Interview with <hi rend="bold">Baril Florentine</hi>

Interview with <hi rend="bold">Baril Florentine</hi> [electronic resource] Creation of machine-readable version and conversion to TEI-conformant markup: 2018 Preservation and Digitization at Washington University Libraries bar.1992.0003 Washington University in St. Louis Washington University Libraries Special Collections and Archives, Film and Media Archive St. Louis, Missouri

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2018 Recording by Blackside, Inc. Production Team

February 23, 1992 Interview with <hi rend="bold">Baril Florentine</hi> Interviewer: Interviewee Baril Florentine Interview gathered as part of Malcolm X. This interview recorded as formal filmed interview.

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Library of Congress Subject Headings, 21st edition, 1998 2018 English created TEI transcript Interview with Baril Florentine Interviewer: Interview Date: February 23, 1992 Camera Rolls: Sound Rolls: Interview gathered as part of Malcolm X. Produced by Blackside, Inc. Housed at the Washington University Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection. Editorial Notes:

Preferred citation: Interview with Baril Florentine, conducted by Blackside, Inc. on February 23, 1992, for Malcolm X. Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection.

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29 DATE 02/23/92 Box #27 AH 6079-7017

THIS IS SOUND ROLL 27 -- BLACKSIDE’S PRODUCTION OF MALCOLM X -- CAMERA ROLL

ONE -- TWO -- THREE FOUR —-— THIS IS SOUND ROLL 29 —- CAMERA ROLL 59 —- INTERVIEW WITH --

[MISC]

SPEEDING -- MARK -- THIS IS TAKE ONE ...

TK1

Q: OK tell me about ... look at me and tell me about Pearly Lansing and what you remember it being like?

AH 6105 BARIL:

Well [6106 coming to the Lansing in the ni- , early 1930s although I was used to the lar- , much larger city of Detroit uh, Lansing had a certain aura ... a certain glamor -- it was just ... I don't know how to describe it other than nice ... it seemed quiet and uh ... or ... quiet although it had a certain vitality to it probably because it was a AH 6150 capital setting um, it was um uh .. . clean/--

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X"2 BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29

it was pretty ...uh, it had sort of a ... a AH 6167 calm peaceful pace to it.6172].. um ... and as I said, a certain glamor that even the big city of Detroit did not have ...

Q: Did it feel um ...

[MISC]

MARK -- TAKE TWO --

TK2

Q: OK, uh, tell me about uh ... being ... you're young at that age in ... in the 1930s and you're coming to Lansing from the ... what ...what do you see in terms of opportunities? What does Lansing have to offer in terms of employing that growth ... those kinds of things for you?

AH 6221 BARIL:

Uh, it seemed to me that uh that it was a good place where I consider ...

Q: Let me start you again because I want you to say Lansing that ... Lansing was a good place it seemed to me ...

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X"3 BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29 AH 6241 BARIL:

Uh,[[6242 Lansing seemed to be a good place in the early 1930s uh probably because the capital was here uh um ... in East Lansing there was the university and uh ... my husband was with the state police and um ... that also seemed quite glamorous ... um, it seemed although a sort of a peaceful city, it did seem to have vitality and uh ... and opportunity um there did not seem to me at 6298 the time to be uh to have ... to it having the pall of the Depression over it.6310]] Now I'm sure that there’re ... there were pockets of uh concern and stress uh ... but to me they weren't apparent ... maybe I was too young to realize uh, those negative things but that AH 6337 was the impression that I held at the time.

Q: OK, let's cut for a second. Let me ask you a question -- when we were here before you had said ...

MARK IT -- TAKE THREE

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" 4 BARIL.DOC -- MR8. BARIL CR 59 BR29 AH 6354 TK3

Q: OK, tell me about Lansing and uh ... uh, whether you see the black African ... the Black community in Africa in Lansing during that time?

Q: Whether you see the black community in Lansing at that time ... how ...

[MISC] TK 4

TAKE FOUR

Q: In your ... in your um ... world of Lansing ... did you see the black community very much?

6391 BARIL:

No, I ... I was totally unaware of the black community at that time. Um, I regret saying that but uh in my memory it just seems that they were not that visible.

Q: You're saying that you didn't see them on the streets?

AH 6421 BARIL:

No ...

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" 5 BARIL.DOC -- MR8. BARIL CR 59 SRZ9

Q: Can you tell me the whole thing that you said before ...you didn't see ’em on the streets ... you didn't see ’em in ... in my ... my world ... in my time I regret that ...

AH 6431 BARIL:

In my time uh I just don't think that there were many in the stores, in ... on the street or in the theatres or restaurants. Um ...

