VBHA - African-American
Richmond: Educational Segregation/Desegregation Oral History
Project.
African-American Richmond:
Educational Segregation and Desegregation.
This portion of the VBHA is comprised of fourteen oral history
interviews
conducted in 1992 by Virginia Commonwealth University students with
African-Americans residing in the Richmond, Virginia metropolitan
area. While the interviews focused on the educational experiences
of
these individuals, other subjects and issues affecting the lives of
African-Americans were also discussed by the participants. The
typed transcripts of the oral histories were scanned in 1994
to be included in the Virginia Black History Archives database and
are accessible from this site. A listing of the transcripts, with
a brief index of topics discussed,
can be found below.
This oral history project was part of
a VCU honors course, EDU 300, Foundations of Education, taught by
Dr. Samuel M. Craver in the 1992 spring semester. It was one
of several upper-level courses at VCU to be included in the
"Illusion v. Reality Project" under a grant from the Ford
Foundation. The purpose of the grant, according to Craver, was to
stimulate the understanding of cultural diversity in the Richmond
area and to collect related materials for the university library's
Special Collections and Archives. The grant was the stimulus for
what became the library's Virginia Black History Archives.
To access a transcript,
click on the individual's
name.
Baugh, Haywood. (b.1943) Mechanic.
Class
trips; Segregated theaters; Role of the church; Blackwell Junior
High School; Football; Segregated school sports games; Virginia
State College; Discrimination in the work place; Jim Crow laws;
Effect of segregation on his adult behavior; School busing.
Baugh, Tony. (b.1954) College administrator
and substitute teacher.
Virginia State College; Golden Gate University; Neighborhood
environment; Role of the church; Discrimination by school
counsellors; Crowded schools; Baseball; Sa'ad El-Amin; Racial
tensions; Black history; VCU's MBA program and discrimination.
Brownlee, Thomas and Beverly. (b.1946,
1947) Employed by Reynolds Metals Company (Thomas
Brownlee), Employment counsellor (Beverly Brownlee).
Armstrong
High School; Black
businesses; School busing; Playing with other races; Southside
Richmond; Vietnam; Support of teachers; Role of family in choosing
which high school to attend; Teaching; Job opportunities for
African-Americans; Black history.
Dabney, Bernardin F. and Margaret G.
(b.1915, 1920) Retired professors who taught at Virginia State
University in Petersburg, Virginia.
Boston Latin School and
discrimination there in the 1930s; Boarding school; Lack of
equipment in segregated schools; Discrimination during World War
II; Petersburg during the Civil Rights Movement; Brown vs. Board
Education decision; Racism; Massive Resistance.
Griffin, Emma (b.1921) Retired
elementary school teacher.
Arlington Elementary School (
Hopewell,
Virginia); Woodlawn Elementary School; Chesterfield County schools;
Integration of schools.
Hamlett, Alan and Helen (b. n.d.,
1919) Both attended schools in North Carolina. Retired life
insurance company employee (Alan Hamlett), retired clerk (Helen
Hamlett).
Country schools.
Howlett, Elizabeth (b.1921)Retired clerk,
housewife, and nurse.
Dunbar Elementary School;
Armstrong High School; Success of her sons; J.H. Blackwell; Racial
segregation; Segregation on public buses; Civil rights
demonstrations in Richmond; Voter registration; Black teachers;
Crime.
Lewis, Susan B. (b.1906) Retired high school
teacher.
Mrs.
Armstead's Private School; Dunbar Elementary School; Armstrong High
School; Virginia State University; Virginia Union University;
Former Students (includes former Virginia Governor L. Douglas
Wilder).
Lovell, Helen Ruby Hinton (b.1942) College
administrator.
Church Hill; Segregated theaters; Discrimination
at
Du Pont; Her children's education; Afro-American Studies.
Quarles, Jean C. and William D. (Both
b.1942) Clerk (Jean C. Quarles), delivery person (William D.
Quarles).
Neighborhood schools; Armstrong High School; Racial
tension.
Taylor, Sheri N. (b.1971) Student.
Varina
Elementary; Desegrated schools; John Rolfe Middle School; Ability
grouping; Economic
status.
Turnage, Jennifer P. (b.1958) Student
and part time counselor.
Church Hill; Black history; Influence
of
television; Teachers focusing more attention on white children;
Dark
skin and light skin children; Prejudice in the North.
Washington, James E. (b.1928)
Accountant.
Influence of family on schooling; Differences between black and
white schools; Virginia Union University; Black history; Supreme
Court.
Washington, Malcoma (b.1931) Radiologist
and administrator.
Fisk University; Medical College of
Virginia;
Neighborhood and church life; Discrimination in college and the
workplace.
Questions
or
Comments
Back to Virginia Black History Archives.
http://www.library.vcu.edu/jbc/speccoll/vbha/
school/school.html
Last update 2/97 (rb)