Oral History Interview with Viola Turner, April 15, 1979. Interview C-0015. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Audio with Transcript
Listen Online with Text Transcript
(Requires QuickTime and JavaScript)
Transcript Only (88 p.)
HTML file
XML/TEI source file
Download Complete Audio File (MP3 format / ca. 424 MB, 03:52:00)
MP3
Abstract
In this part of an extended interview, Viola Turner, treasurer of North Carolina Mutual Insurance, reflects on her childhood in Macon, Georgia. Born on February 17, 1900, Turner was the only child of her African American teenage parents. Her remembrances are of those of a joyous childhood in which her mother encouraged her to excel in school. In her vivid depictions of Macon, Georgia, Turner describes a town in which segregation was not acutely visible. She was largely unaware of racial discrimination during her childhood. Nevertheless, she discusses at length her perceptions of skin color and the ways in which some of her lighter-toned African American friends were often treated differently than those with darker skin. Educated at the American Missionary Association schools and Morris Brown, Turner's first job was as an administrative assistant at Tuskegee Institute in Alabama in the summer of 1920. Shortly thereafter she took a job working for the Superintendent of Negro Education for the State of Mississippi, which she held for six months before going to work for the new branch of North Carolina Mutual that opened in Oklahoma City in 1920. Turner eventually settled in Durham, North Carolina. The latter portion of this interview focuses on her descriptions of entertainment and race relations. Specifically, Turner describes her interaction with various black performers and her experiences attending both black and white theaters in Durham. In addition, she explains her friendship with Eula Perry—who could easily "pass" for white—and the reactions their friendship elicited from various observers.
Excerpts
Upbringing and family values in the Jim Crow South
Elite African American society in Atlanta
The role of skin tone in establishing racial identities and hierarchies
A segregated community in the South
Growing awareness of racial discrimination
White community reaction to crime commited by an African American woman
Positive reaction to desegregation
African American reaction to minstrelsy
Description of interaction with George Washington Carver at Tuskegee
Transgressing racial boundaries in a segregated hotel
Description of the African American-owned Wonderland Theatre in Durham, North Carolina
Challenging Jim Crow segregation and perceptions of race
Contrasting racial boundaries in the North and in the South
Learn More
Finding aid to the Southern Oral History Program Collection
Database of all Southern Oral History Program Collection interviews
Subjects
African Americans--North Carolina--Durham--Social life and customs
African American insurance agents--North Carolina
The Southern Oral History Program transcripts presented here on
Documenting the American South undergo an editorial process to remove
transcription errors. Texts may differ from the original transcripts
held by the Southern Historical Collection.
Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this title.