Description

Tom Dent interviews Alvin Benn in Selma, Alabama. He is bureau manager at the Montgomery Advertiser in Selma. They talk about whether or not there can be an effective coalition between Black and White populations and the Black community gains equity. Benn points to the case of Marion Alabama in Perry County, where the city school system was incorporated into a county-wide system to force integration. Marion Academy, which is almost completely White, was created in response. They discuss the possibility of a Black politician winning a political office and what it will mean for the community. Benn says Black and White communities in Selma get along well and mix socially. He uses the return of the National Guard unit as an example. Benn talks about former school Superintendent Norward Roussell's contract not being renewed by the School Board. He thinks Roussell was unsuccessful not only because he was Black, but also because he had an abrasive personality and came from outside the community. He would have gotten farther with more diplomacy. Benn talks about his children's experiences going through school in Selma, where they were put in level one and level two. Henry Sanders and others have pointed out that the level system is used to segregate Black and White students within integrated schools. Benn tells the story of Terri Sewell, who is at Harvard Law School on a Marshall Scholarship. She is a product of the public school system and received parental support. He sees parental support as...

From Collection

Southern Journey Oral History Collection

Record Contributed By

Amistad Research Center