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  Oral History: Floyd Alston (M. Roy)

Posted by Matthew Roy in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 11, 2015 at 4:29 pm
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 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?


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Oral History: Marietta DeShields (Andre Thomas)

Posted by Andre Thomas in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 8:01 pm

Voice 006
Abstract
In this interview Marietta DeShields recalls her earliest memories of the Philadelphia Civil Right's Movement, and how it led to the shaping of our society today. Towards the beginning of said interview she speaks of her involvement in the protests to get African-American workers into the construction of the Caucasian-only Strawberry Mansion. She recalls Philadelphia as a neutral area during the period of the CVR up until Segregation ended. She says of those times "I was never called a derogatory term. We were treated as a citizen, but you could feel that you were unwanted as an African-American." 

Research
The articles I found were almost exactly what Mrs. Deshields said, claiming that while Philadelphia was way more respectful of African-Americans, but Caucasians wanted no part of their company in work, in public, or even while moving around the city. The feeling of being unwanted that Mrs. Deshields spoke on was a little more than what she described. I found that at one point all the workers in the city organized a strike to avoid having to work with Colored People. I have no specifics on the overall vibe of the protests, but it's certain that this hostility was due to a tension between the races and being placed as equal would be seen as demeaning to some. Even though this happened in the North this isn't surprising as a city picking up on the trends of the world around them is a natural occurrence. Though the North is thought to be better than the South this does not mean we would be without any flaws of our own: though they were very brutal to African-Americans history shows we were too, just very subtly. The Civil Rights Era marked a period of rebirth for America, one that showed us what we had to build on in order to become better for the future.

Sources:
http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/historical-perspective/why-philadelphia 
http://www.portal.state.pa.us/portal/server.pt/community/events/4279/civil_rights_movement/532945 
http://hsp.org/sites/default/files/legacy_files/migrated/legacies1110article4.pdf 

Transcript (excerpt)

Andre Thomas: I’m not going to ask you these questions in any particular order….they’re kinda disarrayed. So.....how has racism changed since you were younger?

Marietta Deshields: Well, when I was younger there were certain places you couldn’t go. You really wasn’t wanted actually. Certain schools...uh...you could not go to those schools. You just were not accepted and you felt it. You could actually tell the difference in the attitudes of how people were at the time. And you wanna know about how it is now?

AT: Mm-hmm

MD: Now it’s better... people have an opportunity to show their talents. They had the talents at the time, but it was stifled because they were afraid to show it. So I see a big change in the entertainment field and politics.

AT: What was your first experience with discrimination?

MD: My first experience with discrimination was...we had a party. It was just an ordinary house party and it got raided. And all we were doing was just sitting there, but the cops came in and they took us to jail. We stayed in jail all night. They fingerprinted us and also took our pictures, and I’m sure if you looked at the record books in City Hall you would see my face.

AT (Follow up): So what was that like. How did you feel at that moment?

MD: I felt prejudice. I felt that we hadn’t done anything that would cause us to go to jail. But, uh, I just felt that it was discrimination.

AT: How do you recall the events of the Civil Rights Movement (CVR)?

MD: Well the first one that I remember *cough* was, uh, when they were building Strawberry Mansion High School. And, uh, they didn’t have any Black electricians. Now many Black people had that ability. But because they didn’t, uh, hire them, we walked around the school and we protested. So the Black, uh, laborers that were working, they all walked off the job. And I can remember walking around the school, my youngest daughter was about 1 year old and I had her on my shoulders as we were protesting against the construction workers.

AT (Follow up): Um, about when was that?

MD: Uh, 1962, uh, also I can remember a Black person being shot in North Philadelphia and there was riots. Now the protest it started off nicely but then everybody got really hype and excited, and they started looting. They started breaking into stores and things like that, and I remember being caught up in that situation. And for some odd reason you get this sensational feeling that you have accomplished something but when you get home you realize that you didn’t. And that was not going to be the way for us to get justice in North Philadelphia.

AT: Sorry to hear. So what was it like growing up in those times? Like what feelings did you face, what did you encounter on a daily basis that you feel was unordinary?

MD: On a daily basis I thought that I would never measure up. But my very best friend, that I love to this very day, was Caucasian. She lived about 5 doors from me. And she would come out every Saturday, and she would give me a brush and I would brush her hair. And I used to think that her hair was the most beautiful hair I had ever seen- I thought mine was horrible but I thought hers was beautiful. But then I had woke up one day and they had moved. She didn’t tell us they were moving. To this very day, I think about her because she didn’t make me feel like I was Black: she made me feel like I was equal to her. I think about her a lot her name was Marie. That’s all I remember.

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Oral History- Dr.Galson(Shirin Akhter)

Posted by Shirin Akhter in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 9:35 am

rec_420s

Shirin: When and where were you born?


Dr. Galson: I was born in Mont Clare, NJ in 1950.


Shirin: Do you have like kids?


Dr. Galson: I have two sons. I have a 29 year old son and 23 year old son.


Shirin:  Do you want to talk about what you are doing now?


Dr. Galson:  You mean like career wise? I am a psychologist. I have a full time job with the School of Philadelphia as a school psychologist. And I have a private practice of psychotherapy.


Shirin: How was your experience at school like back in the days? Like how was your experience?


Dr. Galson:  I was a very conscience student.  I worked very hard on my assignments. I really had a drive to do well.  I was very interested in learning.


Shirin: Did kids from different backgrounds get along?


Dr. Galson:  In my school….in my high school……let’s see. I would say the kids from different backgrounds kind of kept to their own selves.


Shirin: So like their own group?


Dr. Galson: Their own group.  There were separate groups.  There was not very much mixing accept on the sports teams.  The people who were  on sports teams related to all different kinds of people and mine interest and my friends were mostly in like the literaray magazine and I’m just trying to think who was working on the literacy magazine and there were some differences in background but not a lot.”


Shirin: What did you experience during the Civil War or Civil Rights?


Dr. Galson: Civil war? I was not alive?

Shirin: I’m sorry.


Dr. Galson:  That was a long time ago.

