Willis, Sylvia Shearin Transcript

Scope and content:

This interview was conducted by Marriya Schwarz and indexed by Brenna Cowardin. The interview was later transcribed by Marriya Schwarz. The interview took place during the evening of 4/12/18 in front of theater at the Williamsburg Regional Library on Scotland Street, using a Zoom H-1 Handy Voice Recorder. Overall, the quality of the interview is fairly clear, but the volume is somewhat low. There is some interference due to people filing in and out of the Williamsburg Library, but the audio still can be heard. During the interview, Sylvia Shearin Willis discussed her experiences with education within Williamsburg-James City County Schools, primarily her experiences with Bruton Heights School and later James Blair High School after integration in 1966. She reflected on the differences between the two schools. She also discussed her experiences with the different teaching at both schools and minority teaching. Towards the end of the interview, she also discussed her experiences with historically black colleges, as well as the educational experiences of her two daughters. For clarity and as requested by the narrator, the transcriber has eliminated every "um," "uh," and "like" from the transcription.

The content of this note was taken from the headnote created by the interview team.

Access and use

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College of William and Mary
Special Collections Research Center
Earl Gregg Swem Library
College of William and Mary
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Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795
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