Oral History with Kenneth B. Wright, March 19, 1991 (Ms1991-019)

Partial Transcript: Michael A. Cooke: Today is March 19, 1991. I’m conducting an interview with Reverend Kenneth B. Wright of Elliston, Virginia. Reverend Wright, could you give us a brief biographical sketch of your life? Your date of birth, birthplace, education, and occupation?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, I was born in Roanoke, [Virginia] in March 8, 1942, and I was raised here in Elliston. Education in Montgomery County Public Schools and attended Virginia Union University and graduated from Roanoke College. And I’m now pastoring the First Baptist Church, North Jefferson Street, in Roanoke.

Keywords: Elliston, Virginia; First Baptist Church; Montgomery County Public Schools; North Jefferson Street; Reverend Kenneth B. Wright; Roanoke College; Roanoke, Virginia; Virginia Union University

Subjects: Baptists; Montgomery County (Va.)

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Do you have relatives, or did you have relatives, in Elliston when you were growing up?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, when I was growing up, my parents were here. My brother and sisters were in and out. My sisters lived in Roanoke. And for the most part when I was growing up my brother was in the service, connected with the Korean conflict.
Michael Cooke: I see. Your parents, they had been born and raised in Elliston or did they-
Kenneth Wright: Yes, they were born and were raised here in Elliston.
Michael Cooke: Could you give their names?
Kenneth Wright: My father was Walter Wright and my mother was Ila Jones Wright.
Michael Cooke: So, they had deep roots in this community? Did their ancestors have deep roots in this area, or were they newcomers? Did you have any grandparents in this area?
Kenneth Wright: My grandparents migrated from other areas. I don’t know much about where they came from. I think my paternal grandparents probably migrated from North Carolina. And I just don’t know a great deal about where my maternal grandparents came from, but they had settled here for some time so my parents had been here from their birth.
Michael Cooke: What type of work did your grandparents do?
Kenneth Wright: My paternal grandfather was employed by the railroad, as a matter of fact. He was injured in the construction of one of the railroad tunnels. He lost his leg in a cave-in. And my maternal grandfather was basically a farmer.
Michael Cooke: What was your grandfather on your father’s side name if you can recall?
Kenneth Wright: Jack Wright.
Michael Cooke: Jack Wright.
Kenneth Wright: That’s his name.
Michael Cooke: And what railroad did he work for when he had that accident?
Kenneth Wright: It was the North Western Railway.
Michael Cooke: You know I don’t have any stories. I’ve interviewed about twenty or so people, and this is about the third lost leg case that I’ve heard. One was in a mine, one was in a quarry, and one was a railroad. So that just tells you something about the danger of the work that people did back in that period.
Kenneth Wright: Very much so.
Michael Cooke: We should thank our lucky stars that we do not have to place ourselves at such risk as they did on a day to day basis.
Kenneth Wright: Surely.
Michael Cooke: That’s just striking that just that small number of people, that doesn’t include the people killed in the mines. I had at least one father was killed in the mine—or relatives that were killed in the mines—so that’s just the nature of society as it is duty for many people trying to earn a living. Well, I better get off this soap box and get back to the interview. But anyway, I had to bring forth that observation struck me as kind of odd.

Keywords: Elliston, Virginia; grandparents; Ila Jones Wright; injury; Jack Wright; Korean conflict; Korean War; migration; North Carolina; North Western Railway; railroad; relatives; Roanoke, Virginia; Walter Wright

Subjects: Railroad; Work Opportunities

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: What about education opportunities for Blacks living in this area? Where did people go to school if you wanted to get a schooling? And what type of school did you have? Did it have the same amount of school days as a white school year?
Kenneth Wright: My parents, as far as I can remember, my father had a third grade education, and he was taught in one of the one classroom schools that I’m sure that that building still stands which is pretty historically unique. Our basic three Black schools are still intact. The first one is a residence. It is the residence of Mrs. Riva Turner, who is the widow of the late Earl Turner. And then there is the school which I attended—one room, seven grades, one teacher—that’s an upholstery shop now. Then, of course, I mentioned three, the white elementary school building—it’s a brick building—still stands. I just wanted to make that for any community historical destination or any significance in that regard. My mother attended as high as the tenth grade, but she had to attend the school in Burkeville, [Virginia].
Michael Cooke: I’ve heard of that school.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, in Burkeville. It was quite—I don’t recall the exact name—but I’ve driven on the old [U.S. Route] 460 or in that area where she would point out where that school was located. It, apparently, was an outstanding almost college preparatory kind of school. Normal, industrial, liberal arts kind of elementary curriculum.
Michael Cooke: Why did she go so far in light of the existence of Christiansburg Institute right up the road the other way?
Kenneth Wright: I really don’t know what necessitated her to go there other than to get educational preparation beyond what was being offered here in the area. I never heard her say why she did not go to Christiansburg Institute.
Michael Cooke: And also the expenses. Did she have relatives in that area?
Kenneth Wright: No, it was a boarding-
Michael Cooke: Boarding situation.
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: So she was a boarding student.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: Let’s see. What did her parents do to afford to send her that far away?
Kenneth Wright: Well, my grandmother, it seems, that she was a domestic person, but rather thrifty because she—I can remember—she owned her home in Christiansburg and evidently it managed pretty well to have afforded boarding school for my mother. Now my only living aunt who recently passed did attend Christiansburg Institute, and it could have been that my mother was older, that training for her was not available for some reason at Christiansburg Institute. But, my younger aunt did attend Christiansburg Institute.

