Interviews

The following interviews were conducted between 2008 and 2016 with the former students of Marion County School.

Thirty-six years later, Olson and a team contacted the superintendent of Marion County schools, Toxie Abram, who was also a member of the class of ‘72. Given a cross-section of photographs from the collection, Abram recognized many of the students as his classmates, identifying at least nineteen of these former students were still living in Columbia, Mississippi.

With some luck, they arranged interviews and re-photographed the very same students. The interviews focused on their life stories, including the recollection of experiences during the integration period, its impact on their subsequent lives, and how they viewed growing up in Mississippi.

Featured Interviews

Interview Catalog

Annie Lee Taylor.

Archie Brown.

Aundra Richards.

Bobby Taylor.

Channie Patton.

Charles Ford.

Chrystelle Magee.

Claudine Waller.

Clyde Turner.

Darthy Patton.

Deloris Johnson.

Denise Whalum.

Doris Abram.

Dorothy Brown.

Eddie May Jefferson.

Eddie Jefferson.

Ida May Johnson.

Irene Ford.

Josephine Irvin.

Lavida May.

Leneatha Patton.

Maggie Pearl Haynes.

Mora Howard.

Norma Peral Sartin.

Queen Ester.

Randy Bias.

Samuel Whalum.