Oral History Interview with Calvin Vinson, July 26, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Calvin Vinson, July 26, 2016

Mr. Vinson was born in Montgomery, Texas and raised in Conroe. He attended Booker T. Washington school and Conroe High, participating in football at both schools. After graduation, he went to work in Houston for a utility company. He returned to Conroe and became very active in political campaigns and community organizations. In his interview, Mr. Vinson described segregation in Conroe, a march in 1968, integration of schools, experiences playing football, discrimination at work, political activism in the African-American community, African-American community organizations, and how Conroe has changed over time.
Date: July 26, 2016
Creator: May, Meredith & Vinson, Calvin
System: The Portal to Texas History
Oral History Interview with Wanda Harris, July 26, 2016 captions transcript

Oral History Interview with Wanda Harris, July 26, 2016

Ms. Harris grew up in the rural outskirts of Conroe, Texas. Ms. Harris discussed the importance of sports, mainly football, in the lives of folks in Conroe. Having attended both segregated and integrated schools in Conroe, Ms. Harris discussed some differences in the experiences. Ms. Harris had a younger brother that was on the football team that threatened to strike in order to improve the representation of Black women on the cheer leading squad in the 1970s. Ms. Harris also discussed how social events like prom were canceled following integration for some years. Ms. Harris worked as a bus driver in Conroe schools for many years. Ms. Harris described how Black bus drivers feared driving their buses in the neighboring community of Cut and Shoot. Also Ms. Harris described a large Black family being run out of Cut and Shoot in the 1980s/1990s partially because the mother of the family had a larger house than her white neighbors.
Date: July 26, 2016
Creator: Howard, Jasmine; May, Meredith & Harris, Wanda
System: The Portal to Texas History