In this recording, husband and wife Thomas and Gloria Pillow discuss their early years and experiences during school desegregation. Gloria, who is a professor of literature, describes her segregated education in Nashville and the fine line between “tough love” and encouragement that was enforced by her parents and teachers. Gloria connects this strict upbringing to the racist environment in which she lived, and the discipline needed in order to survive there.
In this recording, Jessica Turk interviews her mother Lisa Turk about her childhood and education at a neighborhood school in the Green Hills neighborhood of Nashville. After the 7th grade, Lisa and her family went to Congo as missionaries for two years. She returned to Nashville from Africa the year the city’s public schools integrated. Lisa recalls the white flight from the schools at the time, and her parents’ willingness for her to participate in desegregation.
In this recording, Jacquelyn Howard interviews her friend and Bible study partner LueRachelle Brim-Atkins on her childhood in a deeply segregated town in Texas. LueRachelle remembers the “flare ups” that reminded her of her segregated reality. LueRachelle talks about her career in training, development, and consulting, and her efforts to promote racial equality and integration at the University of Washington in the 1970s; part of a lifelong fight against racism.
In this recording, David Hundley talks to his wife Abigail Hundley about his experiences as part of one of the first integrated classes in Seattle schools. Growing up in an all-white neighborhood, David recalls avoiding certain businesses and areas of town that were hostile to people of color. He also remembers the vitriol he faced from children in his neighborhood, and the enduring anxieties he feels from humiliations inflicted on him by his teacher.
In this recording, Seattle-native Cindy Buske is interviewed by her son Josh Soldewel about her memories of the desegregation process in Seattle schools. Cindy remembers Black children being bused from the Rainier Valley section of the city to her school in majority-white Arbor Heights, and the surprise she felt at the negative reactions of some peers and adults. She also shares her experiences being bused to a high school outside her neighborhood.
In this recording, Marie Gianola speaks with her sister-in-law Esther Herst about her childhood in Green Lake, Seattle during the time of school desegregation in the city. Marie recalls students being bused to her school, and the tension parents and students on all sides felt during the first year. Marie also explores ways in which the tumult of the busing program could have been avoided, saying busing failed despite its best intentions.
In this recording, Gregory Johnson is interviewed by his wife Marica Johnson. He describes his involvement in Seattle’s busing program, remembering the Seattle of his childhood as a “big hick town”, a fact which shaped how desegregation was perceived and managed there. Gregory recounts the racial violence that drove his family to move to the Northwest, and the continued discrimination he faced among peers and adults during the integration process.
In this recording, Gail Mondoux talks to her friend Tracy Shaughnessy about her childhood in Tacoma, WA, where she was voluntarily bused to a downtown elementary school. Tracy recalls the loneliness and fear she felt as a child traveling into the Hilltop area of the city, and describes the city’s flawed approach to achieving educational equity. She also recounts the neglect and anger she faced from administrators, teachers, and students during her transition.
In this recording, friends Delbert Richardson and Dr. Donald Felder discuss their involvement in the process of school desegregation in Seattle. Dr. Felder talks about his passion for sports in high school, and the dislocation he felt moving from a local school to a majority-white school where the “issue of race” first came to his attention. Delbert also says that he was not aware of the reality of racism until he was confronted with it through the backlash to integration.
In this recording, former Seattle School Board member Suzanne Hittman speaks to the Board’s former lawyer Mike Hoge about desegregation. Suzanne describes her goal on the Board as the improvement of education for all residents regardless of race, citing her memory of Japanese Internment as a key motivator. Suzanne recounts her role in the desegregation plan in Seattle and the dramatic backlash the School Board faced from all sides of the community.
In this recording, Shawn Richard-Davis is interviewed by her son Jerrell “RellBeFree” Davis. Shawn recalls her childhood in the Central District of Seattle in the 1960s, a diverse urban neighborhood where she was raised by her mother and aunt. Shawn describes being voluntarily bused to a majority-white school in a distant part of the city, where a group of young teachers inspired her to pursue her education with self-confidence and love.
In this recording, Stefanie Felix speaks to her son Mitchell Green about her experiences at a “very integrated” high school in San Francisco. Stefanie remembers her parents’ encouragement of her education and their support of racial equality. She also describes growing up near Haight-Ashbury in the 1960s, and how the ethos of the counterculture pervaded the student body at her high school.