The civil rights movement


I finished high school in 1958. I wen to a college that was very full of politically active people.In fact, I went to Antioch College, the alumna of my college was Coretta Scott King.  And 50 years ago, Martin Luther King Jr was the commencement speaker. And also the brother of you those civil rights, the three civil rights guys, anyway, these 3 civil rights guys who were killed. Um, one of their brothers went to my college.  So, as you might expect, there was a lot of political activism a lot of participation in various marches and movements related to voting rights struggles. Also ending the war and draft in Vietnam.  There was a draft then and there was a lot of activism around not sending people into the army. And actually Martin Luther King made himself very unpopular with both the civil Rights community with his base of support when he came out against the Vietnam War. And his broader agenda to confront racism and also the military industrial complex at that time wasn’t his most popular stand because  folks thought the most important thing was Civil Rights for all different races but he saw it as.


Shirin:Do you want to talk about what you went through? Did you have race problems?


Dr. Galson: I personally as a white person did not have what I would call race problems. I am Jewish and have encountered very little anti-Semitism. In fact Jewish people were pretty active on behalf of the Civil Rights Movement on behalf of racial equality. I wouldn’t way I had problems personally


Shirin:How old are you?


Dr. Galson: Since I was born in 1950 I am 64 year old. My birthday is not until the end of the year. I’ll be 65 in December.


Shirin: Thank you for your time.


Dr. Galson: It was my pleasure.








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Oral History: Ms. Deloris(Yarisnel Rosario)

Posted by Yarisnel Rosario in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Tuesday, May 19, 2015 at 12:53 am

Abstract


This interview is on Ms Delores and nabor of mines. In this interview she talk about her childhood leading up to her adulthood she talks about all the challenges she face in her life and even talks about famous past a current event that happened and are happening. She also gives her input in my things like this happen and who it could be stopped


Research


The baltimore riot stated becuase a a young mans death. Gray's death on April 19 reignited a public outcry over police treatment of African Americans that flared last year after the killings of unarmed black men in Ferguson, New York City and elsewhere. More than 3,000 police from Maryland, New Jersey and the District of Columbia, and National Guard members in helmets, took up posts in front of businesses and hospitals in Baltimore a day after the worst rioting in the United States in years.


Resources


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/27/us-usa-police-baltimore-idUSKBN0NI1N720150427


http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/04/28/us-usa-police-baltimore-idUSKBN0NI1N720150428


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2015_Baltimore_protests



Interview Below


Me ~ Hi may you please state your name?


Deloris~ Deloris Thompson


Me ~ Hi Deloris Thompson so umm what year were you born?


Deloris ~ 1956


Me ~ Umm were you born?


Deloris ~ Philadelphia Pennsylvania

Me ~ Umm where were you raise umm and where were brought up at?


Deloris ~ well, i was partially raised in north philly, Uhh after my mother had difficulty she had mental problems i went to live with my cousin Junoir for her to complete raising me


Me ~ O ok, umm were you were a little kid life as a black kid as they state it, umm what was life like for you?


Deloris ~ It was tuf- Ruff because my mom had left home my father raise us at one time and he couldn't complete the job, so they moved us children up into germantown it was kinda difficult


Me ~ Did- Did you ever feel like alone like you didnt really have someone?


Deloris ~ At one time yeah


Me ~ Hmm, um, do you remember any raci- like did you ever get any racist remarks, against you while you were little that you remember of?


Deloris ~ Not really dont remember racist remarks towards me


Me ~ Ummm, what would you, What would you say was the hardest thing for you growing up in those times when things were segregated?


Deloris ~ I try to block them out


Me ~   Do you remember any riots that happened?


Deloris ~ Well, i , uh, well Martin Luther King was killed (chuckles) i remember newton stores and tearing things up and everything because the was really upset and, so uh i seen a lot of ..


Me ~ Violence?


Deloris ~ Violence, at that time


Me ~ Umm did you ever participate in any riots?


Deloris ~ No


Me ~ Were you ever part of a group trying to prevent Segregation?


Deloris ~ No i didn't try to prevent it i tried to embrace it and make a difference i think all people are made equal so the thing was ignorance played a big part and segregation so i always look at it like, trying to make a difference, trying to bring people together, tu from all races, that was the biggest thing i learned from being a child because were all were all the same  


Me ~ So you agree with umm, basically your trying to say that you shouldn't ,fig- fight back with ignorance you should fight back with intelligence and kindness


Deloris ~ yes


Me ~ okay, umm would you say as you got older did things get better for you ?


Deloris ~ yes


Me ~ Could you state some of those things that got better for you?


Deloris ~ i decided to go to school for nursing, that became a big help because i got to meet different type of people, umm, i got married and my husband, i was a doll baby and queen to him so i was treated very well, but i went into the health feal because i knew people needed to be helped and to be able to un- understand because after i got older you know working in that field you hear the colored girl or the black girl or sometime the niger so i learned to embrace it and i learned to talk to people about it, eh, im just the same as you, eh, im just darker thats it and thats how i coped with that situation


Me ~ So when you were working there were racial remarks through to you but you embraces you were proud of who you were and you were a beautiful young black women who was doing what you needed to do to per, pursue in life


Deloris ~ yes


Me ~ okay as you were little in any, in any point in your life were you ever afraid or concerned of anything that had to do with segregation, like were you ever scared to go outside because of segregation or anything?


Deloris ~ eh, uh, eh eh fishtown you didn't want to get caught in after dark and all i could here is you better not go in that neighborhood (manly voice), but uh at one time Kensitin was the same way and uhhh, so i was scared to go into fishtown, but i did venture into Kensiten f and Westmorland and at the time it was rr- you know fights, so uhh i played bingo there for a long time like 10 years and they embraced me and that took care of me and it was a beautiful thing


Me ~ So Ms Deloris i have one final question for you earlier in the interview you stated that you umm, believe that you dont fight ignorance with ignorance you fight it with intelligence, umm so do you feel as though you segregation has gatten better over the years?


Deloris ~ Well yeah it got a lot better, it better than what it use to be because  you can go in just about anywhere you want in philadelphia without it being really racist so its much better


Me ~ Thank you Ms Daloris


Deloris ~ Your Welcome


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Oral History: Mr.Diallo (Hadja Diallo)

Posted by Hadja Diallo in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 11:53 pm

Abstract


In this interview, Mr.Diallo mentioned that there were positive and negative views  of  President Sekou Toure.  One of the negative things Sekou Toure did that had a huge impact in his life is that he was racist. Sekou Toure was so generous and kind, but he used segregation between the different tribes in Guinea.  Mr. Diallo was a victim of segregation between the Fulanis and the Mandingos tribes in Guinea, Africa. He was denied the access to go  abroad to study when he was in college.  While his other classmates were allowed to go abroad to pursue their dreams he was denied the access to make the dreams a reality simply because of his tribe..