Keywords: Burkeville, Virginia; Christiansburg Industrial Institute; Christiansburg Institute; Earl Turner; education opportunities; one-room school; Riva Turner; school; U.S. Route 460

Subjects: Christiansburg Industrial Institute.; Education Opportunities; Education, secondary

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: That’s interesting. Let’s see. Talk about your own education. We’ve talked about everybody under the sun, but not you, at least.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, well, as I indicated, I attended the elementary school here it was the Elliston Colored Graded School. All seven grades.
Michael Cooke: You remember any of the teachers?
Kenneth Wright: I had only one teacher for the entire seven grades who was Mrs. Latisha Dowlynch, the sister of one of the persons you interviewed Mrs. Valerie Scott. She was a super teacher, so other than substitute teachers, she taught.
Michael Cooke: That’s so rare because most of the time when I interview people, they have two or three, and they can always tick off the various people. But, that’s unusual.
Kenneth Wright: She did an exceptional job of training and close disciplining. Whenever we entered high school, obviously it was the eighth grade. We had the eighth through the twelfth grades at Christiansburg Institute. We were known for the decorum, the memorableness, courtesy, and really we achieved as well as we could with our own God given abilities. We were able to compete with and to maintain our academic status with the other students from the other school divisions. And at that time, there was a contract by Pulaski County, Radford City, Floyd County, and even Giles County as well as Montgomery County.
Michael Cooke: To bus people to the school?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, yes. All of the counties bused.
Michael Cooke: So you dealt with a number of people who came from a variety of locations.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, yes.
Michael Cooke: They still had a boarding facility when you were there.
Kenneth Wright: Not when I was there. The boarding facility had been closed by the time I got there.
Michael Cooke: That’s right. By the time you were there, it’s no longer a private institution.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: And it’s now part of the county schools.
Kenneth Wright: Multi-county. Multi-county public school, yes.
Michael Cooke: Because the other counties were not providing educational opportunities at the high school level.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: So you’re right, it’s a multi…I can’t think of the word now. You said it better than I did. I can’t remember now.
Kenneth Wright: Multi-county school system, yeah. And that was in [19]54 when I entered the eighth grade.
Michael Cooke: What was the experience like to be a student, I guess, on the verge of integration but not in it yet? What was it like when the various students…What teachers do you recall as being outstanding? Do you remember the principal at that time?
Kenneth Wright: Well, the educational process was one that demanded us to be twice as good as the white students. We received for the most part books that had been used. Our books had been used by white students. The equipment had been used in the white schools. Our teachers were, for the most part, were exceptional teachers. They had to be proficient in more than one area, and several stand out in my mind. Ms. Viola Charlton, my English teacher, was proficient not only in teaching grammar and literature, but in dramatics and philosophy. Although, philosophy was not an accredited course. She taught Macbeth with philosophical and religious principles. [Laughter].
Michael Cooke: Wow.
Kenneth Wright: Oh yeah.
Michael Cooke: So this was a very sound program.
Kenneth Wright: Surely.
Michael Cooke: Did you have any science teachers? Did they have any laboratories that students can utilize?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, the laboratories were—compared to the laboratories in the white schools and compared to what’s available today—they were very crude, but the laboratories were very sufficient in providing the biological training. Our biology teacher, science teacher, was Mr. Ladonia Carr.
Michael Cooke: Yes, I’ve that name before.
Kenneth Wright: And he was a great disciplinarian and an excellent, excellent teacher. Excellent teacher.
Michael Cooke: Did you have chemistry in addition to biology?
Kenneth Wright: Chemistry and biology, yes.
Michael Cooke: Did he teach both?
Kenneth Wright: He taught both.
Michael Cooke: Wow. [Laughs]
Kenneth Wright: He taught both with equal proficiency, yeah.
Michael Cooke: Did they have any other sciences or is that basically it? Physics, for instance.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, he taught physics.
Michael Cooke: [Laughs].
Kenneth Wright: Yes, yes. He taught physics as a matter of fact. It’s been so long ago, I forgot that he taught it but yes. All of the sciences.
Michael Cooke: All of the basic sciences?
Kenneth Wright: All of the basic sciences he taught.
Michael Cooke: Well, that answers that question. I had not asked that question. I was just curious as to—
Kenneth Wright: Then we had Mr. Zimri Holmes who passed maybe a couple years ago. He was equally proficient in English, World History, U.S. History, U.S. Government, Social Studies, Geography, you name it.
Michael Cooke: You just had some well heeled teachers.
Kenneth Wright: Oh yes, yes.
Michael Cooke: What I’m gathering, you said discipline and I’ve heard that word on a number of occasions from you and along with ability.
Kenneth Wright: Discipline was not a corporal kind of discipline. It was a matter of respect. For instance, Mr. Holmes would stand in the corridor by the door of his classroom during the time of exchange of classes and all he needed to do was stand there, and that exchange was orderly and the voice level was normal. And all he needed to do was to just stand there, and he never struck anyone. But the fact that teachers then injected the fear of God in your heart as they were trying to develop educational principles and you just wanted to just have respect for their position.
Michael Cooke: Today, we look at teachers and professors and sometimes kind of pool them as, oh so what?
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, the respect isn’t there. The respect….and I must include clergy as well. The full pastoral authority and full professional authority, the respect is not there, and I think that respect was lost was integration.

Keywords: biology; chemistry; Christiansburg Institute; education opportunities; eighth grade; Elliston Colored Graded School; English; Floyd County; Geography; Giles County; Ladonia Carr; Latisha Dowlynch; Montgomery County; physics; Pulaski County; Radford City; respect; Social Studies; U.S. Government; U.S. History; Valerie Scott; World History; Zimri Holmes

