Interview with Verna B. Clark, September 23, 1986

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.

Interview Keyword

African Americans--Education. African Americans--Employment. African Americans--Genealogy. African Americans--Religion. African Americans--Social conditions. Family histories. Integration Race relations--Kentucky Slavery--United States.

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Education (Higher) Clark, Verna B. Clark, Verna B.--Interviews Teachers--Kentucky

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.