Research


Ahmed Sekou Toure segregated the Fulanis because the were very smart, rich and had a larger population. The Fulanis in Fouta Jallon (the village were the Fulani ancestors were came from) were very smart. Chérif Manta Mady, told Sekou that the Fulanis were threat because of their power, wealth and education.  They might be the reason why he would lose his place as president.  Since then Sekou feared Fulanis. Since he didn’t get a chance to finish his education, he had a feeling that the future Fulanis will come and try to rule the land, so in order to stop them, he had to stop them from getting education. The only way to that was possible, to deny them the access to study outside of the land.




Resources


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ahmed_S%C3%A9kou_Tour%C3%A9

http://www.webguinee.net/bibliotheque/histoire/andre-lewin/sekou-toure-president/volume-1/chapitre01.html



How did Sekou Toure rule as a presidente?

The positive rating, Sekou Toure had no diversion in cases of the state in the bank, in finance, and that the people do not steal his money in a very positive side, but they did not steal money, money had value, they did not have inflection. The rating of the employer is naive there's no lateness , if the student finish their study, They are all employed in good jobs.You understand? so that about it. And security, now also I’ve talked about the security. you can go around walking all night and even a fly won’t touch you. The people don’t come in the houses of other people, to break to destroy the houses of people, and stealing  whatever they want, and killing people, no. Or stopping on the roads to attack taxi drivers and they people inside of it,


Me: They still do that though?


Mr.Diallo: They had a total and very strong security. okay you understand? These are positive rating.

Negative rating now, is that Sekou Toure ... he recognize that every person that he thought could replace him at the place of being a president.  He would catch them and put them in prison.


Me: What put them in prison?


Dad: Yes, any high quadre, the people that studied well in schools, that have their diploma, that are so so good. He knows that they can validly take/replace his place, he fears that they will try to replace him. So he would  arrest them and they were forced to be killed. That’s the negative side about Sekou Toure.


Me: That’s sad


Mr.Diallo: He denied the access for all the Fulanis to go abroad and study


Me: Wow, why is that?


Mr.Diallo: Because they are fulanis


Me: Wait, only for fulanis?


Mr.Diallo: Only the fulanis! All the fulani students that had scholarships was decline. I was a victim, me that is talking to you right now.


Me: Awww!


Mr.Diallo: I was a victim! Your dad was a victime de racial segregations of Sekou toure. A had the scholarship to go to romany ut because I was fulanis I didn’t go.  like Sekou Toure until that year, that when I started hating Sekou Toure.



What can you tell me about Africa(Guinea)  that was scary back in your days? because I heard stories about it.



Mr. Diallo: Oh you know, umm scary… Africa scary back in my generation, don’t know what you’re trying to say, I don’t know what you mean by that, you are asking me about witches?

Me:Yes


Mr.Diallo: No, you know every people has their own culture, every people as their own tribes, their rules. That what differentiate the people. So in Africa we always talk about witches. Particularly in the African countries , we say this person is a witch, they can eat people, But is that cently proved?.. It’s not  scientifically proved. We can’t explained about that ciently. But in Africa in the villages when someone is sick, we say that it the witches that ate them, and the witch is the persons and or uncle, and their are the ones who ate them But isis true or is it a lie..


Me: That’s what they call black magic?


Mr.Diallo:  because it’s not scientifically proven, I don’t know. But It’s true that it exist in Africa, that promen of witches, they say there are people that eat other people.


Me: You know your little brother back in the village was eaten by the witches, they used black magic on him.


Mr.Diallo: My brother. No  he wasn’t eaten by the witches, it’s something else. But what I really believe exit is the les fetiche. When they tell you you are going to die and you are. They can kill you if they want. they can even make lighting when it’’s not raining.


Me: Is that still continued in African? Like do they still make that?


Mr.Diallo: yes, It’s still excite and it’s the most scariest thing about Africa.



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Interview with Ms. Rita

Posted by Donmir Rolling in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 11:20 pm

  • Abstract:

    DR= Donmir Rolling

    RP=Rita Platis

    • My neighbor next door ( Ms. Rita)

    • Saturday 4/16/15 at 4:30 pm

    DR. Good morning Ms, Rita do you mind if i ask you some question before 1960

    RP. Good morning And no I don’t mind

    DR. Did you live in Philadelphia all your life

    RP. Yes I live here all my life born and raise, paid taxes here, and fought all my life, I was a fighter

    DR. Did your mother or father had to go through racist moments in there life

    RP. Of course because I had to go through racist time, it was rough, I remember my grandpa showing us the area that mom and I  live, at during that time. While my mother was busy watching us he was building homes at 46th and havord and 46th market all those them house down he built he even have pictures that houses before the messy and buggy….Dirt road.

    DR. How was life as kid and life before 1960?

    RP. I had a very childhood my parent were christian  they believing right raising their children giving them an education, making them responsible people

    DR. Do you know anyone that had to deal racial problems?

    RP. Yea where I raise at the school I went to, i had to make a living, I ran into a lot of racist things, even myself but have to be determined you just can't sit still or stand in a mud hole you have to fight your way through, and if you feel your right stand up and fight for what you believing . standing up for right because right or wrong nobody I was taught that  I have carried that my life, Love every body am dastan up for you believing

    DP. Do you remember anything from civil rights movement and what was it that you remember?

    RP. Yes I remember the marches and Dr Martin Luther King getting shot.

    DR. I remember you telling me that you was the first black woman to live on this block, did the whites treat you any different

    RP. When I first move here, it didn't affect me because the way I was raised believing what I was doing and if I felt it was right I stood for my right, yes I had a few that you know what to be funny, but I was never afraid to speak up for myself never afraid. And love all the same, and it only one perfect person in the world and its GOD almighty.

