Almetto Alexander interview recording, 1993 June 11
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Transcript
Transcripts may contain inaccuracies.
Almetto Alexander | I had a couple of incidents with a child, but it was just because I knew that the mother just didn't want the child in my classroom because of my color. | 0:01 |
Karen Ferguson | Just as I asked you a question before about your parents teaching you about segregation and the kind racial customs in South Carolina. Do you remember having to teach your children about segregation in Charlotte? | 0:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. In Charlotte—I didn't just teach them about segregation, but I tried to keep them in—I don't know. How did I do it? But I didn't say, "Now, you don't do such and such thing because you are Black, and you don't do such, and you don't accept such and such thing because they're White. No, I didn't go about it that way. | 0:42 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you remember— | 1:14 |
Almetto Alexander | No, because they were always in some activities, like what was this about? What is this organization with Christian Jews? Christian Jews, what is that? What is that organization? | 1:20 |
Karen Ferguson | I know which one you're talking about. | 1:35 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, but they were always involved in something that would sort of involve them. And I don't remember them coming in like Martin Luther King asking the questions that he asked. | 1:36 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 1:56 |
Almetto Alexander | Uh-huh. | 1:57 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 1:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Maybe we can talk a little bit about your church, your family. All members of your family attended church when you were growing up in South Carolina? | 2:04 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 2:15 |
Karen Ferguson | Yeah. | 2:18 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 2:18 |
Karen Ferguson | And what church did you attend when you got to Charlotte? | 2:18 |
Almetto Alexander | First Baptist Church. | 2:23 |
Karen Ferguson | First Baptist? | 2:23 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. First Baptist. | 2:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you still attend there today? | 2:24 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. I sure do. | 2:26 |
Karen Ferguson | What was your churches and your minister's role in civic affairs beyond the church? What kinds of things did your church do for the community? | 2:38 |
Almetto Alexander | All kinds. All kinds of things. Let me see. All kinds of things. Our church is sort of an outreach. | 2:49 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 3:00 |
Almetto Alexander | And we have all kinds of organizations that reach there. The Black caucus meets there every third Sunday. My minister, he's very ill now, of course, but he is the co-chair person of the North Carolina Martin Luther King commission. He had been the president of the North Carolina General Baptist Convention that included Black Baptist churches all over. | 3:02 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 3:35 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 3:35 |
Karen Ferguson | How about in the period before 1960? What kind of things did your church do back then? | 3:36 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, he was president of the NAACP. So our church have always been a part of the NAACP. We're a life member, a Golden Heritage member. That's a life member. $500 in the Golden Heritage, $1000. NAACP. Let's see. And we had different meetings, political meetings, and all that. You got to go? | 3:46 |
Speaker 3 | Yeah. | 4:17 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, okay. | 4:17 |
Speaker 3 | Out of time. | 4:17 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah—[INTERRUPTION] | 4:17 |
Karen Ferguson | —that. | 4:20 |
Speaker 3 | Okay. | 4:23 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. So the NAACP, political meetings. | 4:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Political meetings. | 4:28 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 4:29 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 4:30 |
Karen Ferguson | Let's see. | 4:34 |
Almetto Alexander | You're talking about the community, right? | 4:36 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 4:38 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 4:38 |
Karen Ferguson | Or anything. | 4:38 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 4:40 |
Karen Ferguson | So now what was your minister's name, the one who was so involved in politics, or the NAACP? | 4:40 |
Almetto Alexander | Dr. JB Humphrey. | 4:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 4:49 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 4:50 |
Karen Ferguson | So even back in the '50s, he was involved in this kind of activity? | 4:51 |
Almetto Alexander | No, he came to us in '47. | 4:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 5:01 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, in '47, and in 1950, he was the president of the NAACP. Yeah. | 5:02 |
Karen Ferguson | So was that typical of ministers, do you think, at that time? | 5:10 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, yes. | 5:19 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 5:21 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. I don't say of ministers, but these are some of the things that he did. | 5:23 |
Karen Ferguson | Right, right. | 5:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 5:25 |
Karen Ferguson | So you think your church, maybe because of him, was more politically active than others in the city? | 5:28 |
Almetto Alexander | I don't know. I won't say that. Not politically active, but he did a lot of things to make things better for the community and for people; not just the church, but he did a lot of things to make things better. | 5:37 |
Karen Ferguson | Did he preach about civil rights from the pulpit? | 5:54 |