Subjects: Christiansburg Industrial Institute; Education Opportunities

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: What about the parents of the children before integration? Did they take an active role in supervising the education of their kids? Regardless of what amount of education, formal education, they might have had, did they nonetheless have an interest in their children’s educational development?
Kenneth Wright: Their role was a supportive role mainly on the discipline aspect. They were not so much involved in the principles of education or the curricular requirements of education. Parents were as much involved in that. There may have been an isolated case here that generally parents assume the supportive role of making sure that their children behaved in class, attended class, respected the teacher, and school officials principals excetera. Their involvement was maintained through extracurricular activities when the children would be in athletics, dramatics, science fairs, that type of thing.
Michael Cooke: So they were involved in that way.
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: That’s something that was encouraged? Was that something that kept the student motivated?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, it was. The May Day fairs, the athletic games, the gym nights, and the senior plays, and that type of thing. That represented a family concept when the communities came together as a family, and that’s missing in today’s educational process, very much. I think that some of the school administrations are trying to bring it back through the governor's schools, magnet schools, this type of thing by getting involved in exposure to operas, ballet, dramatics, and the like.
Michael Cooke: Let me ask you another question, did the parents—and I know maybe you can only speak for your own parents, but maybe you could speak for others—We’ll stop here temporarily.
[Break in recording]
Michael Cooke: I was going to ask you before we stopped whether or not your parents or other parents in the area were encouraging the students to dream about getting a college education. Did they say, you could go beyond what I’ve done. You don’t have to work at the railroads. You don’t have to work as a farmer or a tenant farmer. What did they say? Or did they simply support the school system in what it was trying to achieve? Or, did they have any goals that they hoped their own children would achieve?
Kenneth Wright: Well, from my own personal experience, and I would say from a general observation of my schoolmates and classmates, the push for college education was not necessarily there. It was more or less a posture or a position assumed that if the student wanted to go, that sacrifices would be made to provide the opportunity to go. With my going to college, I hadn’t received my call to the ministry, or my interest in religion hadn’t been manifested in a call as such, but my interest in religion led me to want to go to college. I know that in case I accepted the call, I knew I had to be prepared. And the encouragement did not come from my parents. There was no discouragement either. It was that if I decided to go, sacrifices would be made. Now my sister, my oldest sister, attended Virginia State College and taught. She never completed her requirements for the degree, but through certificate renewal and so forth I’m sure over the years, she obviously had the equivalent. So I think-
Michael Cooke: Was that-
Kenneth Wright: I became the youngest. I wanted to kind of...
Michael Cooke: So, there were other college graduates in your family or?
Kenneth Wright: No, I’m the only one.
Michael Cooke: Oh, just one.
Kenneth Wright: I’m the only college graduate.
Michael Cooke: But there was someone that preceded you to go to college.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, my sister preceded me.
Michael Cooke: Was that something that you looked at and said, well she can do it; the world is really my oyster. Or, did that enter your mind or?
Kenneth Wright: No. I was not attached to that because my sister’s encouragement for continuing education came from my aunt. My sister lived with my aunt in Roanoke.
Michael Cooke: Oh so your family is not really involved in your-
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: I mean, your family in Elliston is not involved, so her own experience is a little different than yours.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, it’s an extended kind of thing.
Michael Cooke: Yes, I see. But, I mean, you can still see that?
Kenneth Wright: Surely.
Michael Cooke: Obviously. But it’s maybe not the driving force.
Kenneth Wright: Not the driving force. Not the driving force.
Michael Cooke: That’s interesting. Okay.

Keywords: college education; integration; May Day fairs; parent encouragement; parent involvement

Subjects: Education Opportunities

Partial Transcript: Kenneth Wright: I will say this that for the teachers the teachers I felt, to which I was exposed, played an important part as well with my making up my mind to go. And at that time, I received a full scholarship to go to a white college, to go to a Brethren College, to Bridgewater College.
Michael Cooke: Which is in Virginia?
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: That would be unusual scholarship because we’re talking about a full scholarship?
Kenneth Wright: Full scholarship.
Michael Cooke: Well not the fact that’s a full scholarship, but the fact that it’s a predominantly white institution and you’re talking about going, let’s see 1959, that would be very very early for that kind of outreach to the Black community.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, very early. The Brethren church made a bold outreach in our area. I can remember the local pastor of the Brethren church in Christiansburg coming to the campus. Coming to Christiansburg Institute and-
Michael Cooke: What was his name, I’m sorry?
Kenneth Wright: His name was Edgar Marten
Michael Cooke: Edgar Marten.
Kenneth Wright: Edgar Marten. I believe he was a product of Bridgewater, and he came and made a very forceful presentation on behalf of Bridgewater College and the Brethren Church. And it was not so much a push to get persons involved in the Brethren Church. It wasn’t to change any denomination membership. It was that the Brethren Church made a commitment to help Blacks bridge that gap, overcome that struggle, and to provide them with good education. I don’t know how many, if any, of the Black students took up the...It would be interesting to find out how many did actually accepted the scholarship. But, at that time, my interest in religion—and if I was going to do something with religion in a Black setting—I was drawn to a Black Baptist school. I think the one closest, one that appealed to me, was Virginia Union University which was supported by the Black Baptists of Virginia.
Michael Cooke: Made perfectly good objective sense.
Kenneth Wright: So, I turned down a full scholarship to go to a school where I had to underwrite all of my education.
Michael Cooke: And your parents helped you with that?
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: That’s interesting. But it’s also interesting that Bridgewater, in other words, the Brethren had come to terms with Brown vs. Board of Education, and I guess if we are talking about 1959, that means they were lightyears ahead of some institutions in this land.
Kenneth Wright: Oh yeah. No doubt about it.

Keywords: Black Baptists of Virginia; Brethren Church; Bridgewater College; Brown vs. Board of Education; Christiansburg Institute; Christiansburg, Virginia; Edgar Martin; scholarship; Virginia Union University

Subjects: Education Opportunies; Higher Education

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: That’s interesting on its own merits. Okay, well let’s move from that. Let’s talk a little bit about your community. You live on Brake? Did you live on Brake Street?
Kenneth Wright: Always street don’t Brake Road.
Michael Cooke: Brake Road, I’m sorry.
Kenneth Wright: Yes. [Laughs]. Yeah.
Michael Cooke: And was this community largely Black? I noticed though when I was driving through today that I was just behind a school bus that was my good fortune. It had gave me opportunity to slow down and to observe, and I observed nothing but white children getting off the bus. And they must have made four, five, six stops till we got to your house. I didn't go any further, obviously.
Kenneth Wright: Um-hm, well, that is the stark contrast to what was. For the most part, from the time that I lived, when I was growing up, you would have not observed elementary students getting off the bus because we all walked.
Michael Cooke: [Laughs]
Kenneth Wright: This particular…
Michael Cooke: I think we’ll have to stop again.
[Break in Recording]
Karen Wright: We got hair appointments, so we’ll be late. No problem.
Michael Cooke: We’re back on the tape. [Laughter]. Hair appointments. [Laughs].
Kenneth Wright: I think the point that I was making, the neighborhood, for the most part, was predominantly Black from I would say six or seven houses from the main highway [U.S. Route] 460 on toward the rest of the community goes to the foot of what we call the foot of Four Mountain [34:19].
Michael Cooke: And how far from it? I’ve never been there.
Kenneth Wright: You’re talking about three miles.
Michael Cooke: That’s a long distance.
Kenneth Wright: Plus, that’s mountainous land that’s spread out, but for the most part, Brake Road was predominantly a Black community, Black neighborhood.
Michael Cooke: If you have to estimate how many people lived in the Brake Road area—I also understand that Church Road is that the road right up the street from us or?
Kenneth Wright: Yeah that’s named Calloway Street.
Michael Cooke: Calloway Street?
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: Was that also predominantly Black or heavily Black?
Kenneth Wright: The same. About the same. Yes.
Michael Cooke: So in Calloway Street is that the right street? And Brake Road?
Kenneth Wright: Brake Road.
Michael Cooke: How many people would you think would be living— if you were thinking let's say 1950 when you were maybe in the last few years of your public schooling—how many people would you estimate would be living in this area Elliston?
Kenneth Wright: I would say the maximum probably be two hundred.
Michael Cooke: Good size community.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, um-hm. Two hundred.
Michael Cooke: Now would you think? In 1991.
Kenneth Wright: Less than half.
Michael Cooke: Less than half? So you’ve had quite a depopulation of...I make up words sometimes [Laughs]. There’s a dramatic reduction of the Black population in this town called Elliston which is an incorporated town, by the way, isn't it?
Kenneth Wright: No, it’s not incorporated.
Michael Cooke: It’s not? It’s not incorporated. Well anyway people call it Elliston and they’ve always thought of being incorporated.
Kenneth Wright: Well it’s there if you were getting into-
Michael Cooke: You get mail. You have an Elliston post office box.
Kenneth Wright: Yes. We have mail delivery plus the post office box.
Michael Cooke: Well that clears that up. There were always a few whites in the community of Elliston, is that the case? I mean in Brake Road and the other road that’s adjacent.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, now the white community was clustered more around what we called the old lacatimise road. That's the old [U.S. Route] 460 and that area. The new [U.S. Route] 460 that’s identified with the Ellison Straightway.
Michael Cooke: Yes.
Kenneth Wright: You’ve heard of it?
Michael Cooke: The Elliston Straightaway.
Kenneth Wright: When we get up there and race our cars on the Elliston Straightway. Both would come from-
Michael Cooke: I’ve never heard it defined that way, but now, I’m learning a lot.
Kenneth Wright: Oh, yes. They would come from Roanoke, Christiansburg, Radford, and all around. Drag Race on the Elliston Straightaway. That’s the straightest piece of macadamized road you know, in this immediate area. But the old macadamized road, the old [U.S. Route] 460. That portion of the neighborhood was predominately white and still is.