    DR. Thank you Ms, Rita Platis for interviewing

    RP. Your welcome



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Oral History: Orlando (Adam Bennett)

Posted by Adam Bennett in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 10:45 pm

Abstract
Orlando talks about his life growing up and the things he has seen and grown up with also how he wasn't taking part in the Civil Rights Movement because he was in Pennsylvania where there wasn't much going on. He has tackled a normal teenage life straying away from segregation and as talked about he approached any possible situation smart. He has had close relationships with white people and those relationships has changed his view on them seeing that not all of them are bad people and there are some white people that we choose to shrug over. Orlando's family has created their own culture separate from society at that time and looked beyond the segregation and looked on what they can take advantage of. Building their own farms, houses, and culture his family has stayed by each other. Segregation didn't slow him down when he wanted to become who he is and I don't think anything can. 

Research

Another thing we shrug over that is brought up is the fact that segregation is everywhere, around the world there is still slavery. There were mainly racism going on in the Eastern Hemisphere where there was racism in Asia, Middle East, and in Australia. Over 20 million people are in forced labor today, which we talked about before about modern slavery which is a big issue today, that answers the question that slavery will never stop in the world. For the United Nations, slavery has been a topic discussed, but usually lowly delegated by the United States and Britain country's like those. With India and the Arab countries some of them refuse to stop slave trade or oppose against it because it is one of their main sources of wealth through slaves. The U.S has been on and off on racism this past decade where we have had immigration, Police v African-Americans, and 9/11 racism has been slowly creeping into America we just don't know it. Is this Modern Racism? This is what Orlando was talking about that racism is all over the news and we are too busy stuck in the past to see what's going on now. 

Sources: 
  • http://www.globalissues.org/article/165/racism#RacisminAsia
 (Links to an external site.) 
  • http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-hidden-truth-the-rising-tide-of-global-racism-and-xenophobia/5428854
 (Links to an external site.) 
  • http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-26513804
 (Links to an external site.)

Interviewer: Adam Bennett

Interviewee: Pop-Pop (Orlando)

May 11, 2015 7:00pm

AB: So, at what age did you first experience discrimination?

PP: I say about 14 or 15

AB: Do you know what happened?

PP: Oh yeah I was in the South, some white guys rolled by in a truck and hollered out the window “hey n*****” and I was in the yard doing something and they was on a back of a truck and I guess it was ten or twelve of em it was girls and guys and it was many years ago.

AB: So, what was your reaction?

PP: I holler back I holler back “hey you cracker” because that what we would say down south somebody would say something to you that’s what you would do.

AB: So, growing up did you hate white people at the time?

PP: No no no no, I didn’t.

AB: Well, how did you feel about them did you feel like they were ignorant?

PP: Well, I was raised on a farm we had our own farm so I wasn’t working under them I was working under my father. I wasn’t like the other black people in the south they didn’t like white people because they treated them wrong. No, I got along with them my next door neighbor was a white guy and we got along good, I used to go up to his house we didn’t go in the house that much, but we would be out at the barn doing things. But no I never disliked white people.

AB: So did you care what was going on at the time or did you sort of pushed it off?

PP: I didn’t care I mean I it was what I was raised into I didn't look at it as much then as i do now and it didn’t look as much different to me I didn't see much of it.

AB: Ok so, how was your teenage life from 14 till you were an actual adult.

PP: Well my teenage life was great because when I was 15 I got my driver's license my mother started me in school when I was 5 so when I was 15 my records in school said I was 16 so I got my records from school and went and got my driver’s license and my brother got a car and I started driving the car we worked in the farm and I had a really good teenage life you know I had good parents that raised us good and my teenage life was great all until I turned 18 and moved to Pennsylvania.

AB: When you came to Pennsylvania was it different from the South?

PP: I didn’t see too much difference because in the South we went where we knew we could go you know all the Piccolo Joints and we only went to black Piccolo joints and just like how you were in a town or anywhere else I was raised that way I wasn’t taught that way but when you go in a place you see water fountain white’s only water fountain blacks only I mean you were use to that and it was no other way and when I come to Pennsylvania it just wasn’t no signs so I didn’t see too much discrimination either way.

AB: Were you active in the Civil Rights Movement?

PP: No I was in Pennsylvania no I wasn’t active in it at the time when they started marchin’ and everything I was in Pennsylvania no marching was here.

AB: Have you ever had besides relationship with your neighbor any relationship with white people like a girlfriend?

PP: After I got into Pennsylvania yes yes I dated white girls yes.

AB: Would you like to explain on that?

PP: Well yea I can say that I never had like a steady girl it was like going to the club and meeting a girl and you would drink and you might go to other places. I didn’t have like steady girl that I would date you know I had a good friend that was a white girl and I had no problem with that.

AB: Did you receive “good” education growing up in the South?

PP: Well I had the opportunity to receive a good education and I had an opportunity to go to college and go all the way and my father was able to do it and the ones in my family that wanted to go to college which was only two they went and you know. It might be my fault that I got just about what I want and not just me we were living good we own our own land and everything at the part I didn’t see in having a good education. I wanted to be successful which was having fun and having a nice car and that was it.

AB: Would you say that your family created your own culture?

PP: I could say that my family created my mother and father and yea they created their own culture not too much I didn't have too much into it.

AB: Were you playing any sports, music were you doing anything?

PP: I used to box and wrestle and I was a good wrestler I never been thrown the whole while I been wrestling and it was free wrestling so there wasn’t training I trained myself.

AB: Have you ever been physically motivated to act upon a white person?

PP: Nah nah nah there was some kids that used to come around and we used to beat em up not beat em up but you know just smack em and do stuff just to get them scared and at that time their was more of us and white people would catch black guys if it were more of them. It was never nothing personal that lasted long it was over and we were through with it.

AB: Did you...you were ever like against what was going on in the Civil Rights movement?

PP: Yes I was against that, I knew that not all whites, but the whites didn’t like the blacks, but I didn’t participate in any of them because like I said earlier there were no marches in Philadelphia like it was in the South and I had left the South.

AB: Were you ever able not to do something you really wanted to do because you were black?

PP: Not really well, there are things that I couldn’t do and that I didn’t do because I was black I didn’t put myself in that position. Not really not really, I never approached anything and not done it because I was black because I had better sense not to approach it I understanded segregation in the South and in the North and that’s why I never got caught up in that.

AB: We’re going to wrap up here, but what is your whole thought on Segregation?

