to the March on Washington with umm the Lees' which was a family that I knew in Jersey. And they were going to the March and they asked me if I wanted to go and I said yes"

T- " Did you see anything? Anything that like surprised you?"

G- "Not that surprised me. I heard Martin Luther King when he gave his, you know, 'I had a dream', speech. And umm, that's all. I remember there being a whooooooole lot of people there. And we stayed until he finished and then we left."

T- " Where there like more white people or more black people?"

G- " More black people... I think"

T- "Did you see him or did you just hear it?"

G- " See him"

T-" You saw him? Did you have like... was it close or were you like all the way in the back?"

G- ' I was in about the middle"

T-  *Clears throat* ' Umm, did race play a big part, I guess you kind of answered it, but did it play a big part in the world you grew up in when you were younger?"

G- " Not that it had any exact fallout on me. I really didn't feel it until I went to school in Virginia and in the town that the school was in, they had some ... you know, where you couldn't sit at a counter to eat. And there's a tree: there's a big tree on campus. A real big tree. And it was called the Emancipation Oak and that's where they read the Emancipation Proclamation to the black people that were down there. That wasn't when I was there but that's what the tree meant. That was the name of the tree, The Emancipation Oak,"

T- " Did you learn about, like when you went to college, did they tell you about it and stuff?"

G- " Yes. And there were books and I read the books and I read the books and I went to the ummm, there was a, ummm; over by the boys' campus, boys side of the campus, there was a cemetery. And in that cemetery, they had bodies of the, umm, people who had died in a plague. Uhh, slaves and Indians who had died of a plague, so they had a lot of children in that cemetery. But I used to go over there fairly regularly, just to check out the headstones and, you know, then I started reading about the area."

T- " Did you meet any famous Civil Rights' Activists?"

G-" No"

T- " No?"

T -" Do you have any other stories that you want to share? Anything else?"

G-"Not that I... no. I really don't think... no. I know when I would go into town, in the Hampton town, I would run into some people who I felt like didn't like me; didn't like us, but nothing in particular directly relating to me."

T- " And what college did you go to?"

G- " Hampton University. Then, it was called Hampton Institute. Now, it's called Hampton University."

T-  " Well thank you very much Grami. I appreciate it."

G- " You're very welcome Troy Taylor"


Key-

G=Grami

T-Troy

History Project Interview (1)

Oral History

Posted by Michael Parkinson in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract:  For my interview, I interviewed my grandmother MaryAnn. She told me about her neighborhood and how there were different sections for whites and blacks. She also said that pretty much her life remained the same and was not affected by the movement at all.

Research: Bloody Sunday happened on March 7, 1965. It was blacks and protesters protesting. They only traveled six blocks before they were beaten with clubs and also tear gassed. This march was devastating. 600 marchers went east from Selma, Alabama and were going on U.S. route 80. They only made it to Edmund Pettus Bridge six blocks away.

http://www.nps.gov/nr/travel/civilrights/al4.htm


Interview

Me: I’m Michael Parkinson and i’m going to be interviewing my mom mom Maryann Parkinson. What was your viewpoint on race growing up?

Mom mom: We didn’t really know too many black people. Some in high school. I had one friend in high school who actually didn’t live in Roxborough. So, they were just like everybody else like other people I met.

Me: Was your neighborhood predominantly white?

Mom mom: It was all white.

Me: It was all white? Do you remember anything about the civil rights movement?

Mom mom: Not really, I was just out of high school then and starting a family so I looked at it on the news. But other than that it did not really affect me.

Me: Do you remember any groups or anything during the civil rights movement?

Mom mom: No. Just some marches down south that we were basically… up north everything seemed fine. It was just down north that they were having a problem.

Me: Did the Civil Rights Movement affect any of your friends?

Mom mom: No, like I said I really didn’t have any black friends. And my friends were just more worried about the Vietnam war more than Civil Rights.

Me: Most of your friends were white since you lived in a predominantly white neighborhood?

Mom mom: They were all white except for one black girl that I became best friends with in high school.

Me: What was it like growing up in this time period?

Mom mom: Care-free, no problems, out every night, in cars. Basically we had no problems at all back then. I didn’t anyway. Or my friends.

Me: Were there any sections of your neighborhood that were all black?

Mom mom: Well there was one section about eight blocks wide that I didn’t even know about until my one son was in his teens and he had two black friends and they said that they came from this section that was all black. And it was only about six blocks away from me and I didn’t even know it existed.

Me: Has your viewpoint on race changed in any way since you grew up?

Mom mom: Well it hasn’t changed its broadened. I don’t see difference between black and white. Maybe I would not go into some of the badder neighborhoods if I were by myself and they were all black. Thats just the way I feel.

Me: Did you grow up with anybody that was racist or didn’t like a certain group of people?

Mom mom: I did not grow up with anybody that was racist. But, there was a definite dislike of some black people by the adults in my community.

Me: So they felt that they weren’t equal to whites?

Mom mom: I don’t think they did. No. I don’t think that kids felt it but I our parents and our grandparents felt it. They weren’t equal.

Me: Was your neighborhood affected in any way by black people? They just kept to themselves?

Mom mom: None. Not at all. Yup, kept to themselves. Basically in high school I didn’t realize it then but the blacks sat with themselves and the whites sat with themselves. We actually didn’t mingle. I did have one black friend and she did sit with the white kids.

Oral Interview

Oral History Report- Sulaiman Hadi

Posted by Sulaiman Abdul-Hadi in African American History - Roy - E on

Sulaiman Abdul-Hadi

I started off with asking what his experiences were during the civil rights movements and he started by telling me stories of him in the military because during that time he was in the Navy. This is what ensued after I asked that Primary question. I started recording After I asked.


