Johnson, Wilhelmina, interviewed by Kristie Kendall, 2008
- Abstract Or Scope
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Records an interview with Wilhemena Johnson, who discusses her life in Harrisonburg, Virginia. Johnson, who graduated from the Lucy Simms School in Harrisonburg, Virginia in 1947, discusses her subsequent work at the Harrisonburg/Rockingham Department of Social Services, and involvement with various social services organizations in Harrisonburg. Johnson recalls public school integration in Harrisonburg; the "urban renewal" movement in the 1950s-1960s and its the impact on the black community in Harrisonburg; public housing; the construction of the John Wesley Methodist Church on Sterling Street, in Harrisonburg; segregation in Harrisonburg area businesses in the 1930s and 1940s; the role the Lucy Simms school played in organizations in the community; black-owned businesses in Harrisonburg; and various places of business in Harrisonburg that are no longer in operation. She discusses various families in Harrisonburg, including the Bundy, Newman, Tolliver, Wilson, Harper, Curry, Webb, and Ney families.
- Collection Context