Frances Ray and Amy Ray
Recorded
November 5, 2019
43:13 minutes
0:00 / 0:00
Id:
atl004193
Description
Amy Ray (55) talks with her Mother, Frances Walker Ray (82), about what it was like growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, especially during the Jim Crow Era and the Civil Rights Movement.Subject Log / Time Code
Frances Walker Ray says she was born in Atlanta, Georgia, at Georgia Baptist Hospital. She remembers her childhood home at 965 Howell Place in Atlanta's West End.
Frances remembers attending People's Street Elementary School, which she could walk to from her house. Frances says she then attended Brown High; the school was also on People's Street and also not integrated.
Frances talks about her Father, Ernest Beck Walker. She says he was a fire fighter for the City of Atlanta, Fire Station #1. Frances remembers the Winecoff Hotel Fire (Dec 7, 1946). She says fighting this fire really affected her father as many young people were staying at the hotel and lost their lives.
Frances remembers one family trip growing up. She says her parents borrowed a car and drove to Lakeland, Florida to visit a relative there. During the trip, Frances says she got to see the Gulf of Mexico for the first time at Clearwater Beach.
Frances remembers an incident on a public bus in Atlanta. She says she noticed an older black woman running to catch the bus before it pulled away from the curb. Frances says she told the bus driver to wait for the woman. She says the bus driver came and yelled at her, and that he made her afraid. Frances says the driver drove away without letting the black woman on the bus.
Frances says she met her husband while attending Emory University. She remembers seeing him at the jukebox in Dooley's Den on campus. She says when he offered her his fraternity pin, it was a commitment to be married.
Frances talks about being a Navy wife and motherhood. She says she liked when her husband was stationed in Jacksonville, Florida. She talks about returning to Atlanta, Georgia, as they transitioned back to civilian life.
Frances says she feels motivated to learn more about the Jim Crow South and the Civil Rights Movement, and what was really happening all around her growing up in Atlanta. She asks the question, "Why didn't we know?" Amy Ray says she feels the same way - echoing her mother's words of motivation to keep learning.
Participants
- Frances Ray
- Amy Ray