ABSTRACT


This interview is about my Grandfather’s experiences during the Civil Rights Movement and how he lived throughout that time. He was in the Navy for most of it and he was in the Military for Malcolm X’s and JFK’s assassination. He talks about what it was like to be Muslim during that time and what that meant for him. He begins to speak about what Islam is and how it explains the different scenarios between white and black people over the years. He also talks about what he thinks about people, white and black, today in today’s society.


Research

http://www.airpower.maxwell.af.mil/airchronicles/aureview/1981/nov-dec/osur.htm


During the time by grandfather was in the navy the military was still heavily segregated but African- Americans were allowed to join and be apart of fighting for their country.


https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHMO_enUS564US564&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=when+did+jfk+die and https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&rlz=1C1CHMO_enUS564US564&ion=1&espv=2&es_th=1&ie=UTF-8#q=when%20did%20malcolm%20x%20die


My Grandfather was in the  Navy during Malcolm X’s assassination as well as JFK’s. This was 1965 and 1963.





Grand Father: So anyway, as we were talking about uh, talking’ about...we used to call them muck mucks. We called the followers of elijah muhammad muck mucks and they called us spook believers. Reason we called the, muck  mucks is because muck muck is a tribe in Africa that worshipped men. That worshipped human beings. So we said that you’re a muck muck. You worship a man, and they said we were spook believers because we believe in a spirit a guy in the sky so they called us spook believers [mumbles off]. But those were as I was telling you when you go back over it. Those were why my experiences wasn’t really, even though i lived in time wasn’t really with the movement or the civil rights movement or the black movement or the revolution so to speak because I was um I was a muslim, first I was in the Military but then when I came home I was a muslim. NOw when I was in the military. It was...deep. It was uh, when i was aboard ship it was 1,263 men on ship and only 63 was black


Slay: Oh wow


Grand Father: So that’ll tell ya somethin’.


Slay: What branch of the military were you in?


Grand Fater: I was in the navy, I was in the united states navy. I was in the navy right? Went to go see my sister in North Carolina. She was married to a man that was in the Marines, the marines and navy th-they worked in the same kind of a way there were marines aboard ship, aboard ships were marines. So I went down there to meet to uh spend some time with my sister, her husband was a marine like i said and one of his friends were there so he introduced me ya know, this is my brother in law and hes in the navy, right? This guy stuttered. So he looked at me and he said n-n-n-n-no wonder you j-j-j-joined the g-g-god damn n-n-n-navy. Got cha god damn boats with ya. Talkin about my feet. He said ya g-g-got ya god damn boats with ya so thats while I joined the navy and like I told ya I was only in there and i just didn’t go back [God willing] but… I think that...that the biggest thing that got me comin up with the races. I lived in a neighborhood that was at one time a jewish neighborhood because the jews still were there. but they lived in their businesses, overtop of their businesses. And my mother worked for one. It was in the cleaners. And uh his name was young, his last name was young. And my uncles, they worked for a jew. But the children, I remember one little jew boy that I played with his name was Louie. Louis Kramer was his name. We went out in the park one day, guess I  was 10 or 11...maybe not that big because they moved away before I was a teenager. But anyway we was in the park playin. And you know what memorial hall is? Its now called the please touch museum.


Slay: Oh ok


Grand Father: Well out front there are these statues of a man on a horse so we was playin and we climbed up on there and he fell of and broke his back I must have been about eight nine. Something like that. Fell and broke his back. Louis Kramer was his name. I don’t know they moved away I don’t know if he died or what but i do remember that my neighborhood was like all black. and you didn’t see too much mixing ya know. Blacks with girlfriends but sammy davis junior, he married...he became a jew to marry a jew woman. So that kinda was big and then he wrote a book called yes I can and that kinda did something for the race but my personal experience man i’ve been dealing with this Islam and Islam don’t have no racism. When Malcolm X went to mecca he changed his name to malik shabazz. and he came back and he said while he was in mecca he said i saw men with the bluest of eyes and the blondest of hair bowing down with men that were as black as coal. whereas in america if you were white you were the devil and if you were black you followed elijah muhammad. And that really woke him up to the universality of the religion because it doesn’t have a your um matter of fact its more muslims i think indonesia has the most muslim population in the world. but theres more muslims, in america, theres more muslims in china then in saudi arabia even though saudi arabia is arabs and arabs is where islam started at. but when you're in arabia they have um they have arab christians because the man the prophet went to when he became a prophet was a christian he was an arab christian and he died before muhammad became a prophet because he told him he said if i am alive i'll follow you but he died before hand but he died before hand which means he died riotously as so far as allah's concern. because muhammad hadn't taken prophethood but he went to a man that was a christian that wasn't saying that jesus was the son of god because some people they were called haneth which means um. It means to be up right. there is a branch of christians in america that are called unitarians. And they believed in jesus but they don't believe that jesus was the son of god. they believe that he was um. a righteous man but they don't describe divinity to him. divinity is only for  god. that why they are called unitarians. because not just jesus but they asked prophet muhammad one time how many prophets were there. and the prophet said there were 124,000 prophets and 314 of them were uh messengers so a messenger. the difference between a messenger and a prophet is that the prophet...he has divine inspiration from Allah, god almighty. to direct people to god consciousness. the messenger on the other hand, not only does  he have this permission from allah god almighty but he also has divine revelation with him which comes in the form of uh. a physical form. why moses had the torah jesus had the in jail uhhhh, dude had the sods the torah of moses the injeel of jesus and the sons of david. You can find some of that in what is called the holy bible. although the holy bible is not like the Quran the Quran was revealed to one man who didn't write. Wso it was a spoken revelation. The only way to understand the Quran is that like right now. If my voice is in there when you play that back its going to be my voice  so thats what the Qu'ran was. the Quran was given to muhammad so he was like the tape recorder so when you play the tape back it was really the voice who gave the revelation which was allah. So actually the Quran is really the very words of allah it just came through muhammad and just said that  he would be sitting like this and the revelation would come on him. whoom. and he would go [speaking arabic] and recite arabic and then he would come out of it and that was the Quran. So if I did that this tape recorder when you played it back you would be getting my very words so it wasn't muhammad who was saying it was allah using him. so that revelation the Qur'an is the only revelation that is still like it was when they first got it. see it was given to him and it took over a period of 23 years because it was given to the prophet muhammad as he needed it. In other words as a circumstance arose he would ask him like, one time...a jewish man accused a muslim woman. so when they arrested him and brought him to the prophet they said this guy accused one of our women and the prophet said why would you do that? the man said she looked like one of our women, she didn't look no different than the person..so allah revealed a verse that says... say to your wives and your daughters and the believing women to draw their undergarments over their body when they go out when they go out which will make them recognized as righteous women  and prevent them from being molested. All the women you saw out there today that were covered up like  جدة [Grandmother] be or sannah [my cousin] be sometimes or Bashira [My Aunt] be sometimes you know what i mean. like that. that became a revelation a direction because somebody did something to a muslim woman all the instances that happened when um one of the companion one of the prophets friends got drunk and while he was drunk he said something to the prophet something that wasn't right. so allah revealed a verse. so listen from now on gambling and wine and games of chance are forbidden to you because there may be some benefit but the harm is greater than the benefit like people say you can drink a glass of wine a day its good for your heart you know what I mean? but to become a wino you just drink wine to get drunk so while the benefit is there the harm is greater than the benefit.


