Interview about civil rights

1.) What impact did the first televised debate between Nixon and Kennedy have on you and what major changes did it influence?

It made my father aware of what was going on, as it did the whole country.

2.) After the case of Brown vs. Board of Education came out, did you find that the school still had much segregation?

Yes, where we lived our town was still segregated, but other towns around us were not segregated. Some facilities were still segregated.


3.) How did martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech affect you?

I thought he was a very brave man and was sure he would get killed because at the time it seemed like if someone didn’t like you would be shot.

4.) What was it like to live through trying to desegregate school, public places, and giving everyone equal voting right?

At swimming pools, restrooms, playgrounds there were often fight over whether things should be segregated or not. At the park I saw 2 water fountains, one that had a sign above it that read Whites, and one with a sign above it that read Coloreds.


5.) Did you ever have an experience where there was violence on African Americans because of them refusing to give up their rights?

No.



6.) What was the country like when Kennedy was assassinated?

They were in complete shock, mourning, and despair, it was as if things had been frozen.


7.) In your opinion once Lyndon Johnson took office did the country fall, rise or stay the same?
He got money deficit going fast, he had a war to pay for, and there was a squeeze on consumer’s wallets.


8.) Did you believe in non-violent protests or violent protest?

I don’t think violence is the way to solve a problem and I think things get done a lot faster when there is no violence.

9.) How did the drafting of young men during the Vietnam War affect you?

I got married to be exempted from the draft, but they would not let you rush to get married so people would often go off and get married in Canada.

10.) How did the affect of 9/11 affect you?

At the time I was running a business and was force to get rid of all employees that I had, and move my business back home. It made things very hard to travel and most people were too shocked and scared to. It created an atmosphere of fear in the country It seemed like the government tried to play on the fear already created to try to control people.