Keywords: Black community; Black population decline; Brake Road; Calloway Street; Christiansburg, Virginia; community; Elliston Straightaway; Elliston, Virginia; Radford, Virginia; Roanoke, Virginia; U.S. Route 460

Subjects: Black community; Montgomery County (Va.)

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Did you have any problems with that community over the years?
Kenneth Wright: No, no. No problems. Actually no problems because-
Michael Cooke: No Klan activity? No burning of crosses in your lawns?
Kenneth Wright: I can’t recall any.
Michael Cooke: No fights? No gun battles?
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: No knifings? [Laughs].
Kenneth Wright: No. That's the unusual nature of this community as it was when I was growing up. We had accepted, obviously, going to different churches and going to different schools, but we were still one community. If ever there were an issue like community improvement, widening of the flooding creek or improving the graveled pavement or something like that, we would all be one community. Neighbors—we respected neighbors across the racial lines.
Michael Cooke: Did people visit across the lines? Or maybe that is too much to ask in that age?
Kenneth Wright: There wasn’t as much of a visiting as there was maybe a common gathering at the post office or at the store or on the bridge.
Michael Cooke: Neutral sites.
Kenneth Wright: Neutral sites.
Michael Cooke: That everybody had something.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: And that nobody would think, we’ll he’s at the store, I mean everybody has to go to the store, everybody has to go to the post office, so it’s a neutral site.
Kenneth Wright: Neutral site. Or maybe in the case of a tragedy of death or something like that, there would be a quick visiting, but no extended time.
Michael Cooke: I see.
Kenneth Wright: But you knew that there was a peace and harmony and a respect. For some reason everyone had—Blacks and whites alike—had a pride for Elliston.
Michael Cooke: You were people from Elliston.
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: Might have been white, might have been Black, but you’re one of us.
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: So there’s a little bit of bonding there based on residential location.
Kenneth Wright: Yes. Yes. And I think what helped that is that for the most part, the physical dividing line was at the Loram end of the community, the railroad. It was a different dividing line because the railroad was so close to the edge of the mountain that you couldn’t-
Michael Cooke: You couldn’t live on the other side of the tracks because the other side of the tracks is the mountain. Nobody lives on the mountain.
Kenneth Wright: Very few houses, and there was no discrimination there. And the highway didn’t serve all the highway divides. It didn’t serve as the same kind of line of demarcation as a proverbial railroad track.
Michael Cooke: Yes. That’s quotable. I’m going to have to somehow work that one in. [Laughs]. Let’s see, what kind of job opportunities did people have? What kind of jobs did people work in? Oh! Before I go, did the Black and white children play with one another?
Kenneth Wright: Absolutely.
Michael Cooke: Baseball?
Kenneth Wright: Absolutely.
Michael Cooke: And sports together?
Kenneth Wright: Absolutely.
Michael Cooke: Did they play integratedly or did they play as whites would play the Blacks?
Kenneth Wright: Integratedly. Integratedly.

Keywords: baseball; dividing line; Elliston, Virginia; neutral sites; race relations; railroad

