Interview with John B. Summers, February 15, 1984

Project: Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History Project

Interview Summary

John B. Summers (b. 1888) was born in Columbus, Ohio. The son of an AME Church minister in Columbus, Summers was raised by a prominent family in Ohio, before moving to Philadelphia in 1918 after being rejected for the draft. Summers was able to find work at Hog Island Shipyard thanks to family connections, which started his long career in politics and working with the labor organization movement. Summers would become one of the leading figures of politics in the African American community, although he mostly worked behind the scenes, and played a key role in their switch from Republican to Democrat.

Interview Accession

2014oh184_gn036

Interviewee Name

John B. Summers

Interviewer Name

Charles Hardy, III

Interview Date

1984-02-15

Interview Keyword

Al Smith African American newspapers. Coatesville Steel Works Columbus, Ohio Hog Island Shipyard Political corruption Presidential campaigns Labor unions--Organizing State legislature State Secretary Union organizers Gambling Prohibition Democratic Party (U.S.)

Interview LC Subject

African Americans--Southern States. Migration, Internal. African American churches African Americans--Social life and customs. Philadelphia (Pa.)--Social life and customs. African Americans--Politics and government. Philadelphia (Pa.)--Social conditions. Race discrimination. African Americans--Employment. United States--Race relations. African Americans--Social conditions. African Americans--Segregation

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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.

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

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.

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MLA: APA: Chicago:

Summers, John B. Interview by Charles Hardy, III. 15 Feb. 1984. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Summers, J.B. (1984, February 15). Interview by C. H. III. Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Summers, John B., interview by Charles Hardy, III. February 15, 1984, Goin' North: Tales of the Great Migration Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

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