Description

Tom Dent interviews Patricia J. Perry in on a drive from Albany through Baker County, Georgia. She talks about middle class people sending their children away for their education. The people who have had the most difficult time in the area have often been the ones who have been able to "escape" and be successful elsewhere. She discusses her family roots in Baker County. She did not participate in the Albany Movement because she lived in the country, at first. She then became involved as a student leader and represented the youth of Baker County. Her parents were in favor of the demonstrations, but repercussions of the activities affected them negatively. Her mother worked as a maid in Albany, and her employer was hit by a stone at a protest. Newton, Georgia has a reputation for violence against African Americans. She suggests Dent speak to Earl Jones about what went on there. He was responsible for her family losing most of their land. She has always been interested in land and the power it provides. It seems to have been a concerted effort to take land away from the Black community. She points out First Bethesda Baptist Church, which her family attended. Dent recalls performing in the area with the Free Southern Theater in 1967. Perry was seventeen at the time and attended. Charles Sherrod and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee [SNCC] helped organize Baker County; his wife Shirley is from the area. [As they enter Baker County, the rain...

From Collection

Southern Journey Oral History Collection

Record Contributed By

Amistad Research Center