Subjects: Elliston, Virginia; Race Relations

Partial Transcript: Kenneth Wright: And there was another activity that integrated us. Tomato picking.
Michael Cooke: I understand that was very big around here.
Kenneth Wright: That was big.
Michael Cooke: And there was a cannery.
Kenneth Wright: There was a cannery. The idea was to team up was the fastest tomato picker, and it didn’t matter whether it was a Black and a white. If you could get a contract with a fast, white tomato picker or if he could contract with a fast, Black tomato picker, there was a bond right there, and that bond lasted over the years. I know the owner of the Elliston food mart now, Matt Daniel, he often talks about the good times that we had together.
Michael Cooke: Were they really good?
Kenneth Wright: They were really good. They were really good because it was something to do. It was exciting to get on the back of an open bed truck and then twenty-six [dollars] a basket was pretty good money.
Michael Cooke: Did people get paid in real money?
Kenneth Wright: Oh, yes.
Michael Cooke: Not script?
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: Not tokens?
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: Not...
Kenneth Wright: No. This is in my time.
Michael Cooke: In your time?
Kenneth Wright: Yeah.
Michael Cooke: Now, what about before your time?
Kenneth Wright: Before my time, in terms of the work around here, the cress market they used to pack cress; that was a big thing. Now, I don’t know all of the details about that employment, but that was big for the community. They grew cress and they would ship it by the railroad in some big-
Michael Cooke: Going to, of course, Roanoke or?
Kenneth Wright: Up North.
Michael Cooke: Somewhere.
Kenneth Wright: Somewhere.
Michael Cooke: Somewhere up north. Were there Black and white tomato cannery workers?
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: Did they get paid equally?
Kenneth Wright: Yes. Oh, yeah.
Michael Cooke: Who was the owner of that plant?
Kenneth Wright: R. L. Howard [45:35] was the owner. One of the fairest persons that I’ve ever met.
Michael Cooke: I had interviewed one of the other—well several people—and they talked about a little earlier period. See, you were of a younger generation.
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: And they talked about tomato cannery in another way, in a different, maybe a little more in a way that was not as a-
Kenneth Wright: Pleasant.
Michael Cooke: Pleasant. They talked about how exploitation of people who worked for that factory that were given tokens. And, in fact, the name doesn’t sound the same. It sounds like a different owner, and definitely it sounds like a different world.
Kenneth Wright: Different world. R. L. Howard, his property can be seen on [U.S. Route] 460 next to the Roanoke County, Montgomery County line. It could almost put you in mind of the setting on Dallas. As a matter of fact, they had some unfortunate family feuds in that regard.
[Break in recording]
Michael Cooke: Okay we are back on the tape.
Kenneth Wright: Yes, I was mentioning the bottom of the R. L. Howard property was the tomato garden or the place where we picked and the cannery was close by. And there was some other scattered stops along the [U.S. Route] 460 highway that Mr. Howard rented for tomato growing. But that was an experience that was wholesome; it was memorable. There was a good exchange among the Blacks and whites youth—for the most part—youth at that point.

Keywords: cannery; Montgomery County; pay; R. L. Howard; race relations; Roanoke County; tomato picker; tomato picking; U.S. Route 460

Subjects: Race Relations; Work Opportunities

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Was there any part of this county or any other part of the county that growing up in this area as a Black man or a young boy or even a young man would you have had any trepidations about going to points East, West, South, or North? Was there a reputation of some parts of the county which Black people were known to, don’t let sun down?
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, oh yeah. There's a place near Christiansburg...you’d never….Midway I believe it was called. Maybe that’s not..It’s between Christiansburg and Blacksburg.
Michael Cooke: Merrimac?
Kenneth Wright: Merrimac, [Virginia]. Merrimac. Off limits. Here, you didn’t go over into Ironto, [Virginia] or Cove Hollow, [Virginia].
Michael Cooke: Where is Cove Hollow?
Kenneth Wright: Cove Hollow is just off the right as you’re traveling East to Roanoke. It’s off to the right of [U.S. Route] 460, and it goes over into Roanoke County. You cross over the railroad. That’s Cove Hollow. That’s behind of the Howard property.
Michael Cooke: Were there any incidents or...I mean, was there any justification or racial threats or cross burnings?
Kenneth Wright: No, you just didn’t go.
Michael Cooke: It was just thought that this is not a great place or this is not a smart thing to do.
Kenneth Wright: Right.
Michael Cooke: Were there problems in the past?
Kenneth Wright: There may have been years ago, but no. Just, I think it was just understood that Brake Road was basically known as, you know, the Black community.
Michael Cooke: If some white passenger had broken down—his car had broken down and he had to get out and get some help—you wouldn’t have done anything to him. You would have probably helped him.
Kenneth Wright: No, no. You wouldn’t have done….And nothing would have happened if you were to drive into the areas. You just had a feeling that you weren’t to linger too long. Nothing would happen. You just knew that wasn’t a place to look to settle.
Michael Cooke: [Laughs] You wouldn’t have bought property.
Kenneth Wright: No. Absolutely not.
Michael Cooke: You would not have established your business there.
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: What kind of people lived in Cove Hollow and Ironto that might have given you the impression that you were not particularly wanted there as Black people?
Kenneth Wright: Well, they were not vicious kinds of people, but they were very poor white people, very poor. Just average Joe Blows.
Michael Cooke: And isolated from-
Kenneth Wright: Yes.
Michael Cooke: Unlike the whites here when you had a social relationship on virtually everyday basis every time you go to the store to every time you you know you get on the road or something people would blow at you, wave at you or holler something at you and knew your names. But, those people Ironto didn’t know any Blacks in all likelihood?
Kenneth Wright: In all likelihood they didn’t.
Michael Cooke: So they were isolated kind of not as....I’m trying to think of the right word….you couldn’t call it cosmopolitan because I’m not sure Elliston would be the site of all cosmopolitan life but in the world. But, there’s a tolerance that was here, and people there were more resentful maybe.
Kenneth Wright: More resentful. That's a good term. Just more resentful, nothing violent or malicious but more resentful. Of course, when you [are] talking about joining counties, Craig County was—I was amazed when I worked for Community Action to find that there were half a dozen Black families actually living in Craig County. I couldn't believe it. It’s just there again. But, I did find with my work with Community Action that I was respected. I had no incidents. I would go into the high schools and the workplaces. I had a chance to, you know, go from Sinking Creek to-
Michael Cooke: Now, I’ve heard of Sinking Creek [Laughs].
Kenneth Wright: Some of the other places.
Michael Cooke: I’ve never went there, but I’ve heard of Sinking Creek.
Kenneth Wright: I would visit homes in those very remote areas and those families were very respectful, very respectful, very receptive. Of course, there again, I represented the government and, you know, represented the department of labor and some assistance in a way for, you know, they were happy to get a job.
Michael Cooke: So, nobody was going to bite the hand that-
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: Was going to help feed them or-
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: They were not going to bite the hand of the government.
Kenneth Wright: Right. But, I believe the basic respect was there-
Michael Cooke: Anyway.
Kenneth Wright: Anyway.
Michael Cooke: That’s interesting.
Kenneth Wright: But, I never heard any racial remarks, as a matter of fact. Maybe one of a few times that I did hear racial names was in Blacksburg, was in Prices Fork. My own county.