file:///C:/Users/curtis/Downloads/Interview%20by%20Sulaiman%20Abdul-Hadi.wav

Oral History Report- David Baker

Posted by David Baker in African American History - Roy - E on

​

Abstract:

I Interviewed Larry, he is my grand father, he told me all about his perspective on the Civil Rights Movement. He talked about the riots and marches and that is what I did my research on.


Research:

During the Civil Rights movement African Americans did many thing to get their points across  one famous march was named Bloody Sunday because 600 marchers were killed and beaten on the streets. The march was held on March 7, 1967. The 600 protesters marched down the streets only to be beaten and killed my local police and government officers.


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

Transcript:

Me: Were you affected by the Civil Rights Movement? If so how?

Larry: I was probably affected by the Civil Rights movement by making me more aware of others opinions and other viewpoints, When I grew up I was real young about six or eight if I was walking on the street and there was a black person walking the other way I was told “stay on the sidewalk” they have to move.


Me: What school did you go to growing up?

Larry: I went to six schools in grade school, each one was fairly different they were city schools, one private school.

Me: Did the movement affect your schooling?

Larry: I'm not sure in my early schooling, i'm not aware of what affected that, other than the time when I was really young going through school, probably caught my attention, and made me think worse about blacks. In other cases it gave me more understanding of the growth process going through both.

Me: What did you learn about the civil rights movement in school?

Larry: Funny you asked that because i'm not sure at that time, I don't recall them ever talking about that, it was more after I was out of high school,and actually in the work place. During that period, so for me I didn't start being affected by it directly until 1967.

Me: Was your family affected by the movement?

Larry: I’m not sure affected, my mother was pretty racist and because I was of course under her, you know living with her, I was told a lot of things by her, I experienced a lot of things myself, I don't know as far as work, play, jobs, school, theres nothing I can think of, that I am aware of was directly affected by the civil rights movement, other than watching it  on the n news and hearing it, thing we're going on going on in the south and so forth.

Me: Where did you grow up?

Larry: Borden Ohio, raised in Alaska for a while, mostly Philadelphia.

Me: What memories do you have of the civil rights movement?

Larry: Most of the memories I have are things that you will see on TV, and history shows now, the fights, the fires, the riots, the marches, seeing them on TV, not really personally being near them, but seeing what was reported on TV and what people talked about.

Me: What was your outlook on the civil rights movement?

Larry: I kind of understood why they were angry and upset, and why it was happening,  when you're a kid you are told certain things you don't necessarily question them until later on, it was a little frightening, somewhat puzzling, until I was older I didn't really have a full appreciation of what was going on. Being in the north not in the south, I suppose I do recall that the blacks were supposed to sit in the back of the bus, and whites were supposed to get preference, I got a better understanding as I got older.

Me: Do you have a different outlook on today's world because of the movement?

Larry: I would imagine most people do, if it wasn't for civil rights movement and things changing as they were, I suppose I would have no reason to think that if I walked down the sidewalk I shouldn't be in the middle, and blacks should walk around me, and I probably wouldn't have a more open attitude that I have now,  I don't feel that I am racist or judgmental in particular, because I know a lot of people of different races, and had a lot of friends just as many colored as not, and probably the civil rights movement helped open it up.

Me: Did you ever fight for equality?

Larry: I definitely fought for equality not necessarily, as a matter of color, but there is a lot of unequal things that go on and a lot of equality issues that go on throughout life, or somethings unfair, if someone is being judge wrong that sort of thing, I was never in a match per say, I was never in a riot fortunately, so i'm not so sure what they are looking for in that answer, other than I didn't go on buses or marches.



