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Bill Jason Priest, Community College Pioneer

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There are few things that are purely American. On that short list are baseball and the two-year community college. Bill Jason Priest possessed skill and acumen for both. The better part of his life was spent developing and defining the junior college into the comprehensive community college. His contributions earned him a prestigious place in the annals of higher education, but his personality was not one of a stereotypical stodgy educator, nor is the story of his life a dry read. After working his way through college, Priest played professional baseball before serving in Naval Intelligence during World War II. His varied experiences helped shape his leadership style, often labeled as autocratic and sometimes truculent in conservative convictions. The same relentless drive that brought him criticism also brought him success and praise. Forthright honesty and risk-taking determination combined with vision brought about many positive results. Priest’s career in higher education began with the two-year college system in California before he was lured to Texas in 1965 to head the Dallas County Junior College District. Over the next fifteen years Priest transformed the junior college program into the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) and built it up to seven colleges. …
Date: February 15, 2004
Creator: Whitson, Kathleen Krebbs
System: The UNT Digital Library

Worse Than Death: The Dallas Nightclub Murders and the Texas Multiple Murder Law

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In 1984, a Moroccan national named Abdelkrim Belachheb walked into Iannis Restaurant, a trendy Dallas nightclub, and gunned down seven people. Six died. Despite the fact that the crimes occurred in a state that prides itself on being tough on criminals, the death penalty was not an option for the Belachheb jury. Even though he had committed six murders, and his guilt was never in question (despite his insanity defense), his crimes were not capital murders under 1984 statutes. As a direct result of this crime, during the 1985 regular session the Texas Legislature passed House Bill 8--the “multiple murder” statute--to make serial killing and mass murder capital crimes. Belachheb’s case serves as an excellent example to explore capital punishment and the insanity defense. Furthermore, Belachheb’s easy entry into the United States (despite his violent record in Europe) highlights our contemporary fear over lax immigration screening and subsequent terrorism. The case is unique in that debate usually arises from an execution. Belachheb was given life imprisonment and is currently under maximum security--a fate some would argue is “worse than death.” He is scheduled to have his first parole hearing in 2004, the twentieth anniversary of his crime. “This is a …
Date: October 15, 2003
Creator: Lavergne, Gary M.
System: The UNT Digital Library

No More Silence: an Oral History of the Assassination of President Kennedy

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No More Silence is the first oral history of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, from eyewitness accounts through the police reactions, investigations, and aftermath. Based on in-depth interviews conducted in Dallas, it features narratives of forty-nine key eyewitnesses, police officers, deputy sheriffs, and government officials. Here—in many cases for the first time—participants are allowed to speak for themselves without interpretation, editing, or rewording to fit some preconceived speculation. Unlike the testimony given in the Warren Commission volumes, the contributors openly state their opinions regarding conspiracy and cover-ups. Of particular interest are the fascinating stories from the Dallas Police Department—few of the policemen have come forward with their stories until now. No More Silence humanizes those involved in the events in Dallas in 1963 and includes photographs of the participants around the time of the assassination and as they appear today. Was there a conspiracy in the assassination of President Kennedy? No More Silence gives readers the best perspective yet on the subject, allowing them to sift through the evidence and draw their own conclusions. "Sneed accomplishes what has never been done before, which is to tell the story of the four days from the Dallas point of view …
Date: February 15, 2002
Creator: Sneed, Larry A.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Pauline Dixon, August 1990

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Interview with Pauline Dixon, a teacher and longtime resident of Hamilton Park from Pittsburg, Texas. Dixon discusses her education, her father's work as assistant sheriff in segregated Pittsburg, the Classroom Teachers of Dallas, moving to Hamilton Park, development of the area, the "buy out" of the neighborhood, the Civic League, desegregation and busing, and her political work.
Date: August 1990
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Dixon, Pauline
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Charles M. Lagow, October 11, 2000

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Interview with Charles M. Lagow, a Army WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas. Lagow discusses his family history, attending Texas A&M, joining the CCC, the lead up to war, activation and training with the 352nd Engineer Battalion, deployment to Khorramshahr, Iran, building roads, delivering supplies to the Soviets, crash landing in a B-17 in Palestine, returning to the States and transfer to the 1346th Eng. Bat., deployment to Okinawa, occupation duty and Japanese holdouts, thoughts on Hideki Tojo, attitudes towards the Japanese, shell shock and mental breakdowns, the atomic bomb, and life after the war.
Date: October 11, 2000
Creator: Ripley, Christopher & Lagow, Charles Marshall
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Freddie and Ola Lee Allen, 1991

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Interview with Freddie and Ola Lee Allen, a married couple living in Hamilton Park, both from Marshall, Texas. The Allens discuss their family backgrounds and education, Mr. Allen's service in the Navy during WWII and work in the construction business, Mrs. Allen's work with Richardson ISD and Richland College, their children, moving to Hamilton Park, the neighborhood's development, organizational activities with the Civic League and others, the schools, desegregation, and the "buy out."
Date: 1991-02/1991-03
Creator: Wilson, William H.; Allen, Freddie & Allen, Ola Lee
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with William Waybourn, May 22, 2013

