OH+QA

Oral History Q and A

Topic- Integration in schools Subject- A.O. Smith (Theresa's grandfather)

Q- How did you feel about the court decision in Brown v. Board of Education A- " To be honest I was pleasently suprised. Considering all that had happened in the past when I was growing up I did not think the Brown's would win."

Q- What do you mean by "pleasently surprised"? Where you in favor of school integration? A- " Yes I was in favor of school integration. When I said pleasenty surprised I meant that I was hoping that something would be done about the schools. I thought that seperating the students was not right and should be changed."

Q- Did you encourage your children to think a certain way about integration, and if so, in what way? A- "I definetly encouraged all of your aunt's and uncle's to treat both blacks and whites the same despite what other people said. I remember the long talks I would have with your Aunt Gina about what was going on in places like Alabama. She would ask me all of these questions and I marveled at her compassion towards the black students who were struggling. I told her to always remember that we are all equal."

Q- What was it like being a prominent white business man believing a way that was so unheard of back then? A- "Well, it was pretty hard. Many of my other business friends and I were at odds with each other for quite some time. Many of them wouldn't return any of my phone calls and just plain ignored me."

Q- Did your business suffer at all? A- "Not really. I didn't make my beliefs known to the general public. A.O. Smith did fine and thankfully we didn't have any problems with riots causing damage to one of our factiories."

Q- What was your reaction to the riots in Alabama? A- "I was furious. The thought that people would treat each other like that was unbelievable to me. When I heard about what was happening in Birmingham and Montgomery I didn't know what to say. I never thought humans could treat each other with that much violence."

Q- What do you remember about the Little Rock Nine? A- "At first I was excited about the idea. I liked that a step was finally being taken to get some black kids into a white school. All of your aunts and uncles were excited as well, especially Gina. When I first heard about the whites reaction to it my heart sank. Gina stayed in her room for hours crying. I remember feeling so sorry for those poor children and also guilty because I couldn't do anything."

Q- Did you ever have any disagreements with one of your children about this topic? A- "No. Your Uncle Mark did have some trouble with a few kids at school. After that he wasn't so thrilled with me. But we still got through it."

Q- What kind of trouble did your kids have? A- "Just some little problems. Some kids spray-painted Gina's locker and one time someone slashed the tires on Mark's car. Thankfully no one was in a fight or anything."

Q- If you could go back and change anything about what you did in that era, what would you do? A- "To be honest with you, I would have gotten more involved. If it weren't for the company and my family I would have gone to some of the rallys. But still, I wish I had done more."