Almetto Alexander | He was a great teacher. He didn't just preach about civil rights, but he was a great teacher. He preached about things that involved us, things that it seemed like we needed to know. | 5:59 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. Would you like another tape? I can give you a tape. | 6:14 |
Almetto Alexander | No, thanks. | 6:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Okay. | 6:24 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm. I don't— | 6:24 |
Karen Ferguson | If you'd like, so you can have it, you can take this one. We've got hundreds of tapes, so if you'd like to use that, you're welcome to. | 6:28 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, well, I hate to take yours. | 6:33 |
Karen Ferguson | No, that's fine. | 6:33 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, thank you. Thank you very much. | 6:33 |
Almetto Alexander | (phone rings) Excuse me— [INTERRUPTION]. | 6:59 |
Karen Ferguson | What kind of organizations did you belong to in church and out of church after you got married and you were back here in Charlotte? | 6:59 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, let me see. I've always sung in a choir. I've always been a member of the choir. We had an organization called the Leadership Council. I was a member of that. The founder of two organizations in my church. One is called the Women of the Year Committee, and that includes all of the former women of the year. We came together to see. Usually, the Women of the Year stands out for that one year, so why not come together and do many things during the year? | 7:13 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 8:07 |
Almetto Alexander | And I founded that that organization, and then we had one called the Golden Age. My husband and I were founders of that organization; that include the retirees, not just the church members, but retirees in the community also. | 8:07 |
Karen Ferguson | Did you belong—? Oh, sorry, go on. | 8:27 |
Almetto Alexander | And let me see what else. We had the Social Concerns Committee. I was a part of that. We had a dramatics club. I'm a member of that, and let me see what else. Oh, and Sunday school, of course. Sunday school, and missionary. Missionary. | 8:44 |
Karen Ferguson | What kinds of organizations outside of church did you belong to back after the war? | 9:01 |
Almetto Alexander | After the war? | 9:10 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 9:10 |
Almetto Alexander | Outside of the church? | 9:13 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 9:14 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. The NAACP, and what else? | 9:18 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, I'm not—Let me see. I didn't get too involved so much right after. You say after the war? | 9:28 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 9:37 |
Almetto Alexander | I didn't get too involved. | 9:38 |
Karen Ferguson | Did you belong to— | 9:41 |
Almetto Alexander | It was because of my children growing up, and they were small. | 9:42 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 9:45 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 9:45 |
Karen Ferguson | Did you belong to any social clubs at all? | 9:47 |
Almetto Alexander | No. I'm a member now of the, we call it the Socializer. | 9:52 |
Speaker 3 | The Socializer? | 9:56 |
Almetto Alexander | Socializer, mm-hmm. I go to that tomorrow. I look forward to it. | 9:56 |
Speaker 3 | Mm-hmm. | 10:02 |
Almetto Alexander | We play Pinochle. Yeah. Let me see what else. There's another club just like that one. What else? It'll come to me after a while. | 10:03 |
Karen Ferguson | But when did you join the NAACP? | 10:18 |
Almetto Alexander | I'm not sure what year. It's been a long, long time, because I'm a life member of the NAACP, and I'm a Golden Heritage member of the NAACP. I organized the first life membership committee that was held in the state of North Carolina. I did that, and that was in—When was it? That's been six years ago. | 10:22 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 10:44 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 10:44 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you think you joined before the 1950s? | 10:45 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, the NAACP? | 10:56 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 10:56 |
Almetto Alexander | Maybe not as a membership. | 11:00 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 11:02 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, but I supported it. | 11:02 |
Karen Ferguson | Uh-uh. In what way? | 11:04 |
Almetto Alexander | I supported it, but not as a membership. | 11:05 |
Karen Ferguson | How did you support it? | 11:08 |
Almetto Alexander | By giving contributions and attending the meetings. | 11:09 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 11:12 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 11:12 |
Karen Ferguson | Was there ever any problem with teachers supporting the NAACP? Because you were working for the public school system, right? | 11:13 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, during my time, it wasn't, because, see, I went to school late. | 11:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Right, right. | 11:30 |
Almetto Alexander | See, I went to school late. | 11:30 |
Karen Ferguson | Did you ever hear students—? | 11:31 |
Almetto Alexander | But during the times of many friends of mine, like the ladies who just called me just now. She was telling me that her husband was a principal, and the teachers had to slip to be a member. They had to slip. They could not let it be known if they were a member of the NAACP. | 11:34 |
Karen Ferguson | Maybe we could just talk a little bit about your husband since he won't be able to be interviewed. | 12:00 |
Almetto Alexander | Okay. | 12:05 |