HistoryInterview

Oral History- D. Angelis

Posted by Konstantina Angelis in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract:
In this interview my neighbor, Gerald Rigby tells me about how he has witnessed discrimination against Indians back when he was younger. He also explains how he felt during that time and what he can remember happening around him everyday.
Research:
(I did my research on the discrimination against Indians)
Racism against Native Americans has been happening the longest. They were sent to their own separate reservation and went to their own school separate from all the others. This has been happening ever since the pilgrims arrived to the United States.
Sources:
https://www.dosomething.org/tipsandtools/racism-against-native-americans
Transcript:

Interviewer: Dina Angelis

Interviewee: Gerald Rigby (Gerry)

DOB: November 28, 1945

Age: 68

Gender: Male

Social Status: Married

Race: Caucasian

Occupation: Lawyer

Time and date interview was held: 1:30pm on May 18,2014

Time length:6 minutes and 59 seconds


Dina: How are you Gerry?

Gerry: Hmm?

Dina: How are you?

Gerry: I’m swell, thank you.

Dina: Okay. So, where were you born, like the state?

Gerry: Pennsylvania.

Dina: Pennsylvania, ummm…

Gerry: In Johnstown, Pennsylvania, Very famous for its floods.

Dina: Have you ever experienced discrimination, towards another race?

Gerry:  Have I experienced, well I have certainly seen it, heard it. Sure.

Dina: Do you want to tell me about that?

Gerry: Uh, I-I-I grew up in Montana, and in Montana there was, that I knew of, there was one-one black guy and he  was the shoe shine guy where I went and got my hair cut. So, I thought he was a regular guy. The kinds of discrimination that we had in Montana was against the Indians. The Indians lived under reservation outside of town, and some of them would come into town and they would get drunk and then they would get picked up and get thrown in jail overnight, until they sobered up and then they would be let out in the morning, and what I was told was that when they were let out in the morning, the rule was that the government had to give them another 20 dollars. Which of course they would use to just drink more, so that. When I was growing up the Indians were clearly discriminated against, they were all living on a reservation. Buildings that Had been built, I guess by the government ummm, that looked more like shacks then like houses and the perception of  Indians was that, they were useless and that the government was set up in a way that was encouraging that kind of behavior to continue. So, that was my, probably my first  exposure to uh, to discrimination and uh, just listening to parents talking, you could, the other group that uh was disliked just because of who they were rather than thinking of people as people were Jews. Jews were somehow evil, I didn’t know really much, I don’t even know if there was a Jewish community and I was in a town of 10,000 people.

Dina: mmhmm

Gerry: But uh, then I moved east, when I was in high school and uh there was you know certainly discrimination uh against, against blacks.

Dina: mmmhhmm

Gerry: African Americans in uh first in Baltimore and uh certainly here in Philadelphia but uh.

Dina: So, in your high school was there like a fair amount of each race or was it just..?

Gerry: I went to high school in suburban Baltimore  uh and the school had like, a big school had like, 2,000 people in it. And uh we had very very few uh non caucasians. Yeah, almost everyone was caucasian. So, no there wasn’t, it didn’t have a real sense of racial discrimination as oppose to ethnic discrimination, which obviously also exists.

Dina: mmmhhmm

Gerry: All over the place. But uh no not in high school.

Dina: So, if you were a different race, like you said Indians were being discriminated where you grew up or a colored person. (African American) What would you have done if you were being discriminated? Like how would you feel?

Gerry: I don’t know, I’ll-I’ll uh I-I-I now, I used to live in a different section of Philadelphia that’s fairly well integrated and one of the uh I don’t know all of the story well one of the people who lived not too far away ummm is a judge, he happened to be a black judge and he had been out it was on a weekend he had been out driving and he has some pretty flashy dresser but uh and when he came home for some reason the police were coming over and he immediately  took off his flashy clothes and put on a suit jacket  because he knew he would be received differently if he dressed like, more like the white guys, than like the black guys. But I think that you know some people as the recipients of racism, some people adjust and some people don’t.

Dina: So, how do you feel about like, what is your opinion on discrimination and/or the civil rights movement?

Gerry: Well, I sort of, I was a young person when the civil rights movement in the 60s you know actually worked and uh accomplished a great deal and a bunch of people getting killed in the process and you had no government officials you know like the governor of  Arkansas was saying, I’m never going to let a black person into my state college uh and all of those barriers broke down but until the 60s you know there was all kinds of discriminatory barriers we (Him and his family) have you know, friends and growing up when they went to the movies they had to go in a side door and go up into the balcony because blacks weren’t allowed in the main floor.

Dina: mmhmm

Gerry: So even in m y generation a lot of people grew up with over discrimination but I guess, I don’t guess I clearly didn’t grow up thinking I should discriminate or act or want to discriminate against either a race or an ethnic group, ummm so I was certainly enthusiastically in favor of all that was happening in the 60s in order to change the system so, but...


GerryInterview

Oral History: Nileka Barker

Posted by Nileka Barker in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract:

In this interview Betty Jane talks about her life during the Civil rights movement and anything she can remember. She is African American and grew up in Philadelphia, she is currently 69 years old. She expressed in the video that it was a very hard time and they didn’t have that much to eat and that the world has changed a whole lot over time. She described her experience in direct with white people and she said she was not targeted but she can still see when you go somewhere and in older white people in their late 70s towards early 80s have attitudes.



Research:

In the video she talked a lot about Martin luther king and she also described what kind of shoes she used to wear. like for example one was a real shoe and the other was like a cardboard box. The civil rights of movements were a bunch of political movements for equality,we all know that AAM get had less so of course they didn’t have fancy clothes and such. She said she could remember hearing a lot about Martin Luther king and her family talking about him, he died in 1968 so she was about 23 years old at the time.


Sources:

-https://www.google.com/search?q=martin+luther+king&oq=martin+luther+king&aqs=chrome..69i57j0l5.4303j0j9&sourceid=chrome&es_sm=93&ie=UTF-8

-http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/African-American_Civil_Rights_Movement_(1896%E2%80%931954)



NB: Hi my name is Nileka Barker and I’m interviewing my grandma. Today’s date is May 18th 2014 and it’s 4:08 pm. I’m going to be interviewing my grandma about the Civil rights Movement and how it impacted her.