Keywords: Brake Road; Community Action; Cove Hollow, Virginia; Craig County; Ironto, Virginia; Merrimac, Virginia; Prices Fork; Race relations; racial remarks; Sinking Creek; sundown towns; U.S. Route 460

Subjects: Montgomery County (Va.); Race Relations

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Your own county. Well, I’ll refrain from saying anything. I’m interviewing not the interviewee. Let’s see, could you talk about race relations since we’re on that topic now. How would you describe race relations following Brown? What was it like? What was the climate when people learned that the federal government was now not only make it possible—insist that Black people say hello maybe if they want to in the food store—but now they are going to mandate that you have Black Johnny and white Johnny go to the same school?
Kenneth Wright: Well, I found as far as participating in the peaceful demonstrations in Richmond, [Virginia].
Michael Cooke: As a student?
Kenneth Wright: As a student.
Michael Cooke: As a college student?
Kenneth Wright: As a college student. I participated in the picketing on Broad street of the theaters and the department stores, lunch counters, etcetera. And I missed getting arrested on George Washington’s birthday by about a half an hour. My shift was coming up-
Michael Cooke: Your shift?
Kenneth Wright: Shifts. We had shifts based upon our class availability, availability for class. So, I was getting out of class, and I was to go to Broad Street and the word came we didn’t have to go because about twenty-some students had been arrested. What amazed me is while we were still picketing, boycotting, and demonstrating, Roanoke and Montgomery County, in this area, had already made a peaceful transition. [They] had already opened up everything. So, actually I was still exposed to segregation in Richmond, [Virginia]. And I would come home for breaks, and I was liberated when I came home but I would have to go back to an enslaved situation.
Michael Cooke: Could you give me an-
Kenneth Wright: I could eat in Roanoke, [Virginia] at the lunch counters but I couldn’t eat in Richmond, [Virginia].
Michael Cooke: Could you eat in Blacksburg or Christiansburg?
Kenneth Wright: Sure.
Michael Cooke: You could go to Christiansburg and sit down?
Kenneth Wright: Yes. Yes.
Michael Cooke: What restaurants could you recall in Christiansburg and Blacksburg that you could—and maybe Ellinston too cause that surely-
Kenneth Wright: Oh Willson’s. Immediately. I can remember Mr. Willson.
Michael Cooke: While you were still in high school?
Kenneth Wright: Yes. I can remember Mr. Willson getting very upset about some of the whites that were resisting his Black customers. We were always able to go and sit at the counter.
Michael Cooke: What was Mr. Wilson’s first name?
Kenneth Wright: I don’t remember his first name.
Michael Cooke: But it was called Willson’s?
Kenneth Wright: It’s still Willson’s.
Michael Cooke: Oh still—where-
Kenneth Wright: There’s a Willson’s right here and very very-
Michael Cooke: Is he still alive?
Kenneth Wright: No, he isn’t.
Michael Cooke: He’s deceased.
Kenneth Wright: It’s his son and daughter. There’s also a Willson restaurant in Cave Spring which the son runs the one in Cave Spring, and the daughter operates the one here in Elliston off [U.S. Route] 460.
Michael Cooke: That’s interesting. Any other places in Elliston like that? Drug stores or hardware stores or...I’m reaching the banks, any place?
Kenneth Wright: Well...as far as I can remember, there’s not that many restaurants in this area places that-
Michael Cooke: Going off the Christiansburg, if you went there, that’s not that far away.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah.
Michael Cooke: Did you ever go to Christiansburg around the same time and have the same experiences or different experiences?
Kenneth Wright: Well, most of the ones that I could remember integrated early.
Michael Cooke: Before 1961 or [196]2?
Kenneth Wright: Well, at the time the decision was first handed down.
Michael Cooke: So, around [19]55, [19]56, [19]57?
Kenneth Wright: No, I’m saying between the transition of [19]59 and [19]60.
Michael Cooke: Oh, I see. So, before the Greensboro sit-ins the process had already begun.
Kenneth Wright: Once we saw the decision was coming, then it was already done.
Michael Cooke: That’s interesting. Okay, well let’s see-
Kenneth Wright: And they were dependent upon basically these restaurants that were owned—it was basically the decision of the owners. It was how Mr. Wilson felt towards Blacks even before he had to by law. He knew something was wrong; he felt something was wrong.
Michael Cooke: Nobody had to have a writ or issue a writ saying that...[phone rings]. Nobody had to take legal action against them for something to transpire and bring about desegregation.
Kenneth Wright: Right.

Keywords: Broad Street; Brown vs. Board of Education; Cave Spring; Montgomery County; Mr. Willson; peaceful transition; picketing; race relations; restaurants; Richmond, Virginia; Roanoke County; segregation; U.S. Route 460

Subjects: Civil Rights; Desegregation; Montgomery County (Va.); Race Relations

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Okay, I think we basically covered...oh let me ask you a few other questions and then we’ll be though, I guess. That is what was the role of individuals, were there any Black civic leaders or NAACP or were there people who deserve credit or organizations that deserve credit for breaking down segregation in this area?
Kenneth Wright: No one person in particular. There were, that I can view, there were individuals that just dared to take a stand on their own. They weren’t necessarily….
Michael Cooke: Connected with-
Kenneth Wright: Connected. Yeah. I remember one Black man who had some savings in the bank and—
Michael Cooke: What was his name by the way?
Kenneth Wright: Lawrence Dow who’s the brother of Mrs. Valerie Scott. I can remember his taking a stand that if provisions were not made equally in the nursing home-
Michael Cooke: Such as in?
Kenneth Wright: Meadow Brook. At the bank in terms of loan provision so forth that he was going to withdraw his savings and apparently was effective because you know things finally came around. But, no fan fair about this.
Michael Cooke: It was not a public….
Kenneth Wright: No public demonstration.
Michael Cooke: No public ultimatum?
Kenneth Wright: No.
Michael Cooke: Just simply went there and said, unless things change-
Kenneth Wright: Unless things change-
Michael Cooke: Adios with my money from your establishment.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah.
Michael Cooke: Was that the bank of Charlottesville, [Virginia]?
Kenneth Wright: Um-hm.
Michael Cooke: Was he a significant property owner or?
Kenneth Wright: No. No.
Michael Cooke: Or businessman?
Kenneth Wright: No. No.
Michael Cooke: Farmer?
Kenneth Wright: No. No. He had-
Michael Cooke: Retired?
Kenneth Wright: He had retired. He had made his living in Pennsylvania.
Michael Cooke: And come back?
Kenneth Wright: And come back. Had some savings.
Michael Cooke: When had he come back?
Kenneth Wright: It was probably in the [19]59, [19]60 era, around that time. I do know that, as far as our organization goes, the NAACP did make a tremendous impact, and there were, depending on who the officers were and so forth at that time, I remember the issue over the first Black student admitted at Virginia Tech. And the NAACP was active in that and the Council of Human Relations. I remember those two organizations were very active, and a lot of the supporters from the Blacksburg community were helpful in making the transition and keeping the issue in the proper perspective.
Michael Cooke: Do you remember the leaders of the NAACP during the time of the [Virginia] Tech desegregation? Any individuals of that organization that deserve credit?
Kenneth Wright: I remember very, maybe not so much as a leader, I remember Ms. Everett McDaniel as a member and of course John M. Harrison and Cora Pack, Rivella Bannister and her husband Bush Bannister.
Michael Cooke: Is that Frank Bannister?
Kenneth Wright: Frank Bannister.
Michael Cooke: We using nicknames here.
Kenneth Wright: Yes. Yes.
Michael Cooke: We got to be careful here.
Kenneth Wright: Surely. Yes. Yes. That’s right. And a number others from the Blacksburg community. As far as the Council of Human Relations, I can remember Mary Ann Mathus from the white community.
Michael Cooke: Any others?
Kenneth Wright: And a professor O.l.
Michael Cooke: Yes, Charlie O.l.
Kenneth Wright: Charlie O.l.
Michael Cooke: Any ministers?
Kenneth Wright: Yes I can remember...
Michael Cooke: Can you recall a denomination? Or denominations?
Kenneth Wright: The Presbyterian minister...
Michael Cooke: Elliston Smyth.
Kenneth Wright: Elliston Smyth. There were some ministers who were involved in campus ministries. Payne. I can’t think of his first name. Payne was a last name and B. Lloyd.
Michael Cooke: B. Lloyd.
Kenneth Wright: Um-hm. B. Lloyd.
Michael Cooke: He was also a campus minister?
Kenneth Wright: It seems he was either involved in Episcopal campus ministry or right now I can’t...
Michael Cooke: [Inaudible 1:08:04] Yeah.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah, R. B. Lloyd I think was his name. And one or two others. The names-
Michael Cooke: Well I think we had a lot-
Kenneth Wright: [Inaudible 1:08:17]