PP: Well my whole though on segregation is that a lot of people will look at it as black and white, but segregation is all over the world just like racism. Even in the mid-east all over the world there are segregation it’s races that hate each other races that love each other. Just now, I was looking on the news in China they still got slaver they got thousands of people on fishing ships in slavery we wasn’t the first one in slavery back in Pharaoh days in the middle east and slavery has just been around for awhile.

AB: Thank you Pop-Pop

PP: Well thank you.


Interview with Pop Pop (online-audio-converter.com)
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Oral History

Posted by Saraa Fadl in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 10:06 pm

The Failed Coup of Opposition Groups or Parties against the Gaafar El-Nimeiri  

Interview by: Saraa Fadl

Interviewee: Osama Fadl

Date: 5/15/15

Time: 9:00 pm



Abstract: In 1976, there was an attempted coup located in Khartoum, Sudan in which my father, who was 11 years old at the time, had witnessed. This failed coup was lead by opposition parties against president Jaafar El-Nimeiri and his military at an attempt to overthrow the military government in Sudan and take over. He mentions how the event that happened at that time is connected with what is happening today. He talks about his opinion of the situation and the government.


Research on Jaafar El-Nimeiri


He was president for 17 years (1969-1985). He was a US ally and was known for creating a sharia law that he thought would make Sudan peaceful but instead, it created conflicts between the north and the south. He was responsible for creating a lot of conflicts from his ruling which resulted in him being exiled in Cairo, Egypt. He was in exile for 14 years and came back to Sudan in 1999. He tried to get reelected but did poorly. He died on May 30, 2009 at the age of 79.


Sources:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaafar_Nimeiry

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8075376.stm


S.F: Hello this is Saraa Fadl and I'm here to talk about the failed coup led by various groups such as the Islamists, The Uma Party (A Political Party) that opposed Jaafar El-Nimeiri with my father who at the time was 11 years old witnessed it. So how are you?


O.F:I’m alright.


S.F:So, I’m just here to ask you questions based on your knowledge about the failed coup. So, what happened based on your knowledge?


O.F: That time there was we were coming from  a wedding of my cousin and the wedding lasted until 4 am in the morning that day and while we were coming my dad’s pickup truck we heard the bombing and shooting. Was like far away it was supposed to be like in downtown which was like maybe about 67, miles from where we were but still we were overhearing the bombing so when we got home we were outside just listening and you know wondering where was that and then the news came in and said there was a coup led by the opposition but the official government was saying like they were saying is  a missionary from overseas past soldiers from other countries. They came to invade Sudan so that helped the government which is the military at the time helped them to you know the people help them because they were against the foreigners.


SF: So did this last all day or..?


OF: It was until like from like 3 or 4 am to like maybe around 11 or 12 and then you know when the people that came in, they came in and they couldn’t control the government or the country or the capital. Then they were driven away from there from the center and they came closer to where I lived like a mile so there was shootings all morning.


S.F: Was this a school night or a weekend?


O.F: It was Friday i think Thursday night to Friday night. it was the next day was.. we were


S.F: So it lasted a couple days?

OF: No I think it was the fighting was until 12 or something and then the government came back and the president was overseas and then they took over


SF: So when this happened he didn’t know about it or...?


OF: No he knew about it from overseas and i think he was directing it from overseas but there was some of his ministers and his people in the military you know that helped him.


SF: Did you witness something disturbing? Did you hear, see, or smell something unusual?


OF: No it was far away i mean i was too young to go and you know but we just heard stuff we heard the guns if we weren’t in the wedding we wouldn’t hear that. We would be asleep but it happens at the time of the wedding night of my cousin so we heard the whole thing and we stayed up but i didn’t see anything.


SF: Did you see any helicopters?


OF: No there were soldiers on the ground they were trying to control the radio and the tv stations and the military installations.


SF: So you mentioned it was far away, where was it located?


OF: In downtown like where the TV and the radio stations and the military headquarters.


SF: So where were you?


OF: Like in the suburbs, like 6 or 7 miles away.


SF: Of Khartoum or..?


OF: Downtown yeah.


SF: So when you first saw it, was there anyone in the family that knew about it a little bit, so that they can fill you in because you probably was confused at the time?


OF: Yeah, I had my cousin he was in the secret service, like the internal secret service, so yeah, he didn’t know too, but when he came back later on, he told us it’s a, you know, a missionary they call it مرتزقة (which is like paid soldiers from overseas from other countries). So thats how the government defeated them but they were opposition parties opposing the government but when they came they brought people that didn’t know the area they didn’t know the city, and they looked different from the people in the city, so it was easy to see that they are not sudanese, so the propaganda of the government they told them to pay missionaries to stop. All the sudanese were behind the government so thats what he told me.

S.F: How are people knowing about it now or years after the event happened? Do you think they are teaching that in school or are their relatives telling them?


OF:yea i mean people are talking about it because we are in the same situation right now in Sudan. There is a military government, there is a military taking over the country for now 25 years and the opposition parties are against the government and at this point, there were a lot of fights, there are a lot of wars in the south and the west and now people are trying to come together in a reconciliation so it’s the same situation like at the time 1976 i think ‘75 so its the same scenario happening right now so people are trying to--


SF: Compare?


OF: Yea, it’s comparable because its the same situation. the opposition were against the government. some parties of the opposition are fighting the government and now everybody is trying to come together and have a peaceful reconciliation and have a national government so it doesn’t get worse.


SF: What is your opinion? Do you have a side?


OF: No I am with everyone coming together because the country’s situations are getting worse, economically, politically, and socially. People are going back to their tribes, going back to their ethnicity.


SF: Because of the government.


OF: Because of the government trying to rule by dividing the people, dividing the parties together, dividing people against people, so they managed to control the country but in the end, the country is divided and divided, so hopefully they can come together and bring all the sudanese to one government and then work in improving the situation in Sudan.


SF: Are there leaders in Sudan that are trying to fix it?


OF: Yeah there is some leaders but because i think that personally because of selfishness they don’t want to join. They feel like they supposed to get more than what they can get, they don’t want to compromise. They are selfish and it can’t work with some parties joining and not the others it’s going to be the same problem. So everyone has to come so that's why its difficult to bring everybody in but that’s the only solution right now. otherwise it’s going to be wars its going to be like civil war. There is some wars fighting in the west, in Darfur and other states in the country but it’s going to be more people even in the capital because there is a lot of guns now with each parties so--


SF: So, history is repeating itself.