The phone is ringing…..


BJ: Hello


NB: Hey mom-mom


BJ: hold on a minute sweetheart


NB: okay.


BJ: hello


NB: hey, how are you ?


BJ: I’m good dear how are you ?


NB: Yeah I’m good, can I ask you some questions about the Civil rights movement ?


BJ: Yeah I hope I can answer them for you, wassup


NB: okay um, how old were you when the Civil rights movement started ?


BJ: How old was I when the civil rights movement started ?


NB: Yeah


BJ: Um, I was around 10 years old


NB: oh okay, how was life around that time ?


BJ: Life around that time, well um how can i say this

um we didn’t have a whole lot


NB: mhm hmm


BJ: Um my mom worked and everything you know, and liked she cooked, and say for instance if she cooked and if we happened to have pork chops


NB: uh huh


BJ: We were lucky enough to have pork chops, it was one for everyone of us that might have been in the house and we had to eat…things were leen you know, it was hard times.


NB:yeah


BJ: It was hard times, we didn’t have a lot of stuff you know and it’’s almost kinda like it is now for a lot of people who is struggling, you know black people struggle


NB: uh huh


BJ: Black people struggle you know and if you.. it was just rough


NB: Did you, were you targeted, did people target you ?


BJ: Was I targeted ?


NB: yeah, since you were so young ? You could see a lot of racism


BJ: No, No, Nooo, I never got targeted when I was young. No


NB: okay


BJ: Noo I didn’t get targeted. Now uh I can’t say the same you know about my Mom because my mom was born in Alabama and she came up here when she was a teenager but I don’t remember nobody in my family ever saying they were targeted or anything but when I was a little girl


NB: Mhm huh


BJ: My dad, I know I heard that you had to ride on the trolley cars


NB: This was when your mom was young ?


BJ: Yeah we couldn’t go, I was born but I was real little. You know certain neighborhoods couldn’t go onto the ...


NB: Oh really ?


BJ: Like near Girard avenue they had like white, wherever it was white folks at they didn’t want us blacks folks to be at.


NB: yeah


BJ: Have you seen on Documentaries on the Civil rights movement ?


NB: yeah like we’ve been watching a lot in class recently.


BJ: Well it was like that


NB: Oh wow.


BJ: Yeah it was like that, you know and a lot of times I had holes in my shoes and they would put cardboard in my shoes


NB: How was school around that time


BJ: Well from what I can remember school was okay you know and when I first started school it was some white people in high school and I don’t remeber you know when I stopped seeing them because that was Elementary school


NB: Oh so they weren’t there in Middle school and stuff ?


BJ: I hadn’t seen any, I got to look on my graduation pictures from Jr. High school. I don’t think it was no white kids in my class.


NB: Ohh


BJ: I don’t remember no white kids being in my class in Jr. high school but, and I don’t remember in white kids being in my class in Elementary school, and kindergarten and first grade because I went to.. I don’t remember no white kids being in any of my classes.


NB: Oh really.


BJ: It was so long ago, what you see in them documentaries it’s pretty much like that


NB: Oh that’s crazy


BJ:I had grandparents that had a club and they made money like that and it seemed like it was the elderly people who owned homes and stuff like that and then my Uncle worked for what is called Septa right now it used to be called the TTC back during the Civil rights movement.


NB: So like how much has the world changed since then ?


BJ: Huh ?


NB: How much has the world changed since then ?


BJ: It has changed a awful lot except for maybe like a lot of us are still disenfranchised, you know what I’m saying ?


NB: yeah


BJ: Like it seems like since our president got elected it seems like racism has raised over head again, you know what I’m saying ?


NB: yeah


BJ: Now I had people that act nasty with me in stores you know different times in their mid 70s early 80s and the Civil right’s movement was over with. You know Martin Luther King had died


NB: Wait so you was


BJ: They don’t wanna wait on you or something, you know what I’m saying


NB: Yeah did you ever meet him


BJ: No, uh uh


NB: he was like alive during your time right ?


BJ: He was alive, yeah


NB: Ohh


BJ: I think he got assassinated in 68 i think


NB: Ohh


BJ: I think he did Ima have to Google that


NB: Thank you Mom-Mom for the answers


BJ: You know they bombed the church with girl in it


NB: Oh yeah, how old were you around that time


BJ: And, wait a minute. That was around in early 60s.


Oral history interview (1)

Oral History: Samir Smith

Posted by Samir Smith in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract

In this interview my grandpa and I discuss what was happening during the 60’s and what he experienced in Philadelphia during the civil rights movement. It is hard for him to recall the exact dates and his exact age, but he has a vivid memory and remembers exact events. He provides info about other peoples feelings and what they experienced.


Research

The civil rights movement was an international series of political movements for equality before the law that reached a peak in the 1960’s. It often took the form of campaigns of civil resistance such as “The Montgomery Bus Boycott”. There were many civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. In this interview my grandfather references his experiences and the assassination of MLK and the feelings of people older than himself.


Sources


Transcript

SS- What was it like for you during the sixties? Like what did you experience?


GP-I didn’t particularly have any difficulties as a youngster at that age, but I could see some of the struggles that my mother was experiencing but I think having 5 or should I say 4 other siblings at that time, you know I think it was pretty much carefree because there were no responsibilities or obligations that we had to really attend to being that young but I think we were pretty safe and happy being that young where our parents pretty much took on the strife of everyday living.


SS-Ok so like was there any racial tension or anything while you were growing up?


