Material is free to use for research purposes only. If researcher intends to use transcripts for publication, please contact Washington University’s Film and Media Archive for permission to republish. Please use preferred citation given in the transcript.
© Copyright Washington University Libraries 2016
This collection consists of 115 transcriptions of selected interviews filmed by Blackside, Inc. for the Eyes on the Prize: American's Civil Rights Years 1954-1965 documentary series that premiered January 21, 1987 on PBS. The transcripts are retrospective eye-witness accounts of events that took place during the American Civil Rights Movement from 1954 to 1965. Additional transcripts will be added to the collection as they are prepared.
Washington University Film and Media Archives supervised the editing of transcriptions to correct transcriber errors which included spelling of names, places, etc. using Microsoft Word; however grammatical errors made by speaker were left alone. Transcriptions were then cross-checked by listening to the interview for accuracy and completeness.
Digital Library Services performed additional regularization and spelling correction (files should undergo separate spell check process).
Although these files represent transcriptions of speech, they have been encoded with the Tag Set for Drama, instead of Transcriptions of Speech.
The rationale for this decision was that the more formal character of the interview had a structure closer to the drama than the speech tag set, and for ease of delivery of XML.
Preferred citation:
Interview with Mrs. Folgate, conducted by Blackside, Inc. on 1979, for Eyes on the Prize: America's Civil Rights Years (1954-1965). Washington University Libraries, Film and Media Archive, Henry Hampton Collection.
These transcripts contain material that did not appear in the final program. Only text appearing in bold italics was used in the final version of Eyes on the Prize.
I GUESS—
—WHAT I LIKED TO KNOW FOR THE, FOR CHILDREN WHO DON’T KNOW ANYTHING, FOR CHILDREN WHO DON’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT BUS SEGREGATION WAS LIKE. NOT SO MUCH THE PROCESS, BUT WHAT DID YOU FEEL LIKE HAVING TO PAY AT THE FRONT AND THEN GO OUT AND GO TO THE BACK? WHAT DID YOU FEEL LIKE?
Well, I, I never did feel comfortable about it, because we were paying our fair share just like anybody else and we’d pay our fare and go back and sit down and if some white person would get on they’d tell you to get up and go on back to the back, but you had to get up.
THAT’S RIGHT. WERE THE BUS DRIVERS COURTEOUS TO YOU?
No. Just sometime they was and sometime they wasn’t. Most time they were haughty.
DO YOU REMEMBER ANY PARTICULAR INCIDENT, FOR YOU THAT, THAT REALLY STANDS OUT IN YOUR MIND THAT YOU REALLY FELT MAD.
Well, yes.
I SEE. AND HOW DID YOU FIND OUT ABOUT THE BUS BOYCOTT?
Well,
AND WHEN YOU HEARD ABOUT IT DID YOU THINK THAT BLACK FOLKS WOULD REALLY STAY TOGETHER TO DO IT?
No, I didn’t at that time. I didn’t think they would stick together like they did.
AND SO, IT, IT SURPRISED YOU THEN?
It did, yeah.
WHY DID—WHY DO YOU THINK THEY DID STICK TOGETHER?
Well, they wanted a change. They bring themselves together, because they were tired of standing up in the bus. Pay their fare and stand up.
DO YOU REMEMBER HEARING ABOUT ANY OTHER REAL INCIDENTS ON THE BUSES?
Well, during the,
WHAT DID YOU FRIENDS THINK ABOUT THE BOYCOTT? I MEAN, DID THEY—DID YOU ALL TALK ABOUT IT?
Oh yeah we talked about it. We had club meetings and everything. And everybody was willing to stick together.
WERE YOU AT THAT FIRST MONDAY MASS MEETING?
Yes, I was.
CAN YOU DESCRIBE WHAT IT WAS LIKE?
Oh, it was so many people here in and outside. And when they raised the offering that night people on the outside just said, take my money. I wants [sic] to pay. I wants to be a part of this. And I don’t know, I, I believe it was round three or four thousand people here or more.
HOW DID YOU FIT EVERYBODY INTO THE CHURCH?
Not all could get in the church. Somes [sic] were on the outside and sometime it would be as many on the outside as there was in the church.
DO YOU REMEMBER WHAT IT WAS LIKE WHEN KING, WHEN DR. KING FIRST SPOKE?
Yes. Everybody—it was a—just thrilled to death. And it looked like to me they were just waiting for something good to happen. And—which it did.
PERFECT. AND DID YOU KNOW WHEN YOU CAME INTO THAT MASS MEETING THAT EVERYBODY WOULD APPROVE OF THE BOYCOTT WHEN, WHEN HE TOOK THE VOTE?
Well, no. We, we didn’t know, then. We were just waiting to see, what would happen.
AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE THAT MONDAY WHEN YOU ALL WALKED THAT FIRST DAY?
Well, it was, I think, it was raining. I believe it was raining that day, but if it wasn’t raining that particular day it did rain and everybody seemed to be happy. Nobody grumbling.
DID YOU HAVE TO WALK THAT FIRST DAY YOURSELF?
Well, no I didn’t walk the first day myself. Because—but I did walk. But I didn’t walk the first day.
I SEE. WAS IT HARD FOR YOU WALKING ALL THAT WHOLE YEAR?
Well, no not too hard, because we had made up in our mind to try to stick together and accomplish something.
AND WHY—WHAT MADE PEOPLE STICK TOGETHER SO MUCH? I MEAN, WHAT WAS IT THAT DID THAT FOR THEM?
Well, they are—as I said, they wanted to better their condition. And we go to the banks
AND WHAT WAS IT LIKE WHEN VICTORY CAME? WHEN YOU FOUND OUT THAT THE SUPREME COURT HAD RULED AND YOU—
Oh, everybody was just happy. They were in Court that morning. And the white people began to whisper among themselves and—so when they came back and announced it. Everybody was happy.
DID YOU HAVE A MEETING AFTER THAT AT THE CHURCH?
Yeah, we has—had a meeting every week. And so, the way they know where the meetings was going to be we had a radio announcer, well he would say, there’s going to be a meeting at such-and-such a church tonight. Everybody knew what he was talking about and they would be there. They didn’t have to say for what—
—purpose, but they would be there cause they knew.
AND—
OK.
THAT’S VERY GOOD. THIS IS VERY—