Karen Ferguson | What did he do for a living? | 12:06 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, right now he lives in—Well, he's supposed to be retired like me. He's supposed to be retired, but he, no, yeah, he stays very busy. He's a real estate broker. | 12:11 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 12:22 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, so he deals in real estate. | 12:22 |
Karen Ferguson | What did he do after he came back from the war? | 12:27 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. He had several jobs. He was the newspaper manager for the Charlotte News at that time. He worked there for a long, long time. What was another place? Oh, I can't think of the name of that place. I can't think of the name of it, but then he worked at American Cyanamid Company. | 12:32 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. What did he do— | 13:04 |
Almetto Alexander | Until he retired. | 13:04 |
Karen Ferguson | What did he do at American Cyanamid? | 13:06 |
Almetto Alexander | What did he do? What did he do? I'm not sure what he did. I've forgotten what the job was called. | 13:12 |
Karen Ferguson | Can you describe the job? | 13:22 |
Almetto Alexander | But he worked there. | 13:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 13:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, this was a chemical plant. | 13:25 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 13:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 13:26 |
Karen Ferguson | Did he work in the plant or did he work in the office? | 13:28 |
Almetto Alexander | He worked in the plant. | 13:30 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 13:30 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. He worked in the plant. He did maintenance work one time, and then he was changed around to something else, and I've heard him mention it, but I don't know what it's called. | 13:31 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. Actually, I forgot to ask you a question; have you always voted since you turned— | 13:52 |
Almetto Alexander | I've always voted. Ever since I knew that I could vote, I've always voted. | 13:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. Was there ever any problem with you voting in Charlotte? Did anyone give you trouble for that? | 14:04 |
Almetto Alexander | No. No, I never had any trouble. | 14:10 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. So when you went to register, everything worked fast? | 14:12 |
Almetto Alexander | No. No, no, no, not during my time. | 14:16 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 14:21 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, but that has really happened among our people, where they were not allowed to vote, and some of them had had trouble trying to vote right here. There's some type of test, I think it was, that they had to pass, so it made it sort of difficult. | 14:25 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 14:51 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. Excuse me. | 14:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Was that during your time? The test? | 14:52 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, not during the time that I was trying to register, but I heard it just maybe earlier than the '40s, maybe around the '40s, around about that time, perhaps. | 14:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Did things in Charlotte for Black people change after the war at all, after the second World War? | 15:16 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, I would say it did. It did. Jobs were easier to get. They got a little more for the money. For some reason, before the war, it was hard for us to get in places to live. Even when my husband came out of service, it was hard to find a place to live, even with the money. Even with the money, it was hard to find a house. So we had those kinds of problems, and I can remember, oh yes, I worked with the Charlotte Fair Housing Association at one time, and during that time, what else did I work with? Something else, but I worked with Charlotte Fair Housing Association, and during that time, yeah, Blacks were having difficult time finding places to live in the areas where they wanted. Everything was segregated, like it still is, really. But we would plan, how did we do this? I was on the committee. | 15:24 |
Almetto Alexander | But during that time, the real estate people would make it difficult. For example, if you wanted to move in this area, let's put it this way, let's say you wanted, they did it with the Whites too, if you wanted to move in this area, and you'd call a real estate person, and you'd say, "I'm interested in moving on the west side, and I saw in north," this is called Northwest Estate, "I saw in Northwest Estate some homes, so I'd like to live in that area. Do you have anything?" | 16:56 |
Almetto Alexander | Knowing that this is a Black area, they don't want you to live in here, so they going to say to you, "No, but I'll tell you where I do have something," and that would be your area, and I think would be the very same thing. It would be just a thing for you, and you might be persistent, and you might say, "No, but I like this area over here, and I thought I saw a house that you had for sale," and they would say, "But that one sold," but maybe it's not sold. Well, likewise, that's the way it went with us trying to get a house. | 17:40 |
Karen Ferguson | So did you try to live in a White area then? Did you— | 18:24 |
Almetto Alexander | No, I didn't, but that's the way we did to get things integrated. | 18:27 |
Karen Ferguson | Right, right. I see. | 18:32 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, that's the way we did to get it. No, I didn't, because that was since I was right here. | 18:34 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 18:37 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 18:37 |