OF: Yeah. So the president at the time was wise and he managed to reconcile people but now i think the president is trying but i don’t know if he is trying hard and some opposition parties are--


SF: He’s(the president) abusing his power?


OF: Yeah of course I mean he’s responsible for all the mess that happened at the end.


SF: Is he the same president as what happened a long time ago?


OF: No that was El-Nimeiri now it’s Al-Bashir. There was a democratic elected government in between the two military governments but it’s the same problems and same situations.


SF: Ok , thank you!

OF: You’re welcome!


Last question
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Oral History: Belle Myers (A.Langley)

Posted by Aiesha Langley in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 9:52 pm

Abstract:

My grandmother reflects on life growing up , while she faced discrimination and many other obstacles that crossed her path. In the interview, she begins by sharing her own experiences that she faced back as a child. Also in the interview she shares, an memorable event that played a huge role in her life and others.


Research:

On July 23, 1953, City Councilman Raymond Pace Alexander called for the admission of African-American students to Girard College, the North Philadelphia boarding school for boys that didn't have a father. Almost fifteen years later in June 1968, Alexander joined fellow civil rights activist Cecil B. Moore at a rally celebrating the end of the school’s segregated admissions policy. On that day, Alexander and Moore reflected on the evolution of strategies, objectives, and leadership within the modern civil rights movement. As historian Matthew J. Countryman rightly observes, “the modern civil rights movement was as much a product of the black experience of racial oppression in the urban North as it was of life in the segregated South” and those experiences keenly shaped how the effort to desegregate Girard College unfolded through the 1950s and 1960s. This was an important memorable event for my grandmother in which she will never forget.


Sources: http://northerncity.library.temple.edu/content/collections/desegregation-girard-college/what-interpretative-essay

http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/05/01/celebrating-50-years-since-protesters-help-open-door-to-black-students-at-girard-college/

http://explorepahistory.com/hmarker.php?marker Id=1-A-369


Transcript:

  1. Did you have any experiences with discrimination?

    • “Yes, as a child I grew up in South Carolina, everyday was discrimination because as a child, how you were treated, most thought that was the way of life.”

  2. How do you feel about the role race play in society?

    • “It shouldn't be a role that race plays, everyone should be equal.”

  3. What do you remember from the Civil Rights Movement?

    • “I remember Cecil B.Moore fighting to have Girard college accept black students.”

  4. Do you think that racism is an important issue for children to be aware of?

    • “Its very important , because prejudice is a learnt behavior it's taught first in the home.”

  5. What do you think is the best way to oppose/end racism?

    • “By treating everyone equal, not by the color of their skin or were they came from.”

  6. Did the civil rights movement affect you and if so how?

    • “It affect me because it gave me a greater desire to not live an oppressed live although I was labeled as an oppressed people.”

  7. Why do you think racism is still going on in the 21st century?

    • “As long as there is hate, disrespect, and ignorance it will always go on.”

  8. What are your feelings towards racism?

    • “It makes me sad, and it's painful.”

  9. Which time period do you think race had the most positive impact?

    • “Time periods differ, when anything positive came out, in the society of division , there were a impact , being the 60s , 80s, and even now, there were an impact.”

  10. From your perspective how does Race and discrimination differ?

    • “because society continue to label people as minorities, people of color are looked at as less valued and not on an equal level.”

interview
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Oral History: Clifton Mabry (R.Vaughn)

Posted by Rymir Vaughn in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 8:51 pm

Abstract

In this interview Clifton Mabry, a 68 year old man from High Point, North Carolina, reflects on his life and important events that happened in his life during the 60’s. He also touches on some of the events from the Civil Rights Movement and how it affected his life in mostly positive ways. This interview doesn’t really touch on key components of the Civil Rights Movements because it is told from the point of view of Northerner, but it does get into significant events that occurred.


Research

Emmett Till was brought up in this interview. Emmett Till was a fourteen year old boy that was murdered and tortured for flirting with a white woman. His accused killers were put on trail, but were acquitted by an all white male jury. His death sent shockwaves and opened eyes across the world because he was nothing, but a child who was ignorant to the fact that behaving the way he did would be problematic. Mentioned previously, his accused killers did eventually admit to killing Till, but were never put on for retrial.

Something else that was mentioned in the interview was the riots on Columbia Avenue. These riots began when two Philadelphia police officers responded to a domestic dispute at 22nd and Columbia. The dispute ended up drawing a crowd that attacked the police officers with bricks and various forms of debris, but the officers didn’t get attacked because of their efforts to stop the dispute, but because of rumors and misleading information. The misleading information was that a white police officer beat a pregnant black woman to death. Looters took over stores, crime rates skyrocketed, and business were lost or destroyed. Once the riots were over and North Philadelphia was restored the long lasting effects of the riots began to take place.

The murders of two white males and a black male was another thing mentioned in the interview. The three men killed were Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and James Chaney. These three men were on there way back from a trip to Philadelphia. While on their way back deputy sheriff/KKK member Cecil Price pulled the trio over for speeding. He held the men in custody while the rest of the Klan set up for the murder. Once the Klan finished they were let go. Later down the road the trio was closed in by two Klan cars and the three were shot in their heads and put into hand made graves.




Sources

Emmett Till

Columbia Ave. Riots

KKK Murder

Transcript

Rymir Vaughn: “Good afternoon Mr.Cliff.”


Clifton Mabry: “Good afternoon.”


RV: How. “How you doing today?”


CM: “I’m alright.”


RV: “Well if you don’t mind I would like to ask you a few questions.”


CM: “Sure.”


RV: “So, what are some things that you remember about the 60’s?”


CM: “Ohhh... I remember the best things to me were.. the dances, the.. not too much school, you know what I mean we were really do too much in school, but the friendships that I had with the people that I grew up with you know, and friends of uh my family and the friends of my friends family you know. We all got along you know and it was all one big happy family. Put that down there hahaha.”


RV: “Uh. Is there anything that you remember like about the historical aspect of the 60’s?”