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Interview with William Waybourn, an LGBT activist from Matador, Texas. Waybourn discusses his early life and education, his work in journalism, his partner, the Dallas Times Herald, his family, working for Market Center, the relationship between the gay community and Dallas community figureheads, the Dallas Gay Alliance, the Dallas "gayborhood," Texas Penal Code 21.06 (the "homosexual conduct" law), police harassment, the Fifth Circuit Court, the AIDS epidemic, fighting medical discrimination, the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, and reflections on his career.
Date: May 22, 2013
Creator: Mims, Michael & Waybourn, William
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Sheila R. Allen, 1991

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Interview with Sheila Allen, an attorney and longtime resident of Hamilton Park from Dallas, Texas. Allen discusses attending school in Hamilton Park, integration in Richardson ISD and relations between white and black students, discrimination, attending East Texas State and Sam Houston University, struggles finding work afterwards, law school, church life, reflections on the Hamilton Park community, resisting "Buy Out," the Civic League, and thoughts on the future.
Date: 1991-06/1991-09
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Allen, Sheila R.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Emre Ersin Ozer, January 19, 2013

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Interview with Emre Ersin Ozer, a software engineer and immigrant to Texas from Sivas, Turkey. Ozer discusses his family background, his education, his marriage, Turkish culture and community in the US, the effect of the 2008 financial crisis, immigration, graduate school, work, and citizenship.
Date: January 19, 2013
Creator: Hedrick, Amy & Ozer, Emre Ersin
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Jack Evans and George Harris, January 20, 2016

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Interview with Jack Evans and George Harris, LGBT activists and a couple of over fifty years from Denton, Texas. They discuss Evans' time in the Coast Guard, Harris' time in and expulsion from the CIA, realizing their sexuality, meeting one another, moving to Dallas, police harassment, their wedding in 2014, involvement with United Methodist Church, the North Texas GLBT Chamber of Commerce and involvement in the Dallas LGBT community, and the AIDS epidemic.
Date: January 20, 2016
Creator: Wisely, Karen; Evans, Jack & Harris, George
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Barbara J. Darden, 1990-1991

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Interview with Barbara Darden, a nurse and resident of Hamilton Park from Dallas, Texas. Darden discusses her upbringing and education, nursing, her family, moving to Hamilton Park and the neighborhood's development, school involvement, desegregation and busing, and the Interorganizational Council and the Civic League.
Date: 1990-12/1991-10
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Darden, Barbara J.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Richard Vincent, March 14, 2006

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Interview with Richard Vincent, a member and former pastor of the Metropolitan Community Church from Kirksville, Missouri. Vincent discusses his education and religious background, the Circle of Friends in Dallas and discovering the Metropolitan Community Church, establishing MCC Dallas, ministering to prisoners, becoming the first pastor of MCC Dallas, cooperation with bars and other LGBT community establishments, the congregation, moving the church, his theology, succeeding pastors, and reflections on his ministry.
Date: March 14, 2006
Creator: Mims, Michael & Vincent, Richard
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Diego Echevarria, October 14, 2015

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Interview with Diego Echevarria, an Mexican-American immigrant from Mexico City. Echevarria discusses his childhood, life in Mexico City, living in Piedras Negras, Coahuila, moving to Texas City, experiences in school, moving to Irving, Texas, ESL, reflections on Mexico City, the visa process, the DREAM Act, employment, and immigration rhetoric in America.
Date: October 14, 2015
Creator: Nichols, Cynthia & Echevarria, Diego
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interviews with Curtis J. Smith, 1990

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Interview with Curtis J. Smith, a airline industry worker and community organizer from Longview, Texas. Smith discusses his family history, his education, working for his father, moving to Dallas, service in the Navy during WWII, getting married, working for Braniff International and American Airlines, living in Hamilton Park, his children, church activities, work with the Interorganizational Council and the Civic League, and development of the neighborhood.
Date: 1990-02/1990-03
Creator: Wilson, William H. & Smith, Curtis J.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with E. Maurice Keathley, May 24, 1995

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Interview with E. Maurice Keathely, an employee of Prudential Insurance from Houston, Texas, who was involved in the Kaiser-Prudential joint venture. Keahtley discusses his educational background, work at Prudential, his responsibilities with "Kai-Pru", the value and benefits of the venture, key members of the companies, the financial arrangement and organization of the venture, marketing, HMO's, inter-company cooperation, difficulties and criticisms, and the Texas Medical Association.
Date: May 24, 1995
Creator: Pinkney, Kathryn & Keathley, E. Maurice
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Ruth (Rob) Shivers, April 29, 2016

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Interview with Rob Shivers, a Dallas-area LGBT activist from Birmingham, Alabama. Shivers discusses discovering her sexuality, her relationships, nursing school, church involvement, closeting and her marriage, jobs worked, moving to Dallas, the LGBT community, joining the Metropolitan Community Church and establishing a parish in Dallas, organizing the first Pride parades in the area, political activism and police interference, death threats, and the Kennedy Assassination.
Date: April 29, 2016
Creator: Wisely, Karen & Shivers, Ruth (Rob)
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Mary Franklin, October 18, 2013