Karen Ferguson | After the war, why was it so difficult to find a place to live then? Were you trying to buy a house? Is that—? | 18:42 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 18:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm, and why were you having trouble with that? | 18:51 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, it really would be the places where you would be looking for a house. | 18:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 19:04 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 19:04 |
Karen Ferguson | There weren't any houses to buy, or—? | 19:05 |
Almetto Alexander | They would say there weren't any houses, or we could not get the type of loan that would be needed, too, they would say. | 19:08 |
Karen Ferguson | So how did you finally manage it? | 19:19 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, we just kept looking. | 19:22 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 19:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Uh-huh. Oh yeah. That was before they built this area in here before this was thought of, and some of the other areas that's been built, you see, but I'm still in Third Ward. I'm still in Third Ward, where they have diminished all those homes over there, you see? So then we were trying to find a place to live, and they just didn't have one. At least they said they didn't. So they started building houses, and oh yeah, let me tell you this, the first house we bought was out off of [indistinct 00:20:11] Avenue, and this was a White settlement, and one White man and one Black man had moved into this area, okay? | 19:26 |
Almetto Alexander | So this is where the realtors come in, and they call that blockbuster, and say to all the other Whites, "A Black has moved on this street, and all of this is going to go Black. All of this is going to go Black," and then they start moving out, okay? And that's how we got our first house. So all of these people start moving out, and when this man moved in, we bought the next house on that particular street. He was a Mr. Miller. We bought the next house on that particular street we had purchased here, and his house was [indistinct 00:21:07], and so I said to my husband, I said, "Are we going to get the money back?" And I was frightened. And I didn't want to go. I said, "We going to get the money back?" He said, "No." He says, "Hell, I'll go and I'll help him to shoot those folks." | 20:22 |
Almetto Alexander | So we moved in, and it was very miserable that day when we moved in, because during the night, we could see lights flashing up and down the streets, cars going up and down the street, so we thought maybe we were being terrorized. We thought we were, and he would watch. He was very sick that night, and so I said, "Well, why don't you lie down?" And he said, "Okay." He said, "I'll lie down, and you watch a while." It would be the funniest thing. We'd see a light flashing, he'd get up with the gun, and I had a poker, and we'd go to the door. | 21:30 |
Almetto Alexander | By that time, the car was gone, and we did that for very, very late in the night, and so finally, the doorbell rang, and that scared us to death. So he went with the gun, and I had the poker, and he got to the door, and the policeman said, "This is the policemen. Are you all right?" And he then he assured us that they were patrolling the street and they were keep watching us, and therefore, they were going to be near us. | 22:10 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 22:48 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, but that's what happened when we moved into that neighborhood, and then finally, some of us moved out, and some of us moved in. Oh, yes, and I can remember once when my father was coming up the street, because my father and brother had moved on the other end, not far from where we were. In fact, they moved on, they called that the Druid Circle area. | 22:49 |
Almetto Alexander | Ours was Edison Street, and I've forgotten what the name of that neighboring is, but anyway, my brother and father had moved in before we did, but anyway, so my daddy, in going to work, he would always come up the street where I lived to the bus stop. So there was a man that bothered him, and he would say to him, "Why don't you walk on this side of the street?" That's where he lived, this White man. "Why don't you walk on this side of the street?" And my daddy said, "I'm okay where I am," and he would continue to walk. We had that sort of thing. | 23:23 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 24:08 |
Almetto Alexander | Uh-huh. | 24:08 |
Karen Ferguson | So let me see if I've got this straight, this whole blockbusting thing; the real estate agents would sell to a Black person, and then they would decide that this block was going to become a Black neighborhood so that the White people would sell their houses cheaply? Okay. | 24:13 |
Almetto Alexander | So no, not cheaply, but so that they would move, in that way, so that they could get the money. | 24:31 |
Karen Ferguson | Right, right. | 24:40 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, they called that blockbusting. | 24:41 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 24:43 |
Almetto Alexander | Uh-huh. | 24:44 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you remember other people's houses being bombed like that? | 24:44 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, let me see. They put a lot of paint, just messed up some of the houses. | 24:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 24:54 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, put a lot of paint on it, and I believe the street over across from where we were living, some kind of damage, I'm not too sure. I believe this was the only one that was bombed, but they knocked out windows and messed it up with paint. That was in the area that I lived in, and my children were very small. I'll tell you this, you'll write this, my children were very small, and you know how children would get together and play. So these little boys came over to my house, and my boy was sitting there, and they were talking with him. | 24:55 |
Karen Ferguson | Little White boys? | 25:44 |
