African American Studies Commons^™

Marietta J. Tanner, Mark Naison

Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP)

Interviewee: Marietta J. Tanner

Interviewers: Mark Naison, Donna Joseph, Saudah Muhammad

Date: July 2020

Summarized by Sophia Maier

Marietta J. Tanner was born in 1928 in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Influenced by the activism of her father and the wartime experiences of her uncle, Marietta is a life-long political activist. Her parents explained to her from a young age their experiences in Jim Crow era Pennsylvania and by the age of six she was passing out political pamphlets and registering people to vote with the rest of her family. After attending a segregated school in her youth and a brief period …

Through The Ivory Curtain: African Americans In Cleveland Heights, Ohio, Before The Fair Housing Movement, J. Mark Souther

History Faculty Publications

This article examines the largely neglected history of African American struggles to obtain housing in Cleveland Heights, a first-ring suburb of Cleveland, Ohio, between 1900 and 1960, prior to the fair housing and managed integration campaigns that emerged thereafter. The article explores the experiences of black live-in servants, resident apartment building janitors, independent renters, and homeowners. It offers a rare look at the ways that domestic and custodial arrangements opened opportunities in housing and education, as well as the methods, calculations, risks, and rewards of working through white intermediaries to secure homeownership. It argues that the continued black presence laid …

Black And White Notes: Segregation, Integration, And Urban Renewal Through Pittsburgh's Locals 60 And 471, Nathan Seeley

FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This dissertation explores Pittsburgh’s Locals 60, 471, and 60-471 of the American Federation of Musicians (AFM) from the late nineteenth century to the mid-1960s. Local 60 was founded in 1896 for white musicians and Local 471 in 1908 for black musicians. While other studies of the AFM take a “top-down” approach, this study examines these Locals from the “bottom-up.” In doing so, it re-examines the causal relationship between music/musicians and the social, political, and economic conditions intersecting with them. This dissertation is built upon seventy-two interviews conducted between former Local 471 members in the 1990s, photographs from Teenie Harris Collection …

Integration Reclaimed: A Review Of Gary Peller's Critical Race Consciousness, Michelle Adams

Articles

Integration occupies a contested and often paradoxical place in legal and public policy scholarship and the American imagination. Today, more Americans are committed to integration than ever before. Yet this attachment to integration is hardly robust. There is a widespread perception that integration has failed. A vanishingly small percentage of social and economic resources are spent on integration. At the same time, some progressives and those who would otherwise consider themselves on the "left" criticize integration as insufficiently attentive to economic equality and dismissive of black identity and culture. Scholars from across the political spectrum have sought to explain this …

Interview Conducted By Joseph Carl Ruff With Herbert Alexander Oldham (Fa 166), Manuscripts & Folklife Archives

FA Oral Histories

Transcription of an interview conducted by Joseph Carl Ruff with Herbert Alexander Oldham on 15 May 1993 in Bowling Green, Kentucky. They discuss African American education in Bowling Green, Kentucky, integration, and segregation. They also discuss Oldham's education at St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina, his teaching career and education administration positions in Bowling Green, his family background, and his experiences as an African American youth in Bowling Green.

Farmville, 1963: The Long Hot Summer, Jill Ogline Titus

Civil War Institute Faculty Publications

On July 9, 1963, a reporter for the Richmond Times-Dispatch informed his readers that black protesters had attempted two sit-ins in the college town of Farmville, the hub of rural Prince Edward County. Obviously shocked by these developments, he termed the events at the College Shoppe restaurant and the State Theater "the first reported Negro movement in this Southside Virginia locality, which has gained prominence in recent years as the focal point of a struggle over the closings of Prince Edward County's schools." In this writer's mind, and perhaps many of his readers' as well, social movements were synonymous with …

Greene, David, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

David Greene is a teacher and football coach at Scarsdale High School in Westchester County. He was born on November 3^rd, 1949 in Los Angeles Ca. His mother was a Russian immigrant who had come to the Bronx when she was 14 years old, and his father, who lived in Harlem, was of Austrian, Hungarian, Polish, and Russian descent. His mother worked in the fashion industry as a model, and his father worked as a trucker. David’s mother was a down-to-earth Russian Jewish woman who spent all her time working and managing her household. She was suspicious of …