CM: “Uhh let’s see. Ohh my goodness! Yes, I remember the riots on Cecil B. Moore, but it was it was Columbus Av.. uh Columbus uhh Avenue then, but the riots. Well, I think that was sixty in sixty-three sixty-two somewhere around there. And they really tore up the whole from 7th street to uhh just about 30th street.They tore up everything. Just like the riots in L.A. where they burned down everything they did the same thing here. And also that we had a police commissioner that would gung ho. He used to walk around with his billy club in his combull bun. You know what a combull bun is?”


RV: “No. Not at all.”


CM: “When he put on a tuxedo he puts a little like a belt like, but it's not a belt. Its a accessory.”


RV: “Oh. Oh. Oh.”


CM: “Its called a combull bun he used to walk around with his billy club. His name was Frank Rizzo, and uh we had uh when he was the police commissioner we didn’t have a whole lot of crime, but now we ya mean we den’ stepped it up now. I don't know what these poli. police commissioners is doin’ now.”


RV: “Ok. So, are there any similarities or differences you notice about the 60’s and now?”


CM: “Naw. No similarities whatsoever. Things have changed so much people have speed it up. They have speed it up whereas there is no respect in the world. Children are all raised by single parents now. Whereas back then you had two parents. You know you don't have that today in most houses.”


RV: “Yeah.. So, has the 60’s had an impact on your life now?


CM: “On my life. Sure. It has whereas I’ve made it this far. I’ll be sixty-nine memorial day. So, therefore I made it this far, so it had an impact. I was watching my P’s and Q’s. Hahaha.”


RV: “So, what part of the 60’s do you remember the most and why?”


CM: “Uh. let’s see. Oh the part that I remember my first child being born in sixty-three. That’s the really part that I remember. That’s for me. Because I became a dad. You know I was too young to really understand it fully, you know I’m just saying what I was supposed to do, but that was a proud moment for me.”


RV: “So, if you don't mind I would like to get into the historical aspect of the 60’s like the civil rights movement and things like that. What do you remember about Martin Luther King?”


CM: “Uhh lord. Back then we really didn’t know anything about him because we really didn’t focus ourselves on this because we would focus ourselves on other things like uhh every now and then someone would be playing sports, but sometimes we’d be gang warin’ that's what we use to do back in the day. Everybody claimed a corner. In other words like 15th and Oxfr.. uhh.. yeah 15th and Oxford, 15th and Montgomery, and stuff like that, Marshall and Master, 12th and Oxford, 12th and uhh Poplar. These is things that we did back in those days, we claimed corners. You know we bond together you know the people from the neighborhood we bond together to protect each other.You know from other people that live this place and live that place. They would come or we’d go over there you know. Its just that I mean its a different thing then what y’all do today what y’all do today,”


RV: “ So, what about the KKK you remember anything about them?


CM: “Oh my goodness. I heard. Uh what’s this boy. He whistled at a white woman and they uh.. killed em’ they hung em’ I think he was either 12 or 15.”


RV: “Emmett Till”


CM: “Emmett Till. Thats about you know basically about you know as far as knowing anything about that you know. And I believe the three boys 2 white boys and one black boy that they found them in Mississippi I believe it was Mississippi. I’m not sure, but they killed them. Civil Rights Movement you know, but basically nobody really paid attention to that you know cuz being living in the North we didn’t have the problems that they had where somebody could come in the middle of the night and come in you're house and take you out there and hang you we never had that type of thing.”


RV: “So, life in the North was it signif… significantly different from life in the South?”


CM: “Yeah. Yes because I was born in High Point, North Carolina right, and it's basically…. a.. what would you call it like a little country a little country little part it's not like a real big part. Its like say uh Norristown that’s about the size of it so, therefore when my parents brought me up here so, it was entirely different thing entirely different and I had to get used to and I had to grow in order to be accepted.”


RV: “What age did you move from High Point?”


CM: “Uh. I was about 10”


RV: “10… So, was there did you or your parents face any type of racism down when you were in North Carolina”


CM: “Oh yeah. I was little kid, but I didn’t understand it I didn’t understand it, but it was there, but like I said I didn’t understand what was going on, but they knew, but I didn’t understand because I was too young to distinguish from racism from white black and white I was too young I didn't know.I figured everybody was the same.”


RV: “If you could be at one of the signfic.. signi.. significant events that happened back in the 60’s or during the Civil Rights Movement which one would it be and why would you go there?”


CM: “Thats a hard one there. Thats a hard one. Like I said you can quote me we didn't really pay attention and ….. I was like uhh 16 17 18, so therefore I really didn't paid attention to the uh politics and things like this or whatever the Civil Rights and things i didn’t pay attention to that because it didn't at the because in my mentality at that age and where I’m living in the North I didn’t.. I didn't really feel threatened by anything like that.”


RV: “So, how did your parents handle life as African Americans when you were living in the South?”


CM: “Ohh man. I guess they did the best they could you know with what they had you know. They had the minimal jobs you know they they they worked for the um white folks doing house work or whatever, but uhh we made it through we made it through. Thats the best I can say hahaha best I can say we made it through cuz here I am living testament you know here I am. Ya dad old enough he could’ve told you.”


RV: “Well thanks Mr.Cliff.”


CM: “Hey no problem no problem. Always a problem.. Always a pleasure always a pleasure.”



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Oral History: Daisy Rios (Epifanio Rios)

Posted by Epifanio Rios in AFRICAN AM HISTORY - Roy - E on Monday, May 18, 2015 at 6:44 pm

Abstract: In this Interview, the interviewee, Mrs. Rios, tells us about her childhood during the time of the Civil Rights Movement. She recounts many events she remembers from her childhood and gives us insight on how her life was during this time. Mrs. Rios also shares with the interviewer, her son, a memory she has of the death of president Kennedy. Then further into the interview she begins to tell us about her views on what life has become know and how the world has changed so much since the 60’s. This interview talks more about the interviewee’s life during her time as a child and some of her experiences growing up during the Civil Rights era.


Research: In 1954, in the Brown vs. Board of Education case, the supreme court had outlawed the existence of legal segregation within public schools. This then led to the integration of African Americans and whites into the same schools. This was a pivotal point in the integration of races in the United States. In 1963, the 35th president of the United States, John F. Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. He was the youngest president to be elected and the youngest to be assassinated. Before his death the Civil Rights Act was created but not passed due to his death. In 1964, while in the hands of Lyndon B. Johnson, it is passed in honor of JFK. My mother, the interviewee, life had begun after the Supreme Court choice in the Brown vs. Board of Education trial. She went to school when schools were being integrated and according to her memory her school was not entirely integrated. She also remembers the death of JFK and realizes the profound impact it had on people.