Almetto Alexander | Little White boys, and he says, "You say what I say. Say, 'I am a nigger. I am a nigger.'" (singing) So my son would say, "You are a nigger." (singing) "No, no, you aren't saying it right. Say, 'I am a nigger. I am a nigger.'" (singing) He would say, "I'm saying it; you are a nigger." (singing) Oh. | 25:45 |
Karen Ferguson | And that was the extent of their friendship? | 26:17 |
Almetto Alexander | Not really, because they didn't know any better. They really didn't know any better, but yeah, that was the time when I talked with him. | 26:19 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 26:30 |
Almetto Alexander | That was a time when I talked with him. | 26:31 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. Well, I think I've just about exhausted my list of questions. Is there anything you'd like to tell me that I didn't ask you about? | 26:37 |
Almetto Alexander | I don't know. | 26:49 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 26:50 |
Almetto Alexander | I don't know if I've been any help. I don't know. | 26:52 |
Karen Ferguson | No, you have. You've given some wonderful information. Very useful. | 26:54 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh. | 27:00 |
Karen Ferguson | Just to finish up, I have to take some biographical information, so anybody using the tape will understand a little bit better about who you are, and what your experiences have been. Could I get your full name from you? | 27:03 |
Almetto Alexander | Almetto. | 27:21 |
Karen Ferguson | How do you pronounce that? | 27:21 |
Almetto Alexander | A-L-M-E-T-T-O. | 27:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Do you have a middle name? | 27:28 |
Almetto Alexander | Howey, H-O-W-E-Y. Alexander. | 27:31 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Is Howey your maiden name? | 27:36 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 27:39 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 27:39 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 27:40 |
Karen Ferguson | What's your zip code here? | 27:42 |
Almetto Alexander | 28216. | 27:43 |
Karen Ferguson | Now, if your name is to be used in any kind of presentation, or in some written materials, how would you like it to appear? | 27:47 |
Almetto Alexander | Like that. | 27:57 |
Karen Ferguson | Almetto Howey Alexander? Okay. | 27:57 |
Karen Ferguson | If you don't mind me asking, could you give me your date of birth? | 28:12 |
Almetto Alexander | I don't think I want to give that. | 28:17 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, that's fine, and you were born here in Charlotte? | 28:18 |
Almetto Alexander | No, I was born in South Carolina. | 28:21 |
Karen Ferguson | Oh, sorry. Right, and what was the place? | 28:23 |
Almetto Alexander | Lancaster County. | 28:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Lancaster County? And your husband's name? | 28:25 |
Almetto Alexander | James. No initial. | 28:33 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Could you give me his date of birth? If you don't want to, that's fine. | 28:37 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, he doesn't care. | 28:49 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 28:50 |
Almetto Alexander | He really doesn't care. When was he born? August 25th. | 28:50 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 28:56 |
Almetto Alexander | 1919. | 28:57 |
Karen Ferguson | And he was born here in Charlotte? | 29:00 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. Right here. | 29:02 |
Karen Ferguson | And he's a real estate broker, you said? | 29:06 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 29:08 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 29:09 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, what was your mother's name? | 29:15 |
Almetto Alexander | Maggie Howey. | 29:17 |
Karen Ferguson | And what was her maiden name? | 29:31 |
Almetto Alexander | Clyburn. C-L-Y-B-U-R-N. | 29:33 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and do you know when she was born, approximately? | 29:36 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, I can't think of that. | 29:42 |
Karen Ferguson | No, that's fine. | 29:43 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, let me see. That's been so long ago. | 29:46 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Okay. | 29:51 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, and I should know, but right off, I don't. I can't think of it. | 29:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you know when she died? | 29:53 |
Almetto Alexander | In 1942, September. | 29:55 |
Karen Ferguson | And where was she born? | 29:59 |
Almetto Alexander | In Camden, South Carolina. | 29:59 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and what would you say her occupation was? | 30:03 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, she taught school a short while. She taught school a short while. She didn't get to work much, because as long as I remembered my mother, she was ill. She died at an early age, like 48. | 30:15 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. Okay. If I put farm wife or housewife, would that be—? | 30:31 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, housewife. | 30:40 |
Karen Ferguson | What was your father's name? | 30:45 |
Almetto Alexander | John Henry, | 30:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Howey? | 30:52 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 30:52 |
Karen Ferguson | And do you have any idea of when he was born? | 30:55 |
Almetto Alexander | I'm not sure. Can't think of it. | 30:57 |
Karen Ferguson | And when did he die? | 31:02 |
Almetto Alexander | He died in '53. | 31:04 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and where was he born? | 31:08 |
Almetto Alexander | I think he was born, well, let's say Lancaster County. | 31:11 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 31:15 |
Karen Ferguson | And he was a farmer? | 31:15 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, and then he moved to Charlotte, and he worked at Belk's Department and stuff. | 31:22 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. What did he do there? | 31:35 |
