The collection is arranged alphabetically by interviewee name and dates from 1963 to 1994. It is comprised of project documentation such as tape information sheets and indexes to the taped interviews, background clippings relating to the interviewees and their civil rights activities, a few obituaries, a program brochure, and letters from Missouri Historical Society staff regarding the project. There are some partial transcripts and 15 full transcripts for the 23 interviews included in the oral history project.

The oral history interviews were conducted between November 1988 and April 1990. Many of the interviews focus on the Jefferson Bank protests. There are also discussions of various aspects of segregation in St. Louis including education, employment, and the work place. Most of the interviewees were active with civil rights groups such as CORE and the NAACP, but not all. The project interviewee list included: Charles Alphin, a black police officer at the time of the Jefferson Bank protests; Monsignor John Shocklee; labor activist Hershel Walker, artist Luther Mitchell who created the Wall of Respect, and journalists Melba Sweets and Bennie Rodgers.

Synopsis of Interviews

Charles Alphin (1940- ): Interview by Sister Prince. Interviewed and consent signed December 8, 1988 (2 tapes). Transcribed by Nikki Hara in 1992. Charles Alphin, a native St. Louisan, was a young police officer and recalled influential leaders, the Veiled Prophet parade during which Percy Green handcuffed himself to a float, marches and disruptions attributed to the Black Liberators and Zulus, police guarding the Wall of Respect, the St. Louis march after Martin Luther King’s death, and his later involvement in the King Center in Atlanta. Alphin explained what it was like to be one of only a few black police officers in the City of St. Louis and worked the 9th district and Pruit-Igoe.

William (Bill) Bailey (c.1924- ): Interview by Sister Prince. Interviewed and consent signed November 30, 1988 (2 tapes). Bill Bailey served as chairman of the St. Louis chapter of CORE in 1968 and traveled to the south to participate in demonstrations. He recalled that there were hundreds jailed during the Jefferson Bank protests and groups visited jail daily, singing to keep their spirits up. Bailey spoke of Adam Clayton Powell’s visit and the various civil rights groups coming together for the event.

Deverne Calloway (1916-1993): Interview by Sister Prince on December 5, 1988 and January 13, 1989 (1 tape, RESTRICTED). Consent signed only December 5, 1988 (3 tapes). Transcribed by Nikki Hara in 1994. Deverne Calloway was the first black female to serve in the Missouri Legislature in 1963. Her husband was involved with the teamsters and taught at Saint Louis University. The couple published the New Citizen newspaper before Deverne was elected to the legislature. Calloway described the Jefferson Bank protests as a “catalytic force.” She attended CORE meetings sporadically and picketed at the bank. She recalled the public accommodations act and Hugh White’s efforts in the legislature, named people in St. Louis whom she considered influential in politics and civil rights, and identified the many fronts to civil rights fights (labor, housing, e.g.).

Joseph Clark ( -1996): Interview by Sister Prince. Interviewed and consent signed November 2, 1989 (1 tape). Joseph Clark was involved in Self-Help Housing. Between 1968 and 1969, he was the director of Public Safety; in 1973, he was the director of welfare; from 1963 to 1973, he served as an alderman.

William Clay, Sr. (1931- ): Interview by Ernestine Hardge. Interviewed and consent signed December 9, 1988 (1 tape). William Clay organized the St. Louis NAACP Youth Council and then became a member of CORE when the NAACP youth split from the senior branch around 1958. He served on the St. Louis Board of Aldermen in 1963. Clay picketed Jefferson Bank, was arrested, and received one of the stiffest penalties. He described the events which led to the protests at Jefferson Bank.

Frankie M. Freeman (1916- 2018). Interview by Sister Prince. Interviewed and consent signed July 27, 1989 (2 tapes). Freeman and her young family came to Saint Louis in 1949. As an attorney, she took civil rights cases such as Brewton v. Board of Education and Davis v. St. Louis Housing Authority (1952). She later became counsel for the St. Louis Housing (1956-1970). In 1964 she was named first female member of U.S. Civil Rights Commission. Freeman explained her experiences growing up in Virginia; how she met her husband, Shelby Freeman, in New York due to segregation in education in Missouri; how she opened her law practice and became involved with the NAACP, and her prominent cases. The Freemans secretly hosted students from Little Rock, Arkansas, for two summers.