Sources:

http://www.colorlines.com/articles/may-17-1954-supreme-court-rules-racial-segregation-schools-unconstitutional , https://www.whitehouse.gov/1600/presidents/johnfkennedy , http://www.jfklibrary.org/JFK/JFK-in-History/Civil-Rights-Movement.aspx?p=3 ,

In Bold - Interviewer

In Italics - Interviewee


So who are you and when were you born?

My Name is Daisy Nilda Rios, born in Mercer County, Trenton, New Jersey

When?

May 11th, 1958

So, where did you grow up?

I grew up in a city called Trenton, New Jersey.

Describe it for me.

Trenton, New Jersey in the area where I was born and raised, was considered, mostly, the majority, 99% was black.

Did you know allot of white people around there?

Just a few at school.

But, No where else?

Where my dad and mom use to work at, at the hospital.

Where those the only interactions you’ve ever had with white people?

Yes.

So there wasn’t a lot of mixing or… ?

99% were black and hispanic.

Tell me what was school like for you.

School For me?

Yea.

It was go to school, come back home, home, back to school, school, back home.

Did you guys, was there any racial barriers that kind of came between your school?

Well also my school was the majority, were a lot of black people, I can’t recall any memories of my childhood, going to school.

Did your parents ever let you guys interact with any other races?

As a (incomprehensible) we were raised, well we were not allowed to be outside, like the generation now a days it’s mostly, “Mom can I go outside.”, Which in reality, when I was growing up we were not allowed to interact outside the home. It was always going to school and coming back home and never going outside and playtime. My parents were really strict on this.

So did your parents let you play, well if they did let you play, did they ever let you play with the black kids?

Yes we had a few kids that we were, the little bit of time we had outside was the black play (incomprehensible), we liked the double dutch thing, it was very popular then. And jump rope, but we did get a chance to play.

In all your time growing up can you name any of them?

Remember names? No

Do you remember how they were like?

They were all about my age as we were growing up, ten, eleven, twelves, mostly girls. We weren’t allowed to play with any boys, and recall names? I don’t remember.

Would you have considered yourself, kind of segregated from everyone else?

I wouldn’t say segregated, it was just the way were raised,

Like accustomed too?

Accustomed too, it was just a habit that we all grew into, the same custom you know.

Did you know anyone who was in support of the Civil rights movement at the time?

I guess my parents were.
Your parents?
My parents.

Tell me about your parents and their relationships, considering race.

Everyone got along with each other, you know back then there were no problems, like discrimination and bullying and stuff like that it was always like that you go to school and come straight home and if you were working, you go to work, and come straight home.

When you were younger how did you see the Civil rights movement, how did you understand it?

I didn’t really understand it.
Like what was going on?

What was going on, and all I know is when Kennedy got shot, I saw my mother got really upset, like someone really close to her really died, and it was like on the news, it was like you know like, it was very crazy, at that point.

When kennedy died you like five years old, correct?

Five or six years old. I just remember my mom seeing the news on the TV and she went ballistic, she was like really, they were really, back in that time, really heart broken when that happened.

Do you know why?

No

Since then do you think your views on race have changed?

My views, on race? No, we have the blacks, we have the hispanics, we have the orientals, we have a few whites, No problems, I think that I can interact with whatever nationality you might be.

So I guess that will conclude this interview.

I was going to say that my biggest trip was to go the state fair, that was our pleasure and fun that we had every year.

Ok, so before we end this, How was the state fair?

The state fair was like a big concert going, that was our only family outgoing trip that we always do, it was a long walk, we always had to walk, but the state fair was like wow, it is like a carnival to us here now a days, but over there when we were raised the state fair was like a big thing to us, you know seeing all of the animals and stuff like that, what you guys consider know to be a carnival now it’s just a carnival.

Yeah, It is just like no big deal.  

It’s no big deal.

I will ask my final question, did you witness any discrimination or experience any discrimination?

My father getting beat up, would that be considered? The only thing that I can say, that I saw with my own eyes, was when my dad was coming home from work one night and it was like four guys beat him up.

Do you know why?

Well I guess, they were trying to rob him. And steal his money and he was just coming home from work.

Do you know what race the people who were trying to rob him were?

I wanna say black. It was four black guys. But other than that, I say that we don't have the advantages that the race and childhood have now. You know, you can go outside, you can go with friends and stuff, we didn’t have that pleasure at home, we couldn’t even watch TV, we had one hour on a friday to watch Television, but other than that we weren't allowed to watch TV.

Do you have anything else you wanna add?

Like back in the day, like when I was being raised we didn’t know what bullying is, what it is now. Discrimination what their calling discrimination now. We didn’t know those big words at the time we were being raised. So, my point now is like everything has a name to it now. Back in the day we didn’t have a name for it. You know, being bullied.


You kind of just saw it as it is?


Yea we just, Oh they’re having a fight cuz before you were able to fight one on one. Not now, it’s a whole gang coming to beat you up or stuff like that but as naming, we didn’t know bullying and discrimination or having problems with races and stuff like that. It all has a name now. It didn’t have a name back then, or didn’t know the names of it. Yea you know you fight and it was always one on one, a couple days late you made up. It’s like, not now they want to shoot you or kill you and stuff like that all with violence and stuff, it wasn’t like that before. So my conclusion is, people need to communicate with each other and trying to avoid and be truthful if you are being bullied say you’re being bullied.


So just paybacking off of that, do you think there’s more I guess kind of racial violence between now and back then?


Now, there is a lot. A lot more than back then.


Its worse or?

Its worse now. Like I said we never had a name, when you was getting beat up or when the kids were picking on you at school because we called it just picking on you but it was never like bullying and getting beat up and stuff like that. It was just a normal fight. We going to fight, one on one. It’s not like now with knives and guns and stuff like that. Its way different now.


I guess we’re done here.

Thank you so much.


Thank you for letting me have this opportunity mother. (Laughter)


Mom Interview
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AFAM-005

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2014-15

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  • Matthew Roy
Science Leadership Academy @ Beeber · 5925 Malvern Ave · Philadelphia, PA 19131 · Ph: 215-400-7270 Fax: 215-400-7271
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