Interview with Verna B. Clark, September 23, 1986
Project: Black People in Lexington Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Mrs. Clark's parents and grandparents were all born in Kentucky. Her grandfather was a Native American raised by African American slaves, and she recalls family stories of slavery including dress, treatment and misuse, religious observations, classification system based upon shade of skin color, and the white slave owner who was her great, great grandfather. Her parents were farmers who owned their own land and Mrs. Clark reminisces about her close, tight knit neighborhood and her religious upbringing.Mrs. Clark graduated from Kentucky State and taught in Montgomery County for a year before her marriage. She recalls the teaching conditions at Grace Lee and Spruce Schools, discusses the achievements and education of her children, and recalls the death of her husband, a carpenter and brick layer. Mrs. Clark remembers the community in which she and her husband raised their children including the neighbors, white and Black, who helped each other, as well as the interaction within the community and attendance at each others' churches. She wonders if integration has helped or hindered the African American community, and discusses the changes in social conditions and their impact upon the community.
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Clark, Verna B. Interview by Emily Parker. 23 Sep. 1986. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Clark, V.B. (1986, September 23). Interview by E. Parker. Black People in Lexington Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Clark, Verna B., interview by Emily Parker. September 23, 1986, Black People in Lexington Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7pk06x0m2p