Foster, Gertrude, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Gertrude Foster, nee Seaton, was born on October 31, 1927 in Rome, NY. Her grandparents had immigrated to the US from the West Indies and married on US soil, so their descendents were American-born. Because her birth parents were frequently absent, she was raised in Brooklyn and the Bronx by black foster families throughout the Depression years. From 1940 on she lived in the South Bronx. Throughout her upbringing Gertrude had both positive and negative experiences with other races. Occasionally she was in the minority, and she had to deal with prejudice from Italian, Irish, and Polish Americans. However, she …

Ua77/1 Wku Spirit, Wku Alumni Relations

WKU Archives Records

WKU's alumni magazine. Contents:

• Ransdell, Gary. President’s Letter
• Society of 1906 – Martha Lloyd
• WKU Announces Dorris Burchett Legacy Commitment for Business Gift is Third Largest One-Time Commitment to WKU
• Steve Eaton Makes New Commitment for Hilltopper Basketball
• Jessie Ball DuPont Fund Makes $150,000 Commitment to WKU-Housing Authority of Bowling Green Partnership
• WKU Names Clinical Education Complex’s Early Childhood Center in Honor of Long-Time Supporters – Dan Vitale
• WKU Health Services
• Former WKU Baseball Player Makes Lead Gift for New Baseball Clubhouse – Paul Orberson
• Ken McDonald Selected WKU Basketball Head Coach
• Online Masters Degree in Elementary Education Beginning Fall …

Speller, Kathryn, Mark Naison

Bronx African American History Project (BAAHP)

Interviewer: Brian Purnell, Princess Okieme

Interviewee: Kathryn Speller

Date of Interview: September 23, 2006

Summarized by Leigh Waterbury, January 31, 2006

Kathryn Speller grew up in what was referred to as welfare island, and then moved to the Bronx in the 1950’s. While growing up in the city, she experienced the racial segregation that limited what areas she was allowed in. She described the racism she experienced in not being allowed in certain places or having to enter buildings through the servants entrances.

While looking to move into the Bronx, Kathryn experienced a lot of difficulty in finding apartments available …

White, Nat And Drayton, Bernard, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Nat White and Bernard Drayton were the men responsible for producing a series of jazz concerts at the Blue Morocco in the 1960’s. The Blue Morocco was located on Boston Road and 167^th, but today no longer exists. The two men worked for Del Shields who was a DJ for WLIB FM, playing all jazz for 12 hours after midnight. Del knew Sylvia and Joe Robinson who owned the Blue Morocco. They began recording these jazz concerts on Monday nights for WLIB FM radio around 1964 and continued until 1967. While these jazz concerts were successful, it was …

Alexander, Earle, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

143^rd interview

Interviewee: Dr. Earle Alexander

Interviewers: Dr. Mark Naison, Dawn

Interview took place February 6, 2006

Summarized by Concetta Gleason 12-20-06

Dr. Earle Alexander is a distinguished psychologist born in Harlem and raised in the Bronx. Alexander’s mother immigrated to the U.S. from Trinidad and his father from Grenada. His parents met in New York and had three children together; Alexander is the middle child of an older sister Elma and a younger brother Dawn. As the Harlem education system deteriorated, Alexander’s parents decided to move the family to the Bronx in the mid-1930s. The family lived on …

Ua1b2/1 A Commemoration Of Wku's Integration: 1956-2006, Monica G. Burke, Sherese Martin

WKU Archives Records

A publication that chronicles the history of WKU's desegregation efforts. This commemorative publication is also an historical document that highlights the prolific accomplishments of WKU African American graduates. The impact of Western's spirit on countless African American graduates and the Bowling Green community unfolds in the pages that follow. The joy of having access to an education, the struggles of transforming an institutional climate, the kindness of WKU faculty, staff, and students and the rewards of walking across the stage in Diddle arena are chronicled by those who experienced it firsthand.