GP- I think that the racial tension for me being a youngster as I started getting older, say around 6,7,8, and 9 that 4 year span became more of a racially aware environment, especially hearing it from people, other African Americans in regards to the caucasian race at that point, hearing the disappointment and the exclusions and things of that nature and how we were so exempted from going in certain areas even in Philadelphia, I think that there was a border line of racism as I got even a little older around maybe 7 or 8 dealing with the Hispanic community living around 5th and lehigh at that particular time but racism I think was something that was becoming a very real and apparent part of my life between the ages of 7 and 9 so the experiences that I did have with racism as mainly of that hearing all of the ill treatment and difficulties that my parents and you know family and friends that were much older around my mothers age or you know in that age category of concern so that was pretty much the experience of racism during that time and at that time now you’re still talking about 67 to 69.


SS- So like Were you subject to any racial slurs?

GP- You know at that age if I was I probably wouldn’t have even known but being called things like, like the N word and things of that nature I think that it would only come from experiences with my hispanic friends when they got mad at me hahaha and if it came out it came out in that context and I think it made me angry you know at that particular point dealing with those who were my age and probably didn’t really have a sense of the intensity of what it was that they were trying to express either they heard things from racially charged individuals maybe family or friends of theirs or maybe heard it from other areas you know but as far as it affecting me to a great extent no.


SS- Did you see or experience any violence because of race?


GP- I never had an opportunity to really experience violence because of race at that earlier age during the 60’s it was still pretty much something that I think I might have been shielded from to a certain degree.


SS- So you felt safe?


GP- Pretty much yes I think I did my mother and my family did a pretty good job of keeping me safe from it.


SS- So when you were younger How did you feel about the civil rights movement?


GP- At the age of I guess maybe 9, 10, and 11 I didn’t really have a great sense of it but I do remember like maybe around the age of, I can’t remember how old I was i’m thinking I must have been somewhere between 10 and 12, I remember sitting in the living room of my mothers house and there was a big bang on the door and my mother came down hysterically because she had never heard anyone bang on her door with such urgence so she went to the door and asked who was it and it was my uncle, her brother Eddie and when she opened the door he was very distraught he had tears coming from his eyes he rushed in the house looked at my mother and said “they killed Dr. King”. My mother was very upset she put her hands on her face and immediately began to cry and she ran upstairs and my uncle he was distraught with anger and frustration seeing that and experiencing that coming from my uncle and mother I had a sense of what it felt like to be angry behind someone being assassinated especially at that caliber at that young age I knew that there was something that I was feeling that I couldn’t connect with the idea of rage being that young, 11 or 12 or more like 10 or 11 I might have been 9 if he got assassinated in 68 or 69 because every year I turn a year older but needless to say you know as you can hear there is a slight fogginess for racism for such a young mind between the ages of 8 and 11. So that was one of the first times I actually experienced frustration and anger and hostility at a young age so I would say racism introduced me to those extreme human characterisitics which I think are not the dominant human features but they have their place.


SS- So did you know who Dr. King was


GP- I did not know who he was to the extent that my mother and uncle did but in school his name was always mentioned and what he tried to do. And my teachers were very happy that someone like him had taken such a great stand so I felt hope that I knew i could identify at a young age, so knowing him to the degree that they knew and understand him no but I did have what I would say was a beautiful byproduct of what they had for him and what he was doing.


SS- Ok did the behavior and actions of certain people(Blacks or Whites) surprise you?


GP- Can you repeat the question?


SS- Oh did the behavior and actions of certain people(Blacks or Whites) surprise you?


GP- I think that at the age again that I was any strange behavior that wasn’t pure was was surprising that those who were adult could display such radical and inhumane behavior I think gave me an idea that there was something more that I had to look forward to in terms of dealing with people on different level so yes it was very surprising that kind of behavior coming from anybody of any particular race or color so yes.


SS- Did you have any white friends during the sixties?


GP- I can remember having absolutely not one single caucasian as a friend in my youth.


SS- Wow.


GP- The closest thing I came to having a caucasian as a friend were Hispanics who were of course I would say a close hue to that of a caucasian but Their behavior and interaction was nothing remotely close to anything I had heard to that of a Caucasian at that time.


SS- Well Grandpa thank you for your time this concludes our interview.


GP- Well thank you for having me and giving me this opportunity to express my viewpoint and history and to hopefully have implanted some idea and understanding and connection to what it was like having lived or being a child living in that era so thank you.


SS- Thank you too.



Oral History E. Johnson

Posted by Eidayya Johnson in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract:

Norman King was born in Chester County. Where he was from there was barely any segregation. But, in certain states there was some discrimination. For example some people would aggravate negroes for no reason, police guards would pull people over for no reason. He thinks back then there was no equality. And “WE AS THE PEOPLE” have to come together and discuss the issues of discrimination. He also thinks as of today he still witnesses and hears about discrimination. Dr. King also thinks it was pointless because why did negroes have to be the ones that got the worst.


Research:

In Chester County Norman’s neighborhood was clean, quiet, and nice because they kept it that way in their environment and worked together to keep it nice. Norman says the only reason it was is because the negroes stayed in their place.

Resources: Times New Roman NewsPaper, http://nvdatabase.swarthmore.edu/content/african-american-residents-chester-pa-demonstrate-end-de-facto-segregation-public-schools-19

http://chescodems.org/?tag=segregation


Transcript:

Eidayya:How are you? I presume you went through the Civil Rights Movement can you tell me your basic knowledge on that?


