noa_sohpcr_r-0165 r-0165 sohpcr noa yes Oral history interview with Jessie Streater, November 10, 2001 Streater, Jessie Copeland, Barbara Anne Mormon women--North Carolina--Durham African American women--North Carolina--Durham African American Mormons--Religious life--North Carolina--Durham Mormon women--Religious life--North Carolina--Durham Mormon Church--Customs and practices Race relations--Religious aspects Streater, Jessie Jessie Streater, an African American mother of three, converted to Mormonism in 1979, just one year after the church relaxed its ban on African Americans holding the priesthood, a position in the church that conveys certain privileges and responsibilities. Streater had been a seeker, visiting churches of various denominations before finding Mormonism, a religion that offered her the religious community that she desired despite its relatively recent embrace of full membership for African American men. In this interview, Streater shares some observations about the growing African American population in the church, as well some descriptions of Mormon practices and church organization. African Americans' greatest disadvantage is their relatively small number within the church, meaning that they often have to look outside Mormonism to find spouses. But overall, Streater has found only spiritual succor, and not discrimination, in her more than two decades with the church. Interviewers interested in race and religion, as well as some of the details of Mormon belief and practice, will find this interview useful. The Civil Rights Digital Library received support from a National Leadership Grant for Libraries awarded to the University of Georgia by the Institute of Museum and Library Services for the aggregation and enhancement of partner metadata. [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill. Southern Oral History Program University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library Oral histories of the American South (University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project)) 2008 Transcripts Sound recordings Oral histories http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/R-0165/menu.html Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 118.3 kilobytes, 135 megabytes. Mode of access: World Wide Web. System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player. MP3 format / ca. 135 MB, 01:14:10 Title from menu page (viewed on Nov. 19, 2008). Interview participants: Jessie Streater, interviewee; Barbara Copeland, interviewer. Duration: 01:14:10. This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South. Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers. Forms part of Oral histories of the American South collection. 2001-11-10 Durham (N.C.) Durham County (N.C.) 20090723 162214