VIDEO
Gwen Lawe Oral History Interview- Time Stamps
1) Sorority on campus
a) Bringing new sorority had to be with the guideline of panels and councils
b) Her sorority’s requirements were differed from campus’s
c) “Our sorority standards were really dropped because of being here” she said
2) Education
a) From 1968-1971 studied bachelor’s in business education, 1973 master’s in guidance
b) Most blacks not attended A&M-Commerce because of segregation
c) They went to Texas College in Prairie View
3) Why Texas A&M?
a) Brother came here
b) Only ½ miles from home
c) Father could afford
4) Concern about segregation?
a) No, because her brother was educated
5) Schools
a) 1965 St. Paul High school was closed
b) 1966 went to Rains High School in home town Emory
c) 8 African Americans graduated in 1966
d) Some went for school in Trinity Valley
e) College admission mostly to Prairie View
6) Recruiter
a) From Henderson County
b) Come to recruit athletic students
c) Visit her father, “ my dad was sold” she said
7) College
a) Students from Rains went to college in Henderson
b) Few females student went there, including her
8) St. Paul School
a) Facilities were very bad, but teachers were not
9) High point in education
a) Left school where her father was the principal
b) Sand Flat School in Emory
10) Classes
a) Homemaking learned a lot of things
b) Membership in the New Homemaking of America
c) Attended regional events in Prairie View, and state event in Austin
11) Learn in school operation
a) Know from her father’s career
b) Attended district and state meetings in Prairie View and Austin
12) Did that for 3 years when was in Sand Flats and St. Paul
13) Interest changed
a) By business teacher at Rains HS
b) Taught her the course in short hand
c) Decided to study business
14) Family foundation
a) “kids don’t want to be what parents are” she said.
b) But she chose to study business education
c) Teacher was the last option she wanted to be
d) Desegregation
i) First year of desegregation was at Rains HS
ii) Then went to Henderson county
15) Desegregation in ETSU
a) 1971
i) 1971 graduated ET
ii) 1971 was “the first year they had totally desegregated in Dallas”
b) Being teacher
i) At Hill Press High School
ii) called “the most elite high school”
16) Press Hill HS
a) Big change of a teacher from Emory TX to Dallas
b) Press Hill HS was the wealthy
c) Difference in desegregation, “But the poorest students were also bused to Hill Press” she said
17) Tension and resistance
a) A lot in the first year
b) Press Hill had both very wealthy and poor students
c) Change in rules
i) Open campus rule
ii) Before – school was open campus, students can go home for lunch, they had cars
iii) After – lunch was closed, Anglo students resistance
18) Museum
a) Starting museum because of number of things
b) Gwen and Ted (her husband) have been collectors
i) Books written by African American writers
ii) Artworks
19) Summer vacation
a) Usually drive to visit different parts of the country
b) Have been doing for the past 15 years
c) 1999 visited Grand Canyon and many museums along the way
20) Vacation
a) Visited grand kids in Washington DC and Louisiana
b) Visited African American museums along the way
i) Alabama
ii) Mississippi
iii) Smithsonian
21) The Black Cultural Center
a) In Knoxville, Tennessee
b) Stopped on the way back
c) Got the idea of starting up the museum at home
d) A C McMillan African American Museum , in hometown Emory
i) In memorial of her father
ii) The last African American principal in school in Emory
22) A C McMillan African American Museum
a) Shorthanded the ideas along the way back to TX
b) Old teachers who got involved
i) Ms. Chifley – the high school teacher
ii) Ms. People – the teacher who worked for her father
iii) They wanted to be the volunteers
c) Timeline
i) Christmas holiday – looked for the place
ii) January –had the museum
iii) Within 3 months
23) Timeline
i) February - had building, pavement, carpet, display, and open
ii) May – grand opening
(1) First week of May
(2) Celebration by the City of Emory
24) Most proud about the museum
i) Is in the home town
ii) In recognition of her father
iii) Represent the community