Q: Let me ... let me ask you something ... put both of yours ... answers together so we know what we're talking about ... um when you say ... when they're separated we don't know what we're talking about ’cause you don't 6468 hear my questions. So put both of your answers together for me OK. And you said the first time that when I was young ... when ... that side of Lansing, I did not see the black community. Um ... um I regret but they were not around.

AH 6493 BARIL:

Uh, how should I start now ... when I ....

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" 6 BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29

Q: Do you ... do you remember seeing the black community in Lansing during that time?

AH 6502 BARIL:

Uh ...[6501uh... [I was not aware of the black community in Lansing uh in the early 30s when I would come here before I was married to visit ... uh there just did not seem to be uh ... many on the streets or in the theatres in the ... uh ... in the restaurants or in the shops uh, now maybe I was uh unaware of them but there could not 6543 have been too many circulating or I am sure I would have been aware of them.6553]]

Q: OK, now tell um about your husband and his encounter with um Earl Little? Uh, your husband was as a ... a state trooper. He was newly on the force ... this was his first fatality. Talk to me about that ... give me a ... paint scene of what happened that night as you remember it?

AH 6580 BARIL:

Uh ... very ... [6582very often [6584in my husband's life, he referred to the time when

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" 7 BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29

he uh ... had his experienced his first fatality and it was in uh Lansing uh several AH 6604 months after he had joined the state police6608]] now he was from a small town and had never experienced anything violent or traumatic and uh ... his first fatality was a very gory very traumatic one and he often referred to it because it had made such an impression on him. He uh uh ..[[6644 the way he told it was that he had been called uh to an accident where a man had been uh ... had been injured by a street car in Lansing and um ... uh ... when he arrived uh his impression was that 6673 the man had been cut in two. Now he was not of course exactly but the accident was quite violent from having been run over by a street car and um he took care of it he ... he made arrangements to get the gentleman to ... he referred to him as a black minister. He had no idea who he was. Uh, but he also had a other extreme um experience of having to uh ... to go to the home of uh the accident victim and break the terrible news to his AH 6737 wife and take her to the hospital to see her husband. Unfortunately her husband had died

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X" 8 BARIL.DOC -- MR8. BARIL CR 59 BR29 AH 6750

before she reached ... before she reached him.]] 6757

Q: OK, now um later in life he realized who this person was -- talk to me about that?

AH 6765 BARIL:

Uh, he had no idea who uh the gentleman was until he read an article in this ...

Q: I'm gone start you over again ... start over with my husband knew so I know you're talking about ... my husband had no idea who ...

BARIL:

Oh, uh [[6789 my husband had no idea who the victim was until he read an article in AH 6798 the Saturday Evening Post by ... by ... by Malcolm X referring to his father's death and then he ... he knew that it was Malcolm X's father who had been uh the victim of his first fatality.]]6826

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X“ 9 BARIL.DOC -- HRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29

Q: OK, um ... he ... he ... he um ... Malcolm reported that it was ... it was uh ... suspicious origin ...

AH 6839 BARIL:

Yes . . .

Q: Talk to me about that and what is your ... your ...

BARIL:

Mmmhm um, now uh [6851when Mr. Little uh had his accident he was still conscious enough to tell my husband what had happened 6864 about his slipping from the street car as he was about to uh to board it ... um but when ... when he read Mal—, Malcolm X's account in the Saturday Evening Post uh he realized that it was a erroneous description of the death. And so he wrote to the Saturday Evening Post with the ... first he left off his report that was made at the time and then he wrote AH 6914 the Saturday Evening Post to uh tell them the correct version. ]]6923

BLACKSIDE -- "MALCOLM X"10 BARIL.DOC -- MRS. BARIL CR 59 SR29

Q: OK, um ... uh ... this ... this incident lived with your husband for a while didn't it?

AH 6938 BARIL:

Yes. In fact, for some reason it 6946 lived with him all his life. [6946 He felt it was very ... very traumatic, very gory um ... he had a lot of sympathy uh for the victim and for his wife and family.] 6966

Q: Did he ever ta-, talk to you about going to the house and that experience of having to tell the family?

6974 BARIL:

Uh, yes he did. [6978It was quite painful for him to go to the home and ... he had had no experience of any kind of the time. And he ... he felt that it was uh ...he hated to be the ... the messenger of such bad news. AH 7004 And he had a lot of sympathy for the children.]] 7010

Q: OK, let's cut ... I wonder if there's any thing else. Check my (unintel and make sure ...

L# AH 7017