Interview with Olive Burroughs, June 30, 1999

Interview Summary

Burroughs discusses growing up during the transition years as Owensboro became more integrated. She remembers sitting at a store lunch counter and being served even though blacks were not allowed to sit there. She also recalls attending a white school in the sixth grade and having to walk a long way to get there. She did encounter some racism at the school but felt that this was due primarily to the fact that the effort to integrate the schools was a new idea and most of her white classmates were not ready for it. Burroughs believes that blacks lost their sense of community due to integration. She feels that black students had more of a support system in the all-black schools than they had when the schools were integrated.

Burroughs also discusses her work during voter registration drives for Richard Brown. This political work got her involved in local politics. She is currently a city commissioner.

One problem that Burroughs sees in the black community today is the lack of a strong agenda. She believes that there aren't enough local black professionals to support a strong and vital black community. Many talented young African Americans leave Owensboro for better jobs in Atlanta or Louisville.

Interview Keyword

Black community African American community Politics and government Education

Interview LC Subject

Integration Owensboro (Ky.) Race relations Racism Segregation African Americans

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Interview Usage

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