25) Key success is collaboration and community involvement
a) Emory is a small town
b) Needs to get community to have participation
c) Museum in Dallas
i) She volunteers in African American Museum
ii) For whole day, might see 5-6 people
iii) City museum visit is part of school activities
26) Museum in Emory
a) Visitors are people who never been to museum
b) Most kids and adult in Emory never been visited museum
27) Field trip visit
a) School kids from elementary school, but we don’t get a lot
b) M.H. Jarmar group
(1) High school kids
(2) Interestingly respond to the museum
(3) They are knowledgable, interested, gained rewarding experiences
28) African American Museum in the areas
a) This is the o nly one , no others
b) In Plano, it used to try setting up but didn't work out
29) Museum set up
a) Over 8 years after setup, many people ask on how to set up museum
b) How to get fund
c) Her museum had no benefactors or artistic foundation to give funding
30) Bus to St. Paul School
a) Get on 7:15-7:30
b) Emory was at the end, needed to pick up first
31) Route
a) Emory-Point-Lone Oak-Campbell-School
b) Arrive 8:30
32) When bus broke down
a) Sometimes late until noon
b) Didn’t feel bad, but rather fun
33) Broke down in the afternoon
a) Might be home at night
b) Parent didn’t know how to reach kids because of no cellphone/radio on the bus
34) Bus driver had to catch a ride for a place with telephone
a) Children just had fun waiting
b) Playing cards, no gambling
35) Education foundation
a) Ready for college since she was in 8th grade
b) Typing
i) Taught by dad
ii) Teacher in 1st -3rd grade
36) Typing
a) High school could type well
b) Helped doing reports in the school office
c) Didn’t go to class sometimes
37) Cold day
a) Classroom too cold, she preferred helping in the office where was warmer
b) If school was too cold?
i) Guys – went to the shop building
ii) Girls – went to home making building
38) Why typing so early?
a) Dad didn’t have a secretary
b) By the time in HS, she helped dad’s works
39) Handwriting
a) She had very nice handwriting since was in elementary school
b) Write for school works
i) diploma at the end of the years
ii) award certificate
40) business class
a) Not taught at St. Paul
b) Had only typing class
i) Held in the library
ii) 6 typewriters
iii) 20 students in the class
iv) More the study hall than typing class
41) English class
a) She liked English/literature class
b) Taught diagram sentences
c) Embarrassing to be called
i) didn’t like to be picked/called on
ii) Kind of rebel
iii) Didn’t like to do that
iv) Acted like she didn’t know how to do that
42) After school event
a) Basketball game
b) Taking the bus home
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1) Sorority on campus
a) Bringing new sorority had to be with the guideline of panels and councils
b) Her sorority’s requirements were differed from campus’s
c) “Our sorority standards were really dropped because of being here” she said
2) Education
a) From 1968-1971 studied bachelor’s in business education, 1973 master’s in guidance
b) Most blacks not attended A&M-Commerce because of segregation
c) They went to Texas College in Prairie View
3) Why Texas A&M?
a) Brother came here
b) Only ½ miles from home
c) Father could afford
4) Concern about segregation?
a) No, because her brother was educated
5) Schools
a) 1965 St. Paul High school was closed
b) 1966 went to Rains High School in home town Emory
c) 8 African Americans graduated in 1966
d) Some went for school in Trinity Valley
e) College admission mostly to Prairie View
6) Recruiter
a) From Henderson County
b) Come to recruit athletic students
c) Visit her father, “my dad was sold” she said
7) College
a) Students from Rains went to college in Henderson
b) Few females student went there, including her
8) St. Paul School
a) Facilities was very bad, but teacher were not
9) High point in education
a) Left school where her father was the principal
b) Sand Flat School in Emory
10) Classes
a) Homemaking learned a lot of things
b) Membership in the Homemaking of America
c) Attended regional events in Prairie View, and state event in Austin
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