Keywords: B. Lloyd; Bank of Shawsville; Black civic leaders; Bush Bannister; Charlie Ol; Cora Pack; Council of Human Relations; Elliston Smyth; Everett McDaniel; Frank Bannister; John M. Harrison; Lawrence Dow; Mary Ann Mathus; Meadow Brook; NAACP; Payne; R. B. Loyd; Rivella Bannister; Valerie Scott

Subjects: Civic Leaders; Civil Rights Organizations; Desegregation

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: You didn’t know I was going to come thirty [to] forty years hence and say, well give me all the names now right now. But I think you really answered a lot of questions, and I can’t think of any other questions. If you have a comment to sum up-
Kenneth Wright: I can remember something that I got involved in while pastoring at Schaeffer, and this was a club for high school students. It was segregated.
Michael Cooke: Oh, this is after?
Kenneth Wright: This is, yeah, this would have been after. Yes, I assumed the pastory you see in [19]64, and I can remember—I guess this must have been around [19]65 or [19]66.
Michael Cooke: And Blacks had long been going to the [inaudible 1:09:38].
Kenneth Wright: Yes, this was in Christiansburg, a club in the building next to the courthouse, across the street from the courthouse. And it was called the Ala Oop Club.
Michael Cooke: The what?
Kenneth Wright: The Ala Oop Club.
Michael Cooke: The Ala Oop Club.
Kenneth Wright: It was operated by one of the disk jockeys on the local radio station there. And he had opened it up to the white high school students, and I remember that were some of the parents of some of the members of my church, and we walked in that club and broke it up.
Michael Cooke: What kind of club, what kind of?
Kenneth Wright: It was just a gathering for teenagers playing, ya know. At that time the music wasn’t—
Michael Cooke: After hours?
Kenneth Wright: No, it wasn’t after hours.
Michael Cooke: I meant after school hours.
Kenneth Wright: It wasn’t after midnight. After school hours, it was something like seven to ten o’clock at that time, decent hours.
Michael Cooke: Before the time-
Kenneth Wright: And you know the music, then, was….you could understand it.
Michael Cooke: Tame.
Kenneth Wright: Tame. [Laughs]. But, I remember that night a couple of parents-
Michael Cooke: Who had broached this idea of confronting them was it your idea, a parent’s idea, a student’s idea?
Kenneth Wright: It merged together. It started [with] some of the students and members of the church.
Michael Cooke: Do you remember some of the key people?
Kenneth Wright: Some of the key people Earl Carter and Glenn Holmes.
Michael Cooke: Oh, Glenn is a student. I know Glenn.
Kenneth Wright: And-
Michael Cooke: Was Carter a student or of student age?
Kenneth Wright: Yes. Yes.
Michael Cooke: Okay I just want to get it straight who’s the adult and who’s the student at that point.
Kenneth Wright: And his parents…
Michael Cooke: Was it Nathan? Nathan Holmes?
Kenneth Wright: I’m not sure if Nathan went with us or not, but the Carters Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Carter Sr. were a couple of parents I remember. Mr. Glenn Holmes and his wife Mrs. Verna Holmes may have been with us. I don’t remember, but I distinctly remember Mr. and Mrs. Leonard Carter Senior.
Michael Cooke: You said Glenn?
Kenneth Wright: Glenn.
Michael Cooke: Mr. Glenn? Oh you talking about the young man?
Karen Wright: Nathan.
Michael Cooke: Nathan. That’s right because that’s-
Kenneth Wright: That’s right. Nathan and Virna are Glenn’s parents. They may or may not had been with us, but it was a couple of adults. I remember just I got a little riff from that because they could not separate….when I say, they, [I mean] some of the conservatives and some of the conservatives in terms of the religious faith and some of the conservatives reluctant to make the change.
Michael Cooke: Were politicians involved?
Kenneth Wright: No. No. This was just the church, just the church. I just made an announcement from the pulpit one Sunday, we are going to enter the Ala Oop Club.
Michael Cooke: And that was that?
Kenneth Wright: That was that.
Michael Cooke: And what was the reaction-
Kenneth Wright: The reaction from some was they could not justify this as a Christian act.
Michael Cooke: So your own perishoners—
Kenneth Wright: Yeah. Just a few, just a few.
Michael Cooke: But the majority?
Kenneth Wright: But the response, we had a good number. The youth were there and the parents of the youth, and we just walked in. I would say we had fifteen to twenty people; we just walked in.
Michael Cooke: What was the reaction of the proprietor and the students who were? Was there any ugly words?
Kenneth Wright: No ugly words.
Michael Cooke: What are you doing here?
Kenneth Wright: No resistance.
Michael Cooke: Why did you come here?
Kenneth Wright: No resistance.
Michael Cooke: Did they keep their club in existence?
Kenneth Wright: It opened up, but eventually it ran out of business.
Michael Cooke: Did Blacks go?
Kenneth Wright: Yeah.
Michael Cooke: They went.
Kenneth Wright: Yeah. But, eventually went out of business.
Michael Cooke: Nobody challenged you. You just simply decided that you had enough.
Kenneth Wright: We had enough.
Michael Cooke: And that this is going to….We are going to bury this thing called Jim Crow once and for all.
Kenneth Wright: Well, these students were going to high school together. And as a matter of fact, Glenn Holmes and Earl Carter, they had a band going. And I mean, they were loved by the student body, Black and white. And he was gonna to open this club up. I don’t know where he came from. I don’t think he was from this area. We got the word, and it was official that it was segregated for whites only.
Michael Cooke: It was.
Kenneth Wright: It was, but no longer after that night. It fell apart.
Michael Cooke: Well, I guess on that note I guess what you see here is a series of stances. You know, no one definitive, this is it, position ultimative or what have you, but a series of decisions on the part of individuals and small groups and sometimes organizations that [say], we’re not going to take this.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right. Exactly.
Michael Cooke: They crossed the line, and we are going to make them know about it.
Kenneth Wright: Exactly.
Michael Cooke: We’re going to end this practice.
Kenneth Wright: Exactly.
Michael Cooke: So a lot of stances like that, not any big dramatic, you know, declaration of whatever.
Kenneth Wright: Exactly.
Michael Cooke: But little things, kind of cumulative.
Kenneth Wright: Cumulative things.
Michael Cooke: Which add up too.