Brindle, Donna, Bronx African American History Project

Oral Histories

Interviewers: Mark Naison and Natasha Lightfoot

Interviewee: Donna Brindle

Date: May 23, 2005

Summarized by Leigh Waterbury

Donna Brindle was born in 1953 in the Bronx and lived on Intervale Avenue until around the age of 11. Her parents initially moved to the Bronx because other friends of theirs were, and those socializations became an important part of Donna’s upbringing. Both of her parents were musicians, her father was a concert pianist and one of the founders of The Symphony of the New World in the 1950‘s. Her parents were also politically active. Her mother worked with NAACP as well …

Ua1b2/1 Integration At Western Kentucky University, Jason Brown

Student/Alumni Personal Papers

A brief overview of the integration process at WKU, includes some newspaper clippings and primary source materials.

Grutter V. Bollinger: This Generation's Brown V. Board Of Education, Michelle Adams

Articles

At first blush, Grutter appears to be a deviation from the body of the Court's recent affirmative action jurisprudence: it says "yes" where the other cases said "no." But it is not so clear that Grutter is a deviation from current law. Instead, it might be seen as consistent with it, in that the justification for the racial preference recognized in Grutter transcended the justifications offered in the previous cases, and the method used to achieve that end, "race as a factor," diffused rather than highlighted race. From this perspective, Grutter addressed several concerns that had troubled the Court for …

Ua1d Susan Crabtree Personnel File, Wku Human Relations

WKU Archives Records

Personnel file of Susan Crabtree, first African American to be hired in a non-custodial staff position.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 64, No. 22, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Miracle, Phoenicia & Diane Tsimekles. Election Puts End to Clubs Campaign – Young Republicans, Young Democrats
• Underwood, Jennifer. Discrimination Evident Here
• Klausnitzer, Dorren. Time Determines Whether Students Cram for Exams
• Hoppes, Lynn. Educational Problems to Be Addressed
• Car Driven by Girl, 15, Hits Injures Freshman – Dawn Clark
• Schlagenhauf, Ann. God Must Be Crazy in Contest
• Delayed Phone Books Put Students on Hold
• Recreation Center vs. Library Editorial Cartoon
• Associated Student Government’s Efforts Directly Help, Serve Students
• Davidson, Victoria. Proud Republican
• Gott, Amos. Understand Associated …

Ua3/9/4 Scrapbook I, Wku President's Office - Downing

WKU Archives Records

Scrapbook regarding WKU administration, history, faculty, staff and students for period June 1969 through July 1970 compiled by the president's office. Of particular interest are obituaries of E.A. Diddle, Gordon Wilson, Gabrielle Robertson as well as Strike Western and the Vietnam Moratorium.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from September 1 through November 30, 1969.

Ua12/2/1 College Heights Herald, Vol. 49, No. 12, Wku Student Affairs

WKU Archives Records

WKU campus newspaper reporting campus, athletic and Bowling Green, Kentucky news. This issue contains articles:

• Mcdaniel, Mike. Open (Closed?) Housing Affects WKU
• Wilkerson, Larry. Political Independents Vie for City Commission Seats
• Irving Levine to Speak Here on Europe of 1970’s
• National Ballet Company to Perform Here Tonight
• Wilkerson, Larry. John Cooper May be Campaigning for Governorship After All
• Catacombs Hosts Halloween Bash
• High Court Hits School Stalling - Desegregation
• UNICEF Spooks College to Help Less Fortunate
• United Givers Fund Effort Deserves Community Support
• Sullivan, Marta. Nixon Calls for Revamping of Draft, Drug Laws
• McDaniel, Mike. Judge Judged as Rushee
• UNICEF …

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from June 1 through August 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from April 1 through May 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from January 1 through March 31, 1969.

Ua64/4 Yearly Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process in 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process between October 1 to December 31, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky University Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from July 1 through September 30, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from April 1 to June 30, 1968.

Ua64/4 Technical Progress Report Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Quarterly report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process from January 1 through March 31, 1968.

Ua64/4 A Progress Report On The Activities Of The Western Kentucky Human Relations Center For Education, Wku Human Relations Center

WKU Archives Records

Report created by the WKU Human Relations Center regarding activities to provide support and technical assistance to local school districts during the integration process in 1967.