Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell
Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell

Nadine Blackwell and Chandra Blackwell

Recorded September 13, 2010 Archived September 13, 2010 01:23:30
0:00 / 0:00
Id: MBY006942

Description

Chandra Blackwell, 40, interviews her mother Nadine Blackwell, 80, about her memory and involvement in Brown vs. the Board of Education, integrating the Topeka Fire Department, and integrating the downtown Topeka restaurants.

Subject Log / Time Code

5:28
NB remembers in high school, though officially integrated, there were still “black parties” and “white parties” in separate parts of the school
9:25
NB family was part of the Brown vs. Board of Education trial, but NB was still young when it was going on in Topeka. She says: “We were making history and I had no idea; I didn’t realize it was important”
17:01
NB describes her husband, Albert Blackwell, who helped integrate the Topeka fire department, saying “He integrated himself.”
23:41
NB remembers going to eat in a restaurant in downtown Topeka that was thought of as for whites only. She was so nervous she didn’t really enjoy the meal, but she and her husband were served.
40:26
Of her part in history and change, NB says “I have made things possible for my daughter. America will eventually get to where it needs to go.”

Participants

  • Nadine Blackwell
  • Chandra Blackwell

Venue / Recording Kit

Initiatives