Percy Green, II (1935- ): Interview by Ernestine Hardge. Interviewed and consent signed November 11, 1988 (3 tapes). Percy Green was a member of CORE and participant in the Jefferson Bank demonstrations. In 1964, he founded ACTION in which he continued his brash, enlightening tactics all over the St. Louis community. Green was employed at McDonnell-Douglas at the time of the Jefferson Bank protests and lost the job as a result of his participation in CORE activities. In 1988 he was Project Manager of the Laclede Town Housing Development. Green recalled his introduction to CORE through a white co-worker, his feelings about its tactics, and those who wished for more activism. He discussed climbing the Arch and taking employment complaints to Anheuser-Busch, Southwestern Bell, and Laclede Gas.

Loretta Hall: Interview by Mary Seematter. Interviewed and consent signed December 5, 1988 (1 tape). Loretta Hall was a member of CORE. She recalled the strategy and meetings before the Jefferson Bank demonstrations, singing to CORE members in jail, discussing the power structure that the Bank had at its ready, and community support for a protest that lasted almost a year. Hall was arrested twice and joined the boycott on downtown businesses that dealt with Jefferson Bank. She was also involved in the first rent strike in St. Louis. In the 1980s, she was a housing activist in the St. Louis area and worked at Carr Square.

Raymond Howard (c.1935- ): Interview by Ernestine Hardge. Interviewed and consent signed January 1, 1989 (2 tapes). Ray Howard was an attorney and member of CORE. He participated in the Jefferson Bank demonstrations and was arrested. He began working as an attorney in 1961 and served in the Missouri Legislature.

Buck Jones (1939-2002) : Interview by Mary Seematter. Interview and consent signed December 5, 1988 (2 tapes). Rev. Jones and his wife Ethel moved to St. Louis in 1966. He discussed his involvement in, and strategies for, the 1969 public housing rent strike and the role of churches in the community. Jones worked on many issues involving the minority poor (e.g. shelter, food) for over 30 years in St. Louis. In 1970, Jones founded Project HOPE in East St. Louis.

Luther Mitchell (1922-2001): Interview by Sister Prince. Interview and consent signed April 9, 1990 (2 tapes). Transcription by Nikki Hara, 1992 Mitchell was a WWII veteran. He came to St. Louis from Chicago in 1965, bringing the idea of the Wall of Respect (a collection of portraits of famous African Americans). The project was completed in the late 1960s at Leffingwell and Franklin as a cooperative effort of ACTION and the St. Louis community, but was razed in 1986. Mitchell also discussed his childhood differences in the south and Chicago, segregation in the military, and the limited employment opportunities for African Americans in St. Louis in the 1960s.

Helen Nash(1921-2012) : Interview by Sister Prince. Interview and consent signed March 21, 1990 (2 tapes). Transcription by Nikki Hara in 1993. Dr. Helen Nash was born in Atlanta Georgia. She came from a family of doctors and went to Spellman and Meharry Medical College. In 1945 she came to St. Louis to Homer G. Philips Hospital and worked as a pediatrician for over 45 years. She discussed making house calls in Mill Creek and Pruitt-Igoe, the relationship between City Hospital and Homer G. Philips, how segregation affected the medical profession in St. Louis, and the black community and its changes.

Charles (1922-2006) and Marian (1927-1994) Oldham: Interview by Ernestine R. Hardge. Interview and consents signed December 12, 1988 (2 tapes). Transcription by P.E. Xpress Secretarial Services in 2000. Charles Oldham was an attorney, served as the national chairman of CORE, and was one of the St. Louis CORE leaders arrested for participation in the Jefferson Bank protests. Marian Oldham was also a member of CORE, attending weekly meetings and demonstrations for 16 years, and was also singled out for arrest during the Jefferson Bank protests. The Oldhams discussed the membership, strategy, and evolution of CORE in St. Louis. They recalled the Jefferson Bank demonstration and the large number of people there, police and demonstrators, and community reactions.

Ivory Perry (1930-1989): Interview by Mary Seematter. Interview and consent signed November 30, 1988 (1 tape). Transcription by Nikki Hara in 1992. Perry, a decorated Korean War veteran, came to St. Louis in 1954 and became a member of CORE. He discussed the fates of CORE and ACTION in St. Louis, the 1966 police shooting of Russell Hayes, the influence of the Jefferson Bank protest on his subsequent civil rights actions, and the roles of other civil right groups in St. Louis. Perry recalled altercations between blacks and police, particularly one at Leffingwell and Cass. He felt the presence of community leadership helped to dissuade rioting in St. Louis. Perry spent much of his career fighting lead poisoning and worked with the Metropolitan Tenant Organization to organize the 1969 rent strike.