Almetto Alexander | And he worked at, they had what's called C shell, the shell place, where they made shells. | 31:35 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. Munitions plant? | 31:43 |
Almetto Alexander | Munition plant. | 31:44 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 31:45 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, he worked there a while. | 31:46 |
Karen Ferguson | That was during the second World War? | 31:49 |
Almetto Alexander | World two. | 31:53 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 31:54 |
Almetto Alexander | World War Two, mm-hmm. | 31:54 |
Karen Ferguson | What did he do at Belk's? Do you remember? | 31:58 |
Almetto Alexander | He ran the elevator. | 32:01 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 32:07 |
Karen Ferguson | You've been meeting a lot of people who at one time or another were elevator operators. | 32:07 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 32:12 |
Karen Ferguson | Now, you've got eight brothers and sisters. Is that what you said? | 32:13 |
Almetto Alexander | I did have. | 32:19 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 32:19 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, really, I had nine. | 32:19 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 32:20 |
Almetto Alexander | And I find myself saying eight, because I never that one. | 32:22 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 32:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 32:26 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Well I need— | 32:27 |
Almetto Alexander | He was so little. He was about a year old when he died with pneumonia or something, but you can get them all if you want to. | 32:28 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Well, why don't we start with the oldest, then? | 32:35 |
Almetto Alexander | Frank. Frank Howey. | 32:39 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. Okay. | 32:42 |
Almetto Alexander | John Odell Howey. | 32:45 |
Karen Ferguson | How do you spell Odell? | 32:50 |
Almetto Alexander | Odell? O-D-E-L-L. | 32:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, Howey. Okay. | 32:54 |
Almetto Alexander | Robert. | 32:59 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 32:59 |
Almetto Alexander | Howey. | 33:00 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 33:00 |
Almetto Alexander | And this one that died is Matthew Henry. Matthew Henry. | 33:07 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 33:13 |
Almetto Alexander | James Edward Howey. | 33:15 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 33:20 |
Almetto Alexander | And then I came. Joe Howey. Do you want me next? | 33:25 |
Karen Ferguson | No, I'll just need your brother, or your brothers and sisters. | 33:29 |
Almetto Alexander | Joe Howey. Willie Mack Howey. | 33:33 |
Karen Ferguson | So you were the only girl? | 33:39 |
Almetto Alexander | Two. | 33:41 |
Karen Ferguson | Oh, okay. | 33:41 |
Almetto Alexander | I have a sister. | 33:41 |
Karen Ferguson | Oh, and which one is she? The— | 33:43 |
Almetto Alexander | I haven't told you. | 33:46 |
Karen Ferguson | Oh, okay. | 33:47 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 33:47 |
Karen Ferguson | So Willie Mack Howey? | 33:48 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 33:49 |
Karen Ferguson | And I'm spelling Howey incorrectly. Okay. | 33:49 |
Almetto Alexander | Delores Maxine Howey. Miller now. | 33:59 |
Karen Ferguson | Now where did you come? Between Matthew and James Edward? | 34:12 |
Almetto Alexander | No, I came after James Edward. | 34:17 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, so you were one, two, three, four, five—So you're the sixth child? | 34:19 |
Almetto Alexander | I guess. Mm-hmm. | 34:27 |
Karen Ferguson | Could you give me the names of your children? | 34:30 |
Almetto Alexander | James Alexander, Junior. | 34:33 |
Karen Ferguson | All right. When was he born? | 34:36 |
Almetto Alexander | October, 1945. | 34:41 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, and—? | 34:46 |
Almetto Alexander | Harriet Alexander Whiting. | 34:48 |
Karen Ferguson | W-H-I-T-I-N-G? | 34:56 |
Almetto Alexander | Right. | 34:58 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and when was she born? | 34:59 |
Almetto Alexander | 1947. | 34:59 |
Karen Ferguson | 1947. Okay, and both of these are still living? | 35:01 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 35:09 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and then you said you had a third child? | 35:09 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. What was his name? | 35:13 |
Karen Ferguson | That's right if you can't remember. | 35:13 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. What's his name? But he was born in 1948. What's his name? Edward Coleman. | 35:14 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 35:23 |
Almetto Alexander | Edward Coleman. | 35:23 |
Karen Ferguson | Did he die in 1948 as well? | 35:31 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, he did. He lived about 18 hours and died. | 35:32 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you have any grandchildren? | 35:39 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 35:40 |
Karen Ferguson | How many? | 35:40 |
Almetto Alexander | I have two. | 35:45 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 35:45 |
Almetto Alexander | They're adopted children though. | 35:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 35:48 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 35:48 |
Karen Ferguson | That still counts, though. | 35:50 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, yeah. I love them. | 35:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Now, all right, so you were born in Lancaster County, and then you moved to Charlotte. Is that right? | 35:55 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 36:05 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 36:05 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 36:05 |