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Interview with Mary Franklin, an activist in the Dallas LGBT community from Riverhead, New York. Franklin discusses her family background, the neighborhood she grew up in in, dyslexia and struggles in school, her sexuality and coming out, the LGBT scene on Long Island, "gay" as a term, her first girlfriend, Anita Bryant, applying for a marriage license on National Coming Out Day, feminism and activism, moving to Dallas, the decriminalization of homosexuality in Texas, the HIV-AIDS epidemic, threats, involvement with the Unitarian Church, working at the Food Pantry, and changes in societal attitudes towards LGBT.
Date: October 18, 2013
Creator: Castillo, Vogel Vladimir & Franklin, Mary
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Eva McMillan, April 25, 2014

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Interview with Eva McMillan, a civil rights activist from Tennessee. McMillan discusses growing up in the segregated South, her family, early involvement in civil rights, experiences of racism and discrimination, her son Ernie's establishing a chapter of the SNCC at UT Arlington, Ernie's arrests and imprisonment, founding various advocacy and activism groups in Dallas, milestones and tragedies of the Civil Rights Movement, conflict with the police and the decline of the SNCC, and reflections on her work. In appendix are photos of McMillan and Dallas-area civil rights activists, a flier, and newspaper clippings.
Date: April 25, 2014
Creator: Smith, Tiffany & McMillan, Eva
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with W. W. Hughes, November 17, 2003

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Interview with W. W. Hughes, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Grand Prarie, Texas. Hughes discusses growing up in the Great Depression, joining the National Guard and equestrian service in the 112th Cavalry at Fort Clark, the start of war and deployment to New Caledonia and Australia, preparations for combat, amphibious landings at Arawe Island off New Britain, scout patrols and combat, operations in New Guinea at the Driniumor River, Japanese POWs, actions in the Philippines at Leyte and Luzon, returning to the US as an instructor, and reflections on his service.
Date: November 17, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T. & Hughes, W. W.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Marzena Ksiazkiewicz

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Interview with Marzena Kasiazkiewicz, a immigrant to the Dallas area from Kraków, Poland. Kasiazkiewicz discusses first coming to the United States, caring for her mother, her parents, growing up in communist Poland, deciding to stay in the US, adjusting to the American workplace, moving to Texas, her partner and children, the effect of 9/11 on immigrants, learning English, working in eye-care, and John Paul II.
Date: December 6, 2012
Creator: McKee, David & Kasiazkiewicz, Marzena
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with William P. Schiff, January 12, 1990

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Interview with William Schiff, a Holocaust survivor from Kraków, Poland. Schiff discusses his family, antisemitism before the war, the invasion of Poland, being put into forced labor by the Germans and Poles, the ghetto and survival there, getting married, experiences in internment at Kraków-Płaszów, Auschwitz, Gross-Rosen, and Buchenwald concentration camps, liberation, returning to Kraków and finding his wife, and life afterwards.
Date: January 12, 1990
Creator: Rosen, Keith & Schiff, William P.
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Clarence Kingsley, November 21, 2003

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Interview with Charles Kingsley, a Texas National Guard WWII veteran from Dallas, Texas, who served in the 112th Cavalry. Kingsley discusses his upbringing, joining the Guard, the Louisiana Maneuvers, deployment to New Caledonia, his troop's machine gun section/platoon, Woodlark Island, the Battle of Arawe, New Guinea and the Battle of Drinumor River, the Battles of Leyte and Luzon, his thoughts on the generals he served, and thoughts on the 112th.
Date: November 23, 2003
Creator: Johnston, Glenn T. & Kingsley, Clarence
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Julio Cesar Jo Gallent, December 1, 2012

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Interview with Julio Cesar Jo Gallent, an immigrant from Martí, Cuba. Jo discusses his family fleeing Cuba, being rescued by the Coast Guard, staying in a camp at Guanatamo Bay, arriving in Miami, education and daily life in Castro's Cuba, American education, moving to Garland, Texas, visiting Cuba, and Cuba-US relations.
Date: December 2, 2012
Creator: Malone, Timothy A. & Jo Gallent, Julio Cesar
System: The UNT Digital Library

Oral History Interview with Michael Hurd, May 28, 2013

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Interview with Michael Hurd, a journalist and member of the Texas Black History Preservation Project from Houston, Texas. Hurd discusses growing up in Texarkana and Houston, his education and service in the Air Force, work with the Houston Post and USA Today, Juneteenth, researching black history, the Texas Black History Preservation Project and related efforts, being an historian, the history of Juneteenth and emancipation in Texas, and civil rights. In appendix are photographs of Hurd, clippings of his reporting, and URLs to videos he was involved in.
Date: May 26, 2013
Creator: Turner, Elizabeth Hays & Hurd, Michael
System: The UNT Digital Library