Interview with Sylvia Harris, November 29, 2021
Project: 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (Kentucky) Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Sylvia Jones Harris is the daughter of William Augustus Jones Sr., the longtime pastor of historic Pleasant Green Baptist Church in Lexington, Kentucky and a prominent civil rights leader in Central Kentucky. As such, she, along with her immediate and extended family served on the front lines of the movement. Harris attended the 1964 March on Frankfort as a teenager and rode one of four buses from her father's church. She spoke of her multiple arrests on behalf of the movement, as well as the various civil rights leaders who visited her home such as James Farmer and Fred Shuttlesworth. She also noted that her father was the college roommate of "Daddy King," Martin Luther King Jr.'s father. Harris was a soprano singer and attended the University of Kentucky on a music scholarship. Harris considers the role of protests and young people in attaining equality. Harris then articulates the impact of desegregation on her life as a teenager in the 1960s. Harris concludes the interview with a reflection on her recent work in activism, including opposing the Iraq War alongside her husband, who preached against the war in his sermons.Interview Accession
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Interview LC Subject
Civil rights Civil rights movement Civil rights demonstrations Black people African Americans Frankfort (Ky.) Franklin County (Ky.) Lexington (Ky.) Fayette County (Ky.) Mothers Fathers Brothers Sisters High schools Lexington Transit Corporation (Lexington, Ky.) Bryan Station (Ky.) University of Kentucky Choirs (Music) Singers Social justice Equality Black Lives Matter movement Segregation Atlanta (Ga.) Iraq War, 2003-2011 Music teachers Fisk University TeenagersInterview Rights
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Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.Restriction
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Harris, Sylvia Interview by Le Datta Denise Grimes. 29 Nov. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Harris, S. (2021, November 29). Interview by L. D. D Grimes. 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (Kentucky) Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Harris, Sylvia, interview by Le Datta Denise Grimes. November 29, 2021, 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (Kentucky) Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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