Karen Ferguson | And then where did you move after that? To Richmond? | 36:14 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 36:18 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Do you remember around when you moved to Richmond? | 36:19 |
Almetto Alexander | It was about '40. It was '43, the latter part of '43. | 36:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and how long were you there? | 36:33 |
Almetto Alexander | About five or six months; not long. Not a year. | 36:37 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 36:40 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 36:40 |
Karen Ferguson | And then you moved? | 36:41 |
Almetto Alexander | And then I went to Reno. | 36:41 |
Karen Ferguson | Reno, okay. | 36:50 |
Karen Ferguson | And you were there sort of '43, '44? | 36:50 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 36:52 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and you came back here. Have you been here ever since? | 36:53 |
Almetto Alexander | Who? | 37:01 |
Karen Ferguson | You. Have you been in Charlotte ever since you came back? | 37:02 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 37:06 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Could you give me the names of your schools that you've attended? | 37:14 |
Almetto Alexander | Beginning where? | 37:23 |
Karen Ferguson | In South Carolina. | 37:24 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh. | 37:25 |
Karen Ferguson | If you can remember, but if you can't— | 37:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. I went to one called Gold Hill. | 37:27 |
Karen Ferguson | Gold Hill, okay. | 37:30 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 37:30 |
Karen Ferguson | All right. | 37:30 |
Almetto Alexander | That was one room. White Oak. | 37:32 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 37:37 |
Almetto Alexander | That was one room. | 37:37 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 37:38 |
Almetto Alexander | I had forgotten about Gold Hill, and then the three room was still White Oak. It was just in three. | 37:39 |
Karen Ferguson | And those were both in Lancaster County? | 37:46 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 37:46 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 37:46 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 37:46 |
Karen Ferguson | And you said you went to—? | 37:47 |
Almetto Alexander | Isabelle White, here in Charlotte. | 37:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Isabelle White? | 37:47 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 37:47 |
Karen Ferguson | Now, Isabelle White, is she related to Thomas White who lives here? Is that— | 37:50 |
Almetto Alexander | Someone else asked me that question. | 38:04 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 38:06 |
Almetto Alexander | I'm not sure. | 38:06 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 38:08 |
Almetto Alexander | Someone just was discussing that not long ago, and it seems me like it's true. I'm not sure. | 38:09 |
Karen Ferguson | I think I interviewed him, and he said that his mother had been a school teacher, and I know that his father was a very prominent minister here, so. | 38:14 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. Oh, you did interview him? Mm-hmm. | 38:22 |
Karen Ferguson | So that that was in Charlotte? | 38:24 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 38:27 |
Karen Ferguson | And what grades were those, when you were—? | 38:27 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, I went to sixth grade. | 38:30 |
Karen Ferguson | Sixth grade? Okay. Okay, and then did you go from sixth grade to the Meyer Street school? | 38:32 |
Almetto Alexander | Meyer Street. | 38:39 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 38:40 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 38:40 |
Karen Ferguson | Is it Meyer, M-E-Y-E-R, or M— | 38:42 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 38:44 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. And that was till eighth grade? | 38:48 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-mm, I think that was— | 38:52 |
Karen Ferguson | Seventh? | 38:52 |
Almetto Alexander | I started in seventh, and then transferred on up before I left out. I was still in the seventh grade. That's second war. | 38:53 |
Karen Ferguson | Second war? Okay. | 39:00 |
Almetto Alexander | And then I finished. | 39:04 |
Karen Ferguson | Do you remember what year you graduated from high school? | 39:07 |
Almetto Alexander | '43. | 39:10 |
Karen Ferguson | Was that to 12th grade, or was it 11th? | 39:16 |
Almetto Alexander | 12th grade. | 39:18 |
Karen Ferguson | 12th? | 39:18 |
Almetto Alexander | They put the 12th grade on, just made me longer just before I graduated. | 39:20 |
Karen Ferguson | Right, and then which beauty college did you go to? | 39:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Band Morgan. Morgan and Band. M-O-R-G-A-N. | 39:29 |
Karen Ferguson | Right. | 39:36 |
Almetto Alexander | Band, B-A-N-D. | 39:36 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and was that— | 39:39 |
Almetto Alexander | Beauty college. | 39:40 |
Karen Ferguson | Beauty college, okay. Do you remember when you went there? | 39:41 |
Almetto Alexander | I believe it was '47. | 39:51 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 39:52 |
Almetto Alexander | I think I finished in '48. | 39:53 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, and then you went to Johnson C. Smith? | 39:57 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 39:59 |
Karen Ferguson | And you got a bachelor in education? | 40:02 |
Almetto Alexander | Got a what? | 40:04 |
Karen Ferguson | Bachelor's in education? | 40:05 |
Almetto Alexander | Bachelor's, yeah. | 40:06 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Do you remember when you got that? | 40:06 |
Almetto Alexander | '57. | 40:10 |
Karen Ferguson | 1957. Okay. All right, now, could you give me— | 40:11 |
