Billie Jean (Coil Ames) Teneau (1925- ): Interview Contact Sheet/Checklist, Biographical Information and Family History, Transcript (Tape 1/Side A, 14 pp.; Tape 1/Side B, 12 pp.; Tape 2/Side A, 14 pp.; Tape 2/Side B, 12 pp.; Tape 3/Side A, 4 pp.). Teneau married Joe Ames after graduating high school and both joined CORE while students at Washington University. Joe became more active with union Local 688, which had a good relationship with CORE. Teneau produced CORE’s newsletter and used her telephone to communicate with members. She told of her recent trip to France with Hostelling International. She recalled how CORE developed its model for action, including alerting the police to their activities; demonstrations in which she participated; having a cross burned in her yard; opening hotels/public accommodations; attending national conferences; briefly being executive director of national CORE; and the Christian Nationalist Crusade response to her move into Igoe housing and late night phone calls. Interview and release signed (3 audio cassettes). , 2005 Jan 3

File — Box: 1, Folder: 15

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

From the Collection:

The collection contains oral history interview transcripts, interview summaries and context synopses, topics indexes, biographical information and family history forms, and other documentation relating to the Unknown Soldiers/Unsung Heroes Oral History Project. Additionally, there are items such as leaflets and yearbook pages provided by some interviewees to help tell their stories. Gwen Moore, historian at the Missouri Historical Society, conducted all 17 interviews in 2004 and 2005. The files are arranged alphabetically by interviewee name. The interviews often began with questions about family and personal history and then addressed the interviewees’ awareness of the racial climate. Discussions revolved around motivations for joining CORE and the NAACP Youth Council, training and philosophy, activities and demonstrations, other individuals in the organizations, and the impact the involvement in civil rights demonstrations had upon their lives. The CORE interviews are particularly rich in detail concerning motivations, organizational philosophy and structure, training, and activities. The five Elizabeth White Garlington interviews differ from the other interviews. She was not a member of CORE, nor was she a student at the time of the activities, but she was active in civil rights and professional organizations for decades. Garlington was a life-long member of the NAACP and moved to St. Louis in the 1930s to work as a social worker. African American social workers in St. Louis either moved to St. Louis from other cities, like Garlington, or they left St. Louis to earn their degrees as Washington University did not allow Black people to enroll in its School of Social Work. Garlington worked with young people in the NAACP’s ACT-SO (Afro-American Academic Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics) program in the early 1970s.

Dates

2005 Jan 3

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research use.

Extent

From the Collection: 0.5 Cubic Feet ( (1 box))

Language of Materials

English

Related Names

Creator

From the Collection: Missouri Historical Society (Creator, Organization)
From the Collection: Best, Joyce, 1928- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Best, Stephen R., 1926-2014 (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Garlington, Elizabeth White, 1909-2006 (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: LaGrone, John Edward, 1943- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: McAllister, Mary McClain, 1926- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Myles, Constance L., 1944- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Norment, John William, 1942-2005 (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Rosen, Yvonne A. Marglous (Bonnie), 1928- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Seay, Norman R., 1932-2019 (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Teneau, Billie Coil Ames, 1925- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Walker, Joy Ann Busch, 1943- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Wrice, Gloria Rahema, 1945- (Interviewee, Person)
From the Collection: Moore, Gwendolyn R. (Interviewer, Person)