Oregon Black Pioneers Oral History Collection (OH 42)

This interview begins with Bertha Mae Johnson explaining that she moved to Eugene, Oregon with her husband from Atlanta, Georgia because he was offered work with the Southern Pacific Railroad. She adds that when she first moved to Eugene, there were…

This interview with Pauline Davidson begins with a brief discussion about how she first came to Eugene, Oregon, in which she explains that she moved when she was quite young. The interview turns to her experiences with racism in her younger years.…

The interview begins with a discussion of Jerry Thompson’s relationship with his adopted mother, Pearlie Mae Washington. He talks briefly about what she had told him about her childhood in the South, and how she moved to Oregon. He mentions that…

In this, the second of three interviews, Mattie Reynolds describes how she and her family first moved to Oregon as well as the careers that were available to Black Oregonians at the time. She explains that she and her family first moved to Oregon…

In this, the first of three interviews, Mattie Reynolds describes the interactions between the white and Black communities in Eugene during her lifetime. She also describes the experiences her children had in school, including the racist treatment…