<Begin Segment 18>

MN: Let me ask you a little bit about segregation in Louisiana. When you rode on the public transit system, which section did you sit in?

AS: They made us sit in the front because we were considered white. This is before Rosa Parks.

MN: So how does this, on the bus, do they have like half saved for white and half the bus saved for blacks?

AS: They just had a removable sign that said the coloreds were sitting in the back. And if you were sitting in the front, you would make sure that you're sitting in front of that sign, just move it. It had little holes in the seats and you just move this little sign.

MN: How much interaction did you have with African Americans?

AS: Very little, 'cause we were with the whites. But we had some blacks who worked with us in the shrimp business, nicest people. And I did, at one, I'll never forget, my friend, we used to call him Carter, he came to pick me up, gave me a ride home. He had a car, actually, and I got in, and everyone was just shocked that (...) I actually got in his car and sat in the front seat with him. But that's the only incident that I recall. Other than that, I didn't have anything to do with the blacks because we were segregated. And school was all segregated. It's really old fashioned in New Orleans. I went to an all-girls high school, so very interesting.

MN: What did you think about this whites, black system?

AS: (...) All I know is we were sort of put into this position, and it was just the way it was. In those days, you did what they said, and that was, I think we were very fearful at the very beginning and just do. You don't buck it. And I think that's the mentality that we all had.

<End Segment 18> - Copyright &copy; 2012 Densho. All Rights Reserved.