- Collection:
- Oral histories of the American South (Georgia selections)
- Title:
- Oral history interview with William and Josephine Clement, June 19, 1986
- Creator:
- Clement, William A., 1912-
- Contributor to Resource:
- Weare, Walter B.
Weare, Juanita
Clement, Josephine
Southern Oral History Program - Date of Original:
- 1986-06-19
- Subject:
- North Carolina--Race relations
African Americans--Education--North Carolina
School integration--North Carolina--Durham
African American women civic leaders--North Carolina--Durham
African American executives--North Carolina--Durham
Durham (N.C.)--Race relations
African Americans--Civil rights--North Carolina--Durham
North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company
African American business enterprises--North Carolina--Durham
Atlanta (Ga.)--Race relations
Civil rights movements--Georgia--Atlanta
African Americans--Segregation--Southern States - People:
- Clement, Josephine
Clement, William A., 1912-2001 - Location:
- United States, Georgia, Fulton County, Atlanta, 33.749, -84.38798
United States, North Carolina, Durham County, Durham, 35.99403, -78.89862 - Medium:
- transcripts
sound recordings
oral histories (literary works) - Type:
- Sound
Text - Description:
- William and Josephine Clement were married in 1941 and first moved to Durham, North Carolina, during the 1940s. Both were born and raised in the South, had always been strong advocates for racial progress, and quickly became involved in community organizations, particularly in support of school integration. Josephine eventually was elected to the Durham City Board of Education in the early 1970s and became increasingly involved in local politics after that. In this interview, both Josephine and William discuss their family histories and cover a broad range of topics while doing so. Josephine speaks at great length about her experiences growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, during the 1920s and 1930s. She emphasizes the examples her parents set for her and her sisters. She explains her father's inclination towards radical politics, his efforts to challenge and break racial barriers, and the presence of strong African American woman role models. In addition, she describes her own education and her strong dedication to her family. William likewise describes his family background, but focuses more on his involvement with the Masons and his work with North Carolina Mutual. Throughout the interview, the Clements stress the importance of confidence and self-esteem for African Americans, as well as the importance of group solidarity in achieving progress for changing race relations.
Title from menu page (viewed on Oct. 29, 2008).
Interview participants: William Clement, interviewee; Josephine Clement, interviewee; Walter Weare, interviewer; Juanita Weare, interviewer.
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.
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:
- http://docsouth.unc.edu/sohp/C-0031/menu.html
- Language:
- eng
- Extent:
- Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 296 kilobytes, 348 megabytes.
MP3 format / ca. 348 MB, 03:10:11 - Contributing Institution:
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
- Rights:
-
