Geraldine Hammond Oral History Interview

In this interview, Geraldine Hammond reflects on her experiences as a black woman in higher education. She compares her experiences at a historically black college, a racially segregated university, and an integrated university. Considering the race relations at her graduate school institution, Hammond remarks that it always varied depending on the people she interacted with and what day it was, but recalls having a mostly positive experience, despite being one of only a few African-American students on campus. Hammond fondly remembers her time living with her aunt and uncle in Portland, with whom she was very close, as well as meeting, marrying, and buying a house with her husband. Hammond recalls having few negative experiences with her neighbors, despite being Black and moving into a mostly white neighborhood.

Hammond then goes on to discuss her teaching career, starting with her experience being the youngest staff member in her first professional teaching position. She credits positive relationships and mentorship from other staff members as having helped her begin her career in education. Hammond then recounts her public educational television program, "Ms. Gerry and Friends." In this program, she would go on walks around the community and teach children and their parents how to appreciate their communities and the world around them. As part of this program, she also frequently made school visits. After this television program ended, Hammond earned her Master’s degree in Administration from the University of Oregon, where she also worked to build a more inclusive history of the school's education program.

From there, Hammond recounts her experience as the first African-American principal in Salem and discusses her experience with tokenism as well as the difficulties schools faced at the time surrounding school integration policies. She then goes on to discuss her experience developing an inclusive curriculum for the school district, including how the curriculum was conceived and developed, as well as specifics of the curriculum and how it was taught. She also fondly recalls how a school came to be named after her, and the celebrations put on by the students and staff for her birthday. Hammond goes on to discuss her social life, hobbies, and family. She finishes the interview by reflecting on her participation in the Civil Rights Movement, race relations in Oregon, and her work with the NAACP.

Geraldine Hammond was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1932. After completing her K-12 education in New Orleans, Hammond earned her undergraduate degree from Dillard University. In 1953, she moved to Portland to pursue a graduate degree in psychology from the University of Portland. During this time, she lived with her aunt and uncle. While a graduate student, Hammond met her husband, whom she married in 1960. Upon finishing her graduate studies, Hammond began a distinguished career in education. She started by teaching the second grade at Highland School. From there, she began hosting a public, educational children’s television program called "Ms. Gerry and Friends." Following this, Hammond spent two years at the University of Oregon earning an administrative credential, which allowed her to become Salem’s first African American principal. She later became the Coordinator of Multicultural Education, a role in which she developed a new diverse and inclusive curriculum for her school district. Her achievements were ultimately recognized when the school district she worked for named a newly built school after her, which continues to hold birthday celebrations for her every year.