Interview with Leroy Sterling, an Army veteran and educator from Bryan, Texas. In his interview, Sterling discusses his family background, living under Jim Crow segregation, segregated neighborhoods and housing, agricultural work, military service and his experience being one of the first African-American students to attend Texas A&M University.

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.

Interview with Rafael Torres, community leader from Laredo, Texas. In the interview, Torres discusses his family background, geography and politics in Laredo, experiences in school, participating in Teacher Corps, and activism in Crystal City.

Interview with Mildred Davis, teacher from Bryan, Texas. Davis discusses her childhood, education, career, and community involvement. She also discusses the Brazos Valley African American Museum.

Gilberto Torres grew up around Uvalde and the Winter Garden area. He recalled different instances of discrimination against people of Mexican descent, particular in school settings. Torres had a long career in the military and a prolonged tenure in the Uvalde County Commissioner's Court. He reminisced about his contentious relationship with other members of the court, and the sometimes heated exchanges between them.

Described his early childhood in a segregated Liberty, TX, his early involvement with environmental issues, his trajectory to becoming an environmental lawyer, and finally, his work as a Democratic elected official.

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.

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.

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.

James Josey Sr. was born in Galveston in 1947 and grew-up in the predominately African American neighborhood located north of Broadway St. Josey Sr. came of age witnessing segregation. He attended Central High, the African American High School, served in Vietnam, and lived in Los Angeles, California for a few years before returning to island in 1991. He talks about the robust African American business sector during Jim Crow and how the national movements for Civil Rights, lead by MLK and Malcolm X, spurred the youth-directed desegregation efforts in Galveston. Josey Sr. also addresses his involvement in gang prevention, becoming a mentor to young African American males, the role of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity in Galveston, and the meaning of Juneteenth. He speaks about why he founded the first African American History Museum in Galveston and the critical role that it has played in the community. Lastly, Josey Sr. discusses notable African Americans in Galveston.

Cornelia Harris Banks was born in Galveston in 1947.She grew up in a neighborhood on the South of Broadway, which was a mixed neighborhood. Harris Banks witnessed segregated public spaces on the Island and the integration of schools in the 1960s. She graduated from high school in 1965 and attended Pepperdine University in Los Angeles, where she remained until 1996. Upon her return to Galveston in the late 1990s, she became very involved in the community. Subsequently, Harris Banks became the first African American Woman City Council member on the Island in 2000. During her tenure, she became involved in housing efforts (which she continues to work on in present day), in creating parks and recreation spaces, and revitalizing Galveston in the aftermath of Hurricane Ike in 2008. Harris Banks is also involved in the local chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and in local preservation efforts that highlight the history of African Americans in Galveston.

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.

Lilia Escajeda was born in El Paso, Texas. She grew up between El Paso, Van Horn, and Amarillo; and she remembers going to segregated schools in Van Horn. She settled in Amarillo as an adult after her husband died, and she eventually became the first female loan-officer for any bank in Amarillo, at the Amarillo National Bank. She joined various community organizations, boards, and became both the first Mexican American women Amarillo College board member and City Commissioner (later City Council Member).

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.

Audio recording of an interview with Johnnie Mae Carter, who was born in East Texas and grew up partly in College Station, Texas, Colorado, and Slaton, Texas. While living in Slaton, Carter was not allowed to attend the local high school because she is African American. Thus, she attended Dunbar High School in Lubbock, Texas. Her family later moved to Odessa, Texas. In Odessa, Carter attended Odessa College to become a nurse. She worked several years as a nurse and also volunteered and later worked for Planned Parenthood in Odessa.

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.

Joann Davenport Littleton was born and raised in Crane, Texas. In Crane’s high school, Davenport Littleton became the first African American class president. Indeed, her mother was the first African American to graduate from the same high school. As a talented volleyball player, she received an academic scholarship to Angelo State University in San Angelo, Texas. Davenport Littleton did not like the athletic structure she had to adhere to and left Angelo State University after a semester. She moved to Odessa and worked for the city as well as a privet company while joining the Ector County Democrats. In 1990, deeming south Odessa being underserved, Davenport Littleton ran for city council. She won with a majority ethnic Mexican electorate. In the city council she worked to bring development and city services to south Odessa as well as to clean the environmental problems of that city section.

Overview of desegregation of West Oso schools, an area of Corpus Christi.

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.

Mr. Calyen was born and raised in Conroe, Texas. He lived in a segregated neighborhood and attended Booker T. Washington schools until 1966, when he participated in "freedom of choice" and attended Conroe High School. While in high school, he participated in three marches in 1964 and 1965 to protest continued discrimination. He graduated in 1968 and enrolled in the military. He spent a year in Vietnam and then moved to New York City, where he married and spent almost thirty years as a postal carrier. He then returned to Conroe where he has remained active in his community. Mr. Calyen described race relations in Conroe in the 50s and 60s, segregation and integration, the black community, the impact of the Civil Rights Movement, the Vietnam War, his experiences in New York as compared to Conroe, and community activism in Conroe since the 1990s.

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.

Mr. Walker discussed growing up in Corpus Christi during the Jim Crow era and desegregation and his career as a minister.

Nancy Vera received her degrees from Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, including her Doctorate of Education in Educational Leadership. Vera specializes in working with at-risk students who are in danger of dropping out and live in poverty. Vera is President of the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) Council No. 4444. She pioneered “Operation Right Track” a public campaign to raise awareness about gang violence, drug, and alcohol abuse. In her interview, she discussed her career as a union organizer/AFT president of Corpus Christi.

Mr. Serna discussed his childhood and career in Robstown, Texas.