Keywords: 1965; 1966; Ala Oop Club; Earl Carter; Glenn Holmes; high school club; Leonard Carter; Mr. Carter; Mrs. Carter; Nathan Holmes; segregated; Verna Holmes

Subjects: Segregation

Partial Transcript: Kenneth Wright: Yes. And there is a sophisticated subtly kind of attitude to maintain racial discrimination. I know one of the things that has made an impact has been the way that multi-county school agreement for Christiansburg institute was phased. That hurt. When I drove by the other day and just to see all that's left of that school is the monument and the smokehouse.
Michael Cooke: Yeah that’s it.
Kenneth Wright: That institution meant more-
Michael Cooke: Than a smokehouse.
Kenneth Wright: And stone monument. It meant more than that. I can not say that the blame lies totally with the whites. The only thing is that had it been just Montgomery County, I believe that we would have been able to, the Montgomery County citizens, would have been able to have work within the framework of the Montgomery County governmental jurisdiction. But, you see, you had other jurisdictions involved, and so when you would go in to negotiate with one, they would say, well somebody else has a say so. And we didn’t have the kind of network to deal across the county lines, so that created apathy-
Michael Cooke: In terms of fundraising?
Kenneth Wright: In terms of negotiating. In terms of providing some governmental alternatives to the ownership of that property to the part that some Blacks could have gotten together and could have done the same thing that Jack Buyer did. There was no money, compared with money, there was no money involved. He got that for a song the whole acreage for a song at an auction or whatever process they used. But Jack Buyer is a very sensitive and very fair businessman. I will say that, and probably had it been someone else we wouldn’t even have—
Michael Cooke: You wouldn’t have a smokehouse, you wouldn’t have a monument.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right. That’s right. I will hassen to come to Jack Buyer’s defense. What I’ve just seen that it could have ended up in a different business disposition.
Michael Cooke: Because that’s nice land, I mean, in terms of property and in terms of accessibility. It’s commercial and would be a great real estate.
Kenneth Wright: The ironic thing about it is they turned around and build a new high school complex just a few feet from the property line of the old, as if to say, this land has been contaminated because of Blacks were here.
Michael Cooke: Didn’t even build on the same land.
Kenneth Wright: That’s a waste. That’s a waste. Didn't even build a new high school. Just so it would not have been on the same sight. That’s hard to take.
Michael Cooke: Do you think that's a manifestation of racism?
Kenneth Wright: Yes, yes. Nothing but that. It’s nothing but a lack of appreciation of the theology of Blacks. The theology of Blacks is a theology of survival. We survived through those years, and we were able to maintain a school curriculum second to none. That campus was like a junior college, and it could have probably been converted easily into a junior college had it been other hands, had it been under different circumstances. It would probably be an educational institution today. A sight. A campus today.
Michael Cooke: Instead of a smokehouse and a monument.
Kenneth Wright: That’s right.
Michael Cooke: Well, I'm not sure what else I can add.
Kenneth Wright: That’s one of the most destructive racial dispositions of an issue that I’ve seen in the county, most destructive, disrespectful. That’s a complete denial of-
Michael Cooke: Of heritage.
Kenneth Wright: Of African American heritage and innovation, a complete. Basically, all of the counties surrounding that had Black schools have done something to—Wythe County maintained the name. I forget what it is. Wytheville memorial. My wife graduated from the high school. They maintained the name. I can’t think of it right now. They maintained the name. Carver in Salem maintained the name, and, of course, it hurts too. Roanoke has at least maintained the name through the Lucy Addison Junior High School. At least the name Booker T. Washington administrative building. At least the name, you get on into Lynchburg Dunbar. At least the areas had the respect to retain the name, but there’s Christiansburg Institute, gone.
Michael Cooke: Wipe it off the slate.
Kenneth Wright: Gone. Gone. Don’t even note it in the books. Don’t even want it in the books.

Keywords: African American heritage; Booker T. Washington; Christiansburg Institute; closing; Jack Buyer; Lucy Addison Junior High School; Montgomery County; monument; new school; racism; Salem, Virginia; smokehouse; Wytheville, Virginia

Subjects: Christiansburg Industrial Institute

Partial Transcript: Michael Cooke: Well, I think we should conclude because I can’t think of any other way to end the tape on a note of such seriousness. I really enjoyed your participation, and you were asked, what could I have done to enrich me any further than the others, and all I can say you definitely enriched me. And on that note, we can end this interview. Thank you.
Kenneth Wright: Surely.
[End of Interview]