Oral History Interview with Wilson, Mrs. Charles, June 6, 2015 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Wilson, Mrs. Charles, June 6, 2015

Interview with Mrs. Charles Wilson, president of the Harrison County NAACP from Marshall, Texas. In the interview, Mrs. Wilson discusses her family background, early education, living in a segregated neighborhood, and her education. She also talks about the effects of school integration, racial violence, and resistance to civil rights. Wilson also discusses her family life and work as a teacher. Finally she discusses the current state of racial equality in Marshall.
Date: June 6, 2015
Creator: Wilson, Mrs. Charles & Bynum, Katherine
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with I.D. Henderson, June 13, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with I.D. Henderson, June 13, 2016

I.D. Henderson, Jr. was the first Black County Commissioner of Angelina County, Texas. He served in that position from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. He was very involved in Lufkin politics and helped to improve the infrastructure of the Black Lufkin community. Mr. Henderson is also a war veteran who served in Vietnam and Korea. Mr. Henderson discussed the segregation and discrimination he witnessed from his birth in the Lufkin area in the late 1920s, his time in the military and his return to Lufkin in the 1970s. Mr. Henderson discussed receiving death threats before and after he won his county commissioner office. Also Mr. Henderson discussed his involvement in many other organizations.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Howard, Jasmin & Henderson, I.D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with I.D. Henderson, June 10, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with I.D. Henderson, June 10, 2016

I.D. Henderson, Jr. was the first Black County Commissioner of Angelina County, Texas. He served in that position from the early 1980s until the early 2000s. He was very involved in Lufkin politics and helped to improve the infrastructure of the Black Lufkin community. Mr. Henderson is also a war veteran who served in Vietnam and Korea. Mr. Henderson discussed the segregation and discrimination he witnessed from his birth in the Lufkin area in the late 1920s, his time in the military and his return to Lufkin in the 1970s. Mr. Henderson discussed receiving death threats before and after he won his county commissioner office. Also Mr. Henderson discussed his involvement in many other organizations.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Howard, Jasmin & Henderson, I.D.
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with John "Bunchy" Crear, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with John "Bunchy" Crear, June 6, 2016

John "Bunchy" Crear was born in 1952. He grew up in Pleasantville, a predominately African American neighborhood in Houston, TX. After spending a few years in Los Angeles, California, he returned to Houston and joined the People's Party II. He discusses People's Party II's community programing and the Dowling Shootout, the Rainbow Coalition, and his later involvement in the Black Panther Party in Oakland, California. Crear also talks about the differences in racial discrimination in California versus Texas and his efforts to honor the life of Carl Hampton as well as the legacy of the Black Panther Party.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Enriquez, Sandra; Rodriguez, Samantha & Crear, John
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gloria Rubac on June 6, 2016. captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Gloria Rubac on June 6, 2016.

Gloria Rubac was born in Oklahoma, TX. in 1946. After witnessing racial discrimination in Oklahoma throughout her youth, Rubac traveled to Houston in 1968 to teach in the Northforest School District. She became involved in the John Brown Revolutionary League, a radical white youth organization that was a part of a Rainbow Coalition with the People's Party II. Wanting to become more active in supporting Brown and Black organizations, Rubac joined the Huelga School movement as a teacher and protestor. She talks about her succeeding involvement in supporting the Chicana/o Moratorium, the Mexican American Youth Organization, the People's Party II, the Worker's World, and the Texas Death Penalty Abolition Movement, which she has dedicated her life to. Rubac also discusses inter-racial solidarity as well as discrimination in Houston, particularly police brutality as it relates to the assassination of Carl Hampton, the Jose Campos Torres incident, and the Moody Park Rebellion.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Enriquez, Sandra; Rodriguez, Samantha & Rubac, Gloria
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Dallas and Carol Pierre, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Dallas and Carol Pierre, June 6, 2016

Dr. Pierre was born in Louisiana and moved to Port Arthur at a young age. He later moved to Lufkin, because the area lacked an African-American dentist. His wife Carol Pierre, who was born and raised in San Antonio, became a teacher in the segregated school system. Dr. Pierre quickly became active, serving on the school board as integration occurred and participating in the NAACP. He continues to operate his dentistry business in Lufkin in 2016. Dr. Pierre discusses his early life in Louisiana and Port Arthur and his time in dental school. He and his wife describe the move to Lufkin, integration, work with the NAACP, and what they saw as the complacency of African Americans in Lufkin.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Dulaney, W. Marvin; May, Meredith; Howard, Jasmin; Pierre, Carol & Pierre, Dallas
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Pete and Jessie Mendez, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Pete and Jessie Mendez, June 6, 2016

Pedro "Pete" Mendez was born in South Texas and arrived in the Texas Panhandle through migrant labor with his parents in the 1930s. His father died in Clarendon, TX and he was raised between Amarillo and Tucumcari, NM. He joined the Marines during WWII and served in Northern China. Upon returning, he began a small construction business and helped start the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. He spoke on the opportunities he and other minority business owners had through government grants and contracts. Jessie Mendez grew up in Amarillo. She recounts segregated schools and business in Amarillo during her childhood. She especially recounts her mother helping end segregation for Mexican Americans in one theater. Jessie talked about not being able to gain a job as a secretary because of her Mexican ethnicity, and thus giving up in the prospect of being employed and settling for marriage. She also recounts pushing her husband to work for civil rights, but she herself followed tradition and stayed home to raise her children.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Wisely, Karen; Zapata, Joel; Mendez, Pete & Mendez, Jessie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Willie Loa, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Willie Loa, June 6, 2016

Overview of desegregation of West Oso schools, an area of Corpus Christi.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Acuña-Gurrola, Moisés; Moye, Todd; Wall, James & Loa, Willie
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Guessipina Bonner, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Guessipina Bonner, June 6, 2016

Dr. Bonner was born and raised in Fairfield, Texas. Her family was connected through bloodlines to a prominent white family, which helped shelter them from some of the harshness of segregation. Dr. Bonner than went to college in New Orleans, where she became active in civil rights. She moved all over the country, including California, Oregon, Massachusetts, and Washington DC. She returned to the area to take care of her parents. She revived the local NAACP and currently serves as president. She was also elected to the city council. Dr. Bonner discusses her early life in Fairfield, her educational background, activism across the nation, reviving Lufkin's NAACP, and her election to city council.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Bonner, Guessipina; Howard, Jasmin & May, Meredith
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Gonzalo Barrientos, June 6, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Gonzalo Barrientos, June 6, 2016

Gonzalo Barrientos discusses his life growing up in Bastrop, Texas and later serving as a Democratic State Senator representing the 14th District from 1985-2007. He was also a member of the Texas House of Representatives from Austin from 1975-1985.
Date: June 6, 2016
Creator: Arionus, Steve & Barrientos, Gonzalo
System: The Portal to Texas History