- Collection:
- African American Oral History Collection
- Title:
- Oral history interview with Murray Atkins Walls and John Walls
- Creator:
- Walls, Murray Atkins, 1899-1993
Cox, Dwayne, 1950- - Contributor to Resource:
- Walls, John H., 1889-1983
- Publisher:
- Audiocassette tape number 498 and 499, African American Oral History Collection, Oral History Center, University of Louisville Archives and Records Center.
- Date of Original:
- 1977-07-27
- Subject:
- African Americans--Kentucky--Louisville
Race relations
Louisville (Ky.)--Race relations--History--20th century
Race discrimination--Kentucky--Louisville
Civil rights demonstrations--Kentucky--Louisville
Civil rights--Kentucky--Louisville
African Americans--Civil rights--Kentucky--Louisville
Kaufman's Department Store (Louisville, Ky.)--Employees
Kaufman's Department Store (Louisville, Ky.)--Employees--Training of
Discrimination in employment--Kentucky--Louisville
Louisville Free Public Library
African Americans and libraries--Kentucky--Louisville
Girl Scouts
Libraries--Kentucky--Louisville
Segregation--Kentucky--Louisville
African Americans--Segregation--Kentucky--Louisville
African Americans--Social conditions
Mayors--Kentucky--Louisville
Discrimination in education--Kentucky--Louisville
African Americans--Education--Kentucky--Louisville
Discrimination in housing--Kentucky--Louisville
Discriminaiton in public accommodations--Kentucky--Louisville
Civil rights movements--Kentucky--Louisville
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
African Americans--Mississippi--Crimes against
Picketting--Kentucky--Louisville
Direct action--Kentucky--Louisville
Newspapers--Kentucky--Louisville
African American newspapers--Kentucky--Louisville - People:
- Schacter, Harry W.
Rauch, Joseph, 1880-1957
Brigham, Harold F. (Harold Frederick), 1897-1971
Wyatt, Wilson W. (Wilson Watkins), 1905-1996
Walls, Murray Atkins, 1899-1993
Walls, John H., 1889-1983 - Location:
- United States, Indiana, Marion County, 39.78171, -86.13847
United States, Indiana, Marion County, Indianapolis, 39.76838, -86.15804
United States, Kentucky, Jefferson County, Louisville, 38.25424, -85.75941 - Medium:
- transcripts
sound recordings
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Sound
Text - Description:
- Oral history interview with Murray Atkins Walls and John Walls, conducted July 27, 1977 by Dwayne Cox. Most of the interview focuses on Murray Atkins Walls, although her husband, John Walls, is also an active participant. They were both involved in civil rights activities in Louisville and so share many experiences. Mrs. Walls discusses her childhood and youth in Indiana and compares her experiences in Louisville and Indianapolis. She describes her work in Kaufman's Department store's personnel department during World War II, and particularly focuses on Mr. Harry Schacter, the head of Kaufman-Strauss department store. She also gives an account of the integration of Girl Scouting in Louisville, which began in approximately 1957, following the Brown decision. The Walls discuss their efforts to integrate the Louisville Free Public Library, which had maintained separate branches for whites and African Americans. They discuss meeting with the library board of trustees and their interactions with the head of the library, Mr. Brigham, as well as the attitudes of Mayor Wilson Wyatt, who appointed the first African American to the library board. They also discuss the attitudes expressed in the Courier-Journal. They discuss black-owned newspapers and the barriers that African Americans faced in education and in housing. The Walls discuss the integration of dining areas and department stores, as well as residential areas. They discuss differences in attitudes between their generation, which they saw as working patiently toward improving their situation, and the generation of youth working for civil rights in the 1960s and 1970s. They discuss the dangers faced by African Americans in Mississippi in the 1930s and 1940s. The Walls discuss Dr. Walls' involvement in picketing with the NAACP, and the impact that she and Dr. Walls had on the lives of young people.
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. - Metadata URL:
- https://ohc.library.louisville.edu/interviews/record.php?q=Walls%2C%20Murray
- Language:
- eng
- Rights Holder:
- To inquire about reproductions, permissions, or for information about prices see: http://library.louisville.edu/uarc/digicollorder.html; please cite the Interview Number when ordering.
- Extent:
- application/pdf; audio/mp3
50 p.; 02:00:00 - Original Collection:
- African American Community Interviews Collection (William F. Ekstrom Library. University Archives and Records Center)
- Contributing Institution:
- University of Louisville. Libraries. Archives and Special Collections
- Rights:
-