Norman: At that time between 1955-1965 there wasn’t up north here in pen. We didn’t face any problems because there was no segregation where he came from. In chester county where, I came from they treated us fairly but, there was no equality. Puerto Ricans looked at us as no class. Reason being was there was so few of them so they had to adapt. They couldn’t adapt to the english because we didn’t know spanish. The white man thought of that and so did the black man. In my area they looked at white people #1, black people #2, and others no existence. If you were smart they put us in the front of the class. His dealing of dislike of negroes, black was a harsh, bad word. You were a negro. Where he ran into it wasn’t so much in pen. But, I had a problems in the state of Delaware and Maryland. When negroes went into the state of Delaware they were automatically stereotypes. You were treated poorly. In stores if you were driving in the state of delaware and you drove past a police officer he would follow you and pull you over to say something was wrong. In the state of maryland when a police officer would pull you over the name calling came out those names were boy, for a woman it was “you gals” other things would be what are you doing, where are you going, and you need to get there in the state of pen. If you said something back they would sometimes refer to I don’t care what Malcolm X did, or MLK did they’re not here to save your ass. My block where I lived was 50% white and 50% black. The interactions that we had were friendly because we worked as a unit to keep our block clean. The white people would help you with anything/ home problems because they had knowledge of your character. It was a tough time but, it was a foundational time because they were trying to put up a solid foundation for equality minus race and minus gender. Coming from that time it was hard understanding it because our parents didn’t talk about it they just told us what to do and how to stay in our place and to have an education so we can take care  of ourselves and our families. Finally, not to forget “once” you came. In 2014, we throw race out.


Eidayya: How old were you when you went through the Civil Rights Movement?


Norman: I was 15 years old.


Eidayya: At your age what was happening back then?


Norman: It was rock and roll. The processed hair, they hot combed their hair. They wore high watered pants. The language was kind of hip. Everybody wanted a Corvett or a 1955 Thunderbird. Elvis was one of the top hits. Little Richard was out. Chuck Berry was out. ALot of white musicians tried to mimic him. At that time white musicians tried to mimick black people.


Eidayya: What was happening that involved the Civil Rights?


Norman: If it’s fine they can bombard him with questions. Schools, transportation, the economy. Refer back to the top paragraph.


Eidayya: Do you have any experiences with discrimination?


Norman: In that period no, I was a child. I carried golf bags. But, going into maryland and delaware yes. People tried to do things that would make you get mad so that’s where the inequality came.


Eidayya: How did it affect you?


Norman: It made me always look at everything and analyze it and see what is going to be best for me. That being how can I get a good education, can I take all the things I got taught to the white era apply them to myself and get the same results they’re getting. And it worked, I skipped two grades. i started in the 4th and in november they put me in the 5th. When I finished I went to the 6th grade. When i got into 7th grade the same thing happened. I did half of seventh and went to the 8th grade. I went to college, thenI I went on to medical school. When my white teachers saw I was able to come up to their standards, they pushed me. In college there wer only 12 minorities out of 600. There was no talk of race at the height of MLK. (What happened down North didn’t concern us) It was downplayed because we weren’t in the south.


Eidayya: How has your perspective of race changed?


Norman: I don’t look at it today because it was a problem then. And I’m trying to shed the feeling. I don’t like it. Problem solving has always been on my mind not gender and  not race.


Eidayya: As of today do you still experience discrimination?


Norman: Yes you do. You experience discrimination today. For example, public schools trying to fight charter schools.


Eidayya: When the Civil Rights Movement gained momentum did it change the people around you?


Norman: People my age we were kids we didn’t pay attention to it, No. But, my parents were aware of it and what ever adjustments we had to make our parents made the adjustments that were necessary.

Eidayya: When the Civil Rights Movement fell how did you feel?


Norman: It’s never been over with. We look at the situation and we adjust it with our circumstances. We watched our enviroment.


Eidayya: How did the society change?


Norman: They made programs social media and now those people made the problems more visual. They try to get government more involved in it to make different changes, groups, and causes within the united states.


Eidayya: Is there anymore information you want to add to this?


Norman: No thank you.


Eidayya: Okay thank you for your time.


Norman: You are so welcome.


Eidayya: Alright bye.







Oral History Report- Moesha Grant

Posted by Moesha Grant in African American History - Roy - E on

Abstract:

In this interview, Barbara Grant reflects on her experience growing up as a young, female African American in Philadelphia, PA. She discusses how she suffered with racial discrimination all her childhood years living in a predominantly white neighborhood, like high school and going to public places with her parents. Barbara Grant speaks on protest and sit ins she participated in during the 1960s in Philadelphia.  She talks about famous Civil Rights Leaders and their impact on the black community. Grant also expresses her fear as a child of White Supremacy. Lastly, she presents the concept of how racism is still present in today’s time, but is just concealed.  

Research:

During the Civil Rights Movement, the White Supremacy was very present. The White Supremacy, were groups that believed they were superior to other racial backgrounds and went to violent measures to keep themselves superior. White Supremacy was also known as white power. When the Civil Rights Movement was taking place civil rights activist and segregationist were head to head like never before. Many whites thought the City Councils weren’t doing enough to keep segregation, so they took it into their own hands. In the beginning of 1963, a group by the name of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) came into play. Their goal was to keep whites in charge and to terrorize black people with violence.  The KKK harmed anyone who was black or was trying to stop segregation. The KKK used all methods of violence to enforce their authority in the South like lynchings, tar-and- feathering, and rapes. One example, of their violent acts was the bombing at 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham,  Alabama where four young girls were killed.


Sources:

<http://soaw.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=482> <http://exhibitions.nypl.org/africanaage/essay-civil-rights.html>

<http://americanradioworks.publicradio.org/features/mississippi/e1.html.

<http://www.splcenter.org/get-informed/intelligence-files/ideology/ku-klux-klan>







Transcript



Interview with BARBARA GRANT 14 MAY 2014 5:00 p.m.

