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The Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society"The connection to yesterday" |
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The Southwest Michigan Black Heritage Society"The connection to yesterday" |
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| Bertha Morgan Bertha Morgan recently retired from the Kalamazoo Public Schools where she began teaching at Loy Norrix in 1969 as the only African American on staff. Bertha discusses career and life lessons she learned growing up as a black woman. |
Maylene Campbell Maylene Campbell was hired as the first black woman to work at Checker Motors in 1967. Maylene discusses what it was like growing up in the rural south and her expectations and the reality of what it would be like living "up North." |
| Click here for interview excerpts | Click here for interview excerpts |
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| Tommie Jones Tommie Jones, a Kalamazoo resident for 65 years, was one of the first blacks to obtain a management position at the Upjohn Company. Tommie reflects on race then and now in Kalamazoo. |
Robert Woodford Robert Woodford , one of the first African Americans to attend Portage Central High School, began work at the Brown Paper Company in 1966. Robert discusses his youth growing up in Portage, his years in the service, and working for the paper company. |
| Click here for interview excerpts | Click here for interview excerpts |
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| Irvin and Murphy Darden Twins, Murphy and Irvin Darden migrated to Kalamazoo from Mississippi as young men in the 1940s and were among the first blacks to be hired in the paper mills. They discuss their early years in the South, their experiences settling in the North, and their difficulties finding housing and employment. |
| Click here for interview excerpts |