Box 2
Container
Contains 14 Results:
Polly James, 1973
File — Box: 2, Folder: 1
Scope and Contents
Polly James was born August 3, 1919 just north of Texarkana, Texas. She had two brothers, six sisters, and attended Burns High School. In the fall of 1937 she attended Prairie View St. College for one semester before dropping out to get married. Her husband went away to join the army for two years and eight months. They moved to Salt Lake City in the October of 1946. At the time, her husband was employed at ANSR, and they had five children: two boys and three girls. When they moved to Salt Lake...
Dates:
1973
Mrs. Kinsey, 1972
File — Box: 2, Folder: 2
Scope and Contents
Mrs. Kinsey was born January 24th, 1897, in Heflin Louisiana. She went to school in a one-room schoolhouse and made it through the fourth or fifth grade. Both of her parents were born into enslavment in Louisiana, although her mother was half-White. Her father was a farmer; she recalls that he grew cotton and corn primarily. She had six brothers and three sisters. She says that while African Americans face a lot of discrimination in Utah, she was treated worse in Louisiana. Mrs....
Dates:
1972
LaVon Ledbetter, 1972
File — Box: 2, Folder: 3
Scope and Contents
Mrs. Ledbetter was born in Salt Lake City, in 1923. She had both a brother and a sister. Her family lost their house during the Depression and moved across from Pioneer Park. She dropped out of school after junior high to help raise a nephew, while her dad worked a variety of jobs that included janitorial work, the railroad, government, and store clerk. Her mother was in music and accomplished her goal of being played on the radio before she died of cancer during the Depression, a death which...
Dates:
1972
Samuel W. Ledbetter, Jr., 1972
File — Box: 2, Folder: 4
Scope and Contents
Samuel W Ledbetter, Jr. was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1913. He graduated from college and decided to come to Utah in 1945. He worked for a railroad shop and later for the government as a mail clerk. He says that most of his problems stemmed from economic issues as opposed to race issues, including finding a place to live. He states that he did not feel influenced by the LDS Church in any way. In 1945 or 1946, he saw a cross burned behind University Hospital by the KKK, but says he never...
Dates:
1972
Mrs. Little, 1973
File — Box: 2, Folder: 5
Scope and Contents
Mrs. Little was born in 1906, where she attended school in Brown and Caldwell, Texas. She went to school through junior high and came to Utah in 1933. She decided to move to Utah because her husband’s parents were living there. She did not like Utah at first because of its lack of minorities as well as a lack of recreational activities. Mrs. Little recalls that the first time she went to church in Salt Lake, pistols were drawn during the service by two people including the preacher,...
Dates:
1973
Rev. Ira Martin, 1973
File — Box: 2, Folder: 6
Scope and Contents
Reverend Martin was born in Mississippi in 1914. He attended school up through the tenth grade. His father was a deacon of the church and owned a farm. He moved to Utah in September of 1944, worked at a Navy supply depot packing supplies, and eventually moved up to oversee some kind of packaging. However, he had a work accident and had to be put on medical disability. He recounts that it was difficult to find a job due to discrimination against African Americans. Reverend Martin was...
Dates:
1973
Carl Mason, 1971
File — Box: 2, Folder: 7
Scope and Contents
Mason works with academic departments, the Dean of the Students’ Office, and students to help the University of Utah better meet the needs of African American students. He works primarily as a counselor and adviser to African American students. He was born in Lexington Kentucky, lived in Grand Rapids Michigan, and attended Grand Rapids Junior College and Augustana College in Illinois. He obtained two Masters Degrees, one from the University of Michigan and one from Western Michigan University....
Dates:
1971
Marie Myers, 1971
File — Box: 2, Folder: 8
Scope and Contents
Mrs. Myers was born in Salt Lake City on August 14, 1928. She attended Jordan and Roosevelt Junior High and graduated from West High in 1945. Her great grandparents came to Utah with Brigham Young as enslaved persons and members of the LDS church. She didn’t run into many problems with housing or job discrimination, which she attributes to her LDS faith. She seems to have great regard for the Church and the extent to which it helps its members. Mrs. Myers does not remember any...
Dates:
1971
Charles Nabors, 1971
File — Box: 2, Folder: 9
Scope and Contents
Nabors begins his interview by saying that teachers need to be reoriented in terms of minority students, especially those who have graduated from BYU. He discusses the difference between the institutionalized racism here and the bigoted racism in the South, citing an instance that occurred at West High School. He is reluctant to discuss his troubles with housing because he is a middle-class professor, but he does mention the substandard housing for African Americans in Central City. He notes...
Dates:
1971
Ruby Nathanial, 1973
File — Box: 2, Folder: 10
Scope and Contents
Mrs. Nathanial was born January 17th, 1907 and attended Edison Elementary School, West Jr. High, and West High School. She was very shy in junior high and had few friends. She worked mostly as a maid for private families, beginning when she was thirteen years old. She didn’t have trouble getting jobs and says her employers were nice people. During the Great Depression, both she and her husband experienced wage cuts but were ultimately okay. The first time Mrs. Nathanial ever saw another African...
Dates:
1973