Place: At Barbara Grant’s Home


Interviewer: Moesha Grant (MG)

Interviewee: Barbara Grant Age (BG), 56



MG: Today is May 14, 2014 and it is 5:00 p.m. I am interviewing Barbara Grant. So, Barbara. . . . What do you remember from your childhood between the time period of when you were born till’ 1965? What was going on during that time?


BG: Umm…. I was born in 1958 in the City of Philadelphia. Umm.. when I was born the Civil Rights Movement was going on equal rights. Umm.. when  I really could understand was in the period of 1964. In the period of 1964,my parents were telling me different places we couldn’t go why there were so much hatred. And I remember seeing marches from to Washington on the TV why they were protesting because we deserved equal rights. I remember umm.. Rosa Park umm.. sitting.


MG: What do you remember about Rosa Parks and the other leaders that were in the Civil Rights Movement?


BG: I remember when they said told Rosa Parks that she couldn’t sit in front of the bus and I asked my parents that’s not fair. Somebody is tired they should be able to sit where they want to sit, but they said because of the separation between white and black. Umm.. there were places  umm. What I remember about her when she came on the bus and protest. And I thought that wasn’t fair that she should have been able to sit where she want to sit, but understanding that…. white people had to sit in front. They came first and blacks in the back. And it’s just like they didn’t want us to umm.. eat in the same restaurants as white people. Umm.. we had to take the back entrance going places. Umm.. I also, remember umm...  Martin Luther King when he started going, walking to Washington and when they were fighting for equal rights. And when he was talking about you know that we should all be equal as one and the dream he had of one day umm.. we would all be equal. Umm…..Rosa


MG: Did you think whites considered themselves better than blacks during that time?


BG: Yes I do, umm….. yes they did. They considered they were better than us. More educated, had more job opportunities than we had. We were always the last the way at everything. You know getting jobs umm… where everybody like wasn’t equal and ways. The way they thought, they thought they were better than any other race. And as we go into 1965, it started to go from, Martin Luther King umm.. marched for peace. They were violent. They became violent people. Umm.. putting hoses on us, umm..  where they didn’t want us. The  Ku Klux Klan showing the hanging of us. The different umm.. things they would do to us if we came into their neighborhoods and the burning down of the houses and stuff. That frightened me because I thought maybe that would… I didn’t know if it was going on in Philadelphia or not. I know it was going on in the South because my parents both come from the South. My mother especially and especially it was going on near South Carolina. Umm..


MG: Did you think that, that era needed to happen in order for blacks to come up in society of how they are now?


BG: Yes, because that made us umm… better people we strived for more things. Umm.. to prove our point that we were not ignorant people because whites always said that we were ignorant people and we needed to go back to Africa. We didn’t.. all of us didn’t come from Africa. Africa maybe our heritage, but I was not born in Africa, so a white person telling me to go to Africa. Go back to Africa is not where I was born. Umm... I was born in the United States, so I didn’t think that... that was right. But as of now seeing where things have gone we have come a long ways. In which, that movement happened to push us. Even though, today in society we still have prejudice. We still have White American Corporation, but there we are still striving. We still need our young people to strive more to head off where we started a path, so Martin Luther King’s Dream has not died it’s still going forward.


MG: Have you had any experiences like you may not remember the Civil Rights Era, but in general of racism with discrimination or anything like that?


BG: Yes, umm.. I have umm.. We moved to a predominantly  white neighborhood in 1969, which my father wanted me to have a better education.  We moved to Montgomery County and which it was like 10% Black and 90% White. So umm... we had sit ins because they wanted to keep us separated from each other. They really didn’t want us in their schools or to ride their school buses, so even though it was now 1969 and I was going to high school it was... still hard during racial.. And I have experienced with sit ins, where we protested.  You know against that we should be treated. You know it was even in the lunchrooms. Umm… they didn’t like umm.. going, you know getting the same trays. You know calling us “niggers.” At one time, we did get into a fight, which we didn’t like the “n- word.”  Even to society today, they still use the “n-word” and umm... without the protest and Martin Luther King and all the other great ones that walked. That did the march and protested and fought for our rights. I don’t think black people would be where they’re at today, so were still continue on fighting.        


MG: So, do you remember… the Black Panthers during that time?


BG: Yes, I do.


MG: What do you know about them?


BG: Umm... they were umm.. motivated. Like they as I can remember they were a group of people that had they own set of rules. Umm... they wanted to take over and they became the Islamic umm… Movement. So, the Black Panthers were like a group of people that were against a lot of things that Martin Luther King was saying. They figured that we could get things better done with violence and still Martin Luther King was walking  for nonviolence. So, they fought against that you know. They figured that they can do things a lot better.


MG: So, do you think racism is still present in today’s era and time?


BG: Yes, I do(2x), They still have places in the South where  umm..black people can’t drink from water fountains or black people can’t sit. It’s more umm… in today’s society. They try to hide it, but it’s still there. It’s even in our basketball courts umm... You know it’s still here in America… still racial going on. Even  predominant whites are now mixed with blacks, but they still say that they should be with their own race and black women still say that you know that black men should be with their race. But it seems to have a change.


MG: Do you think that change was for the better?


BG: Somewhat, umm… I still think that it puts a gap between blacks and whites, where I think that umm.. As a society today, that when the basketball players, football players, etc. start making money they think that they should have a white woman in their life, instead of a black woman. I don’t think that’s fair because… we are equal. There’s no because you're making money now doesn’t mean that oh.. you can’t have a black wife you know. So, society.. they think that society looks at them better by them making money and have a white woman, instead of a black woman. You know, so that’s I don’t think that that’s right.   


MG: Thank you I’ve appreciated interviewing you.


BG: Thank you very much!


MG: I love your input!  


BG: Thank you very much!                                                 
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2013-14

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