Evelyn Roberts (1920-2007): Interview by Joellen McDonald. Interview December 21, 1988. (RESTRICTED, no consent form, no access) Dr. Roberts joined the NAACP with her mother, Audia, and remained a member for throughout her lifetime. She earned master’s and doctorate degrees in education at Columbia University and taught at St. Louis Community College. Roberts loaned many photographs, brochures, reports, and her resume for the exhibition. She recalled several civil rights issues with which the NAACP in St. Louis was involved.

Bennie Rodgers (1914-2000): Interview by Sister Prince. Interview and consent signed August 4, 1989 (3 tapes). Transcribed by Nikki Hara in 1993. Rodgers attended Illinois State University and joined the St. Louis American in 1945, where he worked for over 50 years. He recalled one of his first stories was about admitting blacks to Washington University, stories about drugs in the early 1950s, and conditions under segregation versus integration. Rodgers spoke of civil right protests, journalism, blacks in politics, and celebrity and presidential visits to St. Louis.

James Rollins (1940- ): Interview by Ernestine R. Hardge. Interview and consent signed January 6, 1989 (2 tapes). James Rollins was a member of CORE in Columbia, Missouri. He was one of the first two blacks to attend the University of Missouri’s Law School. Rollins was active in the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and participated in the Jefferson Bank demonstration as a CORE supporter. He also supported the Black Liberators and was one of the founders of the ZULU 1200. Rollins was employed as a community organizer for Central City Council of East St. Louis and worked not only in the metropolitan St. Louis area but traveled all over the country as a community organizer.

Norman Seay (1932- ): Interview by Sister Prince. Interview and consent signed November 11, 1988 (2 tapes). Norman Seay was involved with CORE; he was among those arrested in the Jefferson Bank protests; and helped plan the march after the death of Martin Luther King, Jr. He recalled being in jail, the support received by the Jefferson Bank protestors, and integration of the police and fire departments.

John Shocklee (1917-2003): Interview by Jo Ellen McDonald. Interview and consent signed November 29, 1988 (1 tape). Monsignor John Shocklee was at St. Bridget's Church, adjacent to the Pruitt-Igoe housing project. He described his experience as a white pastor of a predominantly black parish and clergy support, and its limitations, for the Jefferson Bank protests. Shocklee recalled the events after President Kennedy’s death and those about the hunger strike of Charles Koen of The Liberators.

Melba Sweets (1909-2006): Interview by Sister Prince. Interview Sept 12, 1989 and November 9, 1989 (no consent). Consent signed September 12, 1989 (4 tapes total). Melba Sweets married newspaperman Nathaniel A. Sweets in 1937. She was an editor and a columnist of the St. Louis American for over 50 years. Ms. Sweets was involved in the community and Civil rights.

Hershel Walker (1909-1990): Interview by Sister Prince on March 8, 1989 (2 tapes RESTRICTED) and March 15, 1989 (2 tapes). Consent signed March 15, 1989. Transcribed by Nikki Hara in 1992. Walker was a labor leader and activist with National Negro Labor Council and the National Alliance Against Racism and Political Repression. He recalled his work with labor activists, a protest against Sears & Roebuck in 1951, employment conditions at Wagner Electric, and labor activities in St. Louis.

Jerome Williams (1925-2013): Interview by Sister Prince on July 20, 1989. Consent Signed July 28, 1989 (2 tapes). Transcribed by Mary Beth Berger in 1989. Dr. Williams was a physician in St. Louis, served in World War II, was a member of CORE, and was a founding member of the St. Louis Chapter Frontiers of America (a black service organization). He recalled working at Homer G. Phillips Hospital, the struggle to segregate schools, and the Jefferson Bank protests.

Margaret Bush Wilson (1919-2009): Interview by Kathy Corbett. Interview and consent signed December 6, 1988 (1 tape). Wilson was born in St. Louis, passed the Missouri bar examine in 1943, became president of the St. Chapter of the NAACP in 1958, and became president of the Missouri NAACP in 1962. She recalled contacting attorneys for the CORE members arrested for the Jefferson Bank protests and cooperation among St. Louis civil rights groups.