Oral Histories From Segregated Evansville, IN in the 1960s

Four African-Americans from the Midwest city recall life in segregation before the civil rights movement in the mid-1960s. They couldn't eat in white-owned restaurants and attended separate (and unequal) schools. This video was part of the educational pre-show for the play, "Jubilee in the Rear View Mirror," about the voting rights struggle that opened in 2012 (www.jubileeplay.com) To emphasize the racial divide of the time, the theater was roped off into separate white and colored areas. Patrons were issued tickets at random (not by race) and sat in the appropriate W and C sections. Before pressure was brought to bear, blacks in many communities were not allowed to try on new shoes. Salesmen traced the edges of their old shoes onto butcher paper and fetched an approximate fit from inventory.