Oral History Interview with Johnella Franklin, July 18, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Johnella Franklin, July 18, 2016

Ms. Franklin was raised in Conroe in the 1960s to parents who were both teachers at the local All-Black school, Booker T. Washington High. Franklin discussed how integration occurred in Conroe, including the freedom of choice phase and the process of the forced integration phase. Franklin overheard her parents discussing their sentiments about integration. Franklin's parents decided to not send their daughter to the formerly all-white schools in Conroe during freedom of choice but a few Black parents did send their children to integrated schools during that time. Notable historian Annette Gordon-Reed is said to be one of the first Black students in Conroe to attend integrated schools. Franklin discussed her experiences with integration and her time attending college at Rice University. Franklin attended Rice partially because her father heard that it had integrated fairly recently. Franklin worked in technology (programming, etc.) throughout her career and experienced some discrimination in the workplace at companies in Houston.
Date: July 18, 2016
Creator: Franklin, Johnella & Howard, Jasmin
System: The Portal to Texas History