Interview #1

1.      What is your name? Maiden and Marriage (if applicable)

a.       Shirley Bowen (Maiden)

b.      Shirley Johnson (Marriage)

2.      Where were you born?

a.       Friendship, Tennessee

3.      Where did you grow up?

a.       Friendship, Tennessee

4.      What were your parents names and occupations?

a.       Father- Otis Bowen

                                                              i.      Farm Hand

b.      Mother-Mary Bowen

                                                              i.      Cook at a local restaurant

5.      Do you have any siblings?

a.       Yes. 1 brother, 2 sisters

6.      What was your life like growing up as a black girl in Friendship?

a.       Life was hard and money was usually tight. My parents worked hard to make ends meet and together we made it as a family.

7.      Did you ever encounter racism? Explain?

a.       Very Little. The small town helped with that. Everyone knew each other, and everyone knew what their role was. The white people were good to us, although we knew they thought they were better than we were. Some white people were very racist, but it never directly affected me as a girl.

8.      What privileges or setbacks do you feel that you experienced growing up a black female in the North/South?

a.       The only setback was that I did not get to attend college, but not many people in my town did. Especially black people. We had to work fresh out of high school and had no money for college.

9.      What, if anything, do you remember your parents telling you about race?

a.       My father always told me to stay with my own color and not to trust the white people too often. The white people helped us though, so I was never rude to them. Other than him saying that we did not really talk about race that much. We tried to see people as people not black or white.

10.  What did your parents tell you or instill in you regarding being a woman, specifically a black woman?

a.       We were raised to be honest and hard-working. My parents never specifically taught me about being a black woman. Just a woman.

11.  Did you attend school? Yes or No, why or why not? 

a.       Yes, I graduated from high school

12.  Talk a little bit about those days...

a.       Some of the white children in school would make a scene, but I had a lot of white friends since my parents worked for them. Some of my black friends got teased a lot but me personally, it was good days.

13.  What was it like in school for you as a black female? 

a.       (Same as above)

14.  Did you graduate and attend college? [Ask questions here to get more info regarding education ect.]

a.       No.

15.  Did you get married?  To who?  When?  [Ask about the circumstances]

a.       Yes, I married Zeke Johnson in June of 1975. We courted all through high school and got married as soon as we graduated.

16.  Did you have any children? Yes or No? How many?  Why?  Was this a choice or just happend?  If no children, you could ask them why they chose not to or was it medical reasons.

a.       Yes. Only one daughter named Wanda. She was not planned. But we were happy to have her in our lives

17.  Where did they work as an adult

a.       She moved to Jackson, TN and attended college and is now a Social Worker at the DHS.

18.  Ask them about their adult life and what it was like living as a black woman? 

a.       It was hard, I worked in a factory for almost 30 years until I hurt my back. Money was still tight. But we made it work. I guess being from a small town it made it easier to be black. It was still tough, but not like you hear other people had it.

19.  Ask them if there are any specific stories that they would like to share regarding their adulthood life and being a black woman

a.       Not in particular

20.  What were their relationships like with other women?  Specifically ask about white and black women.

a.       All my friends I grew up with still live in town, we attend church together and the older white ladies that are still living I often visit and have coffee with. I do think that I have better relationships with black women, than white women.

21.  Would they consider themselves friends with white women?  Or do they have friends that are of another race?

a.       I do have white friends, just more black friends than white.

22.  What type of relationship do you have with black men?

a.       Like most other relationships, according to the person.

23.  What do you think is the role of both black men and women in relationships and inside of the home should be? [Here, you can ask specific questions regarding marriage and the roles of both men and women inside of marriage]

a.       I still think that the man is head of the house. The woman cooks and cleans, but we make decisions equally. We both do what we can to make the home a happy one.

24.  What do you think about people dating outside of their race?  Black men marrying white women and black women marrying white men?

a.       I don’t have a problem with it. That’s peoples own business, not none of mine.

25.  What issues do you think most affect black Americans today?

a.       Crime and Violence in our own communities

b.      Bad children and mothers

c.       Teenage pregnancy

CRITIQUE:

When conducting this interview, at first I felt very uncomfortable. I thought that some of the questions were rather touchy and personal. Throughout my interview I became a little more comfortable because Mrs. Shirley seemed to open up and feel more comfortable. During the interview I got the impression that she didn’t experience any harsh racism. I felt that she probably experienced some slurs and a little ridicule. She didn’t pick any particular stories to share with me about her experiences. This could be because I do not know her very well or maybe she didn’t experience that harsh of racism. I really enjoyed this interview and learned a lot about her life.