Almetto Alexander | I did further study at NYU. | 40:19 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, NYU? | 40:23 |
Almetto Alexander | At NYU. | 40:23 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 40:23 |
Almetto Alexander | And A&T college. | 40:25 |
Karen Ferguson | And what did you do at NYU? | 40:27 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, what did I do? I took two courses. | 40:31 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, so further enrichment? | 40:34 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 40:37 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 40:44 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 40:44 |
Karen Ferguson | And then A&T in Greensboro? | 40:44 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 40:45 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 40:55 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, now, could you give me your most important job, the most important jobs you've had in your life? | 40:55 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, I guess I would say teaching. | 41:06 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 41:08 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, there's something else I did I didn't tell you about, and that was I completed a class that focused on leadership at Johnson C. Smith. | 41:08 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and was that recently? | 41:21 |
Almetto Alexander | It was two years ago. I can go down there and look it and tell you. | 41:23 |
Karen Ferguson | No, I think that's all right. Okay. All right, so you were a teacher, and what schools were you a teacher? | 41:28 |
Almetto Alexander | Marie G. Davis Elementary School. | 41:40 |
Karen Ferguson | How do you spell that? | 41:45 |
Almetto Alexander | Marie, M-A-R-I-E. | 41:46 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 41:47 |
Almetto Alexander | G., and Davis. | 41:49 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. Elementary School? | 41:51 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 41:54 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 41:54 |
Almetto Alexander | Park Road. | 41:56 |
Karen Ferguson | Park Grove? | 42:02 |
Almetto Alexander | Park Road. P-A-R-K Road. | 42:03 |
Karen Ferguson | Oh, okay, [crosstalk 00:42:07]. | 42:06 |
Almetto Alexander | Elementary. That was the year that it was integrated, when I was transferred, and moved to there. | 42:07 |
Karen Ferguson | That was 1968? | 42:14 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah. | 42:14 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 42:14 |
Almetto Alexander | It sure was. | 42:16 |
Karen Ferguson | So how long did you work at Marie G. Davis? When did you start working there? | 42:18 |
Almetto Alexander | Until the integration. | 42:24 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 42:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 42:25 |
Karen Ferguson | So when did you start teaching? Around 1958? | 42:26 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 42:28 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 42:28 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 42:29 |
Karen Ferguson | All right. Park Road Elementary School? | 42:33 |
Almetto Alexander | It was really '57, because I got it still that same year that I graduated. | 42:34 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. All right. How long did you work at Park Road? | 42:39 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. How long did I work at Park Road? | 42:42 |
Almetto Alexander | Let me see. How can I figure it up? I retired from Nation's Ford in '53, December of '53, and I had worked there 6 years. Before. I worked there 6 years before, then I retired. | 42:50 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. So did you didn't work at any schools after Park Road? | 43:15 |
Almetto Alexander | Yeah, Nation's Ford, and that's where I retired. | 43:20 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, Nation's Ford? | 43:24 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 43:24 |
Karen Ferguson | N-A-T-I-O-N? | 43:25 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 43:27 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, Ford. | 43:27 |
Almetto Alexander | Elementary. | 43:29 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay, and you retired there in 1983? | 43:30 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm, December. December of '83. | 43:32 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 43:33 |
Karen Ferguson | Can you tell me what beauty shop you worked at? Because I have a friend on the research team who's very interested in beauty shops. | 43:47 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, really? | 43:57 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 43:57 |
Almetto Alexander | Oh, well, I worked at Ruby's Beauty Salon. | 44:00 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 44:07 |
Almetto Alexander | Ross Beauty Salon. | 44:08 |
Karen Ferguson | Mm-hmm. | 44:11 |
Almetto Alexander | Double Oaks Beauty Salon. | 44:12 |
Karen Ferguson | Double Oaks? | 44:15 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 44:16 |
Karen Ferguson | And this was all in the 1940s? | 44:20 |
Almetto Alexander | Yes. | 44:20 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 44:20 |
Almetto Alexander | Mm-hmm. | 44:20 |
Karen Ferguson | All right. | 44:31 |
Karen Ferguson | All right, now, have you ever received, and I know you have, have you ever received any awards, or honors, or held any offices that you'd like to list here? | 44:31 |
Almetto Alexander | Well, yes, I received—What awards? Yeah, I received several awards from the NAACP. | 44:42 |
Karen Ferguson | Okay. | 44:59 |
Almetto Alexander | Any ones in particular you'd like to tell me? | 45:03 |
Karen Ferguson | Wait just a minute, let me see if I can make this easier for you. | 45:11 |
Almetto Alexander | Okay, just let me get the microphone there for you. | 45:12 |
There is no transcript available for this part.
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