Jackson State University

Items

• Nancy Stewart interviewed by Clonzo L. May, Audio/Transcript.
  Nancy Stewart worked in the central office of the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) in Jackson, Mississippi, from 1967 until 1970. She talks about growing up during segregation in Gulfport, Mississippi, and the views that many people had about Head Start serving Black children. Interview is incomplete. Recording cuts short at the end.
• Willie Ruth Daugherty interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Willie Daugherty worked at Head Start in Benton County, Mississippi. She speaks about educators, church leaders, and others who had an influence on her as a teacher and community leader. She also gives her opinions on the future of Head Start. The Interview is incomplete, the first part of the recording is missing.
• Ruth M. Fitts interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Ruth Fitts became a teacher with Head Start in Tupelo, Mississippi, in 1966 after being alerted by her husband to a job opening in an advertisement. She talks about her experiences being a White teacher in the Head Start Program and discusses a number of colleagues she worked with.
• Rev. Rims Barber interviewed by Carl S. Slade, Audio/Transcript.
  Rev. Rims Barber came to Mississippi in 1964 to assist in the Civil Rights Movement. He talks about his work in the movement and Delta Ministry and about the connection between the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) and Delta Ministry in bringing Head Start to Mississippi through grassroots organizing and community development.
• Rev. R.L.T. Smith interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  At the time of the interview, Rev. R.L.T. Smith was on the board of directors of Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP), which was part of his larger work within the community for people in need. He tells the story of how Head Start came to be in Mississippi.
• Nolan W. Tate interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Nolan Tate began his involvement with Head Start in 1964 when he was recruited by Charles Mosley to the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM). He started out as head of supplies and transportation. He talks about his work during the Civil Rights Movement including working with Medgar Evers in getting people registered to vote.
• Netterine Theodore interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Netterine Theodore was one of the founders of the Turkey Creek Head Start Center near Gulfport, Mississippi in 1964. She worked for Head Start as a teacher and committed the entirety of her life to school and education. Ms. Theodore discusses the origins of Head Start in the Turkey Creek community and the effect that had on race relations.
• Mrs. Willie L. Payton interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Willie Payton began with Head Start holding meetings at churches to encourage people in the community to get involved. She ultimately helped with the opening of the first Head Start Center in the Pearson Community in Rankin County, Mississippi. She discusses her experiences with voter registration work in Mississippi in the 1960s.
• Melba Smith interviewed by Carl S. Slade, Audio/Transcript.
  Melba Smith heard about Head Start for the first time in 1968 and after attending a community meeting, she started working for Head Start with the title of Head Teacher. She went on to work as an internal auditor with Head Start. She discusses her roles in those positions as well as other community service oriented jobs she worked over the years.
• Maxine Hudson interviewed by Michael Richardson, Audio/Transcript.
  Maxine Hudson began her education at a Head Start program in a church in Louisville, Mississippi, and she discusses the good it did for her in her educational life and career. She became a teacher herself at Eiland Middle School in Louisville, Mississippi.
• Mattie Louise Bell interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Mattie Bell began working at Head Start in 1965 recruiting students for the program and working as a teacher's aid. She talks about her time as a Head Start Area Teacher Guide in Sharkey County and Issaquena County in Mississippi. She worked the same job for 20 years (even though the title changed a couple of times).
• Mathew Thomas interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Mathew Thomas worked for Mississippi Action for Progress (MAP) as an accountant for the Head Start programs in Mississippi. He discusses some of the racial dynamics in MAP and Head Start. He also talks about the current state of young people and his ideas on re-focusing what Head Start should look like in the future.
• Margarett Rundles interviewed by Carl S. Slade, Audio/Transcript.
  Margaret Rundles began working with the Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) in 1967 in Jackson, Mississippi, when the organization moved into the building she was working in. She talks about first starting work as a copy manager and discusses some of the publications that came through her department.
• Margaret D. Jones interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Margaret Jones began Head Start in 1967, working to bring Head Start to Rankin County, Mississippi. Her career began when she was hired as a resource teacher when her daughter began attending Head Start at 3 years old. She eventually was promoted to Head Start Director of Education. She talks about the history of the program during her time there.
• Ludie Neal interviewed by Carolyn Murray, Audio/Transcript.
  Ludie Neal began working for Head Start in 1965 with the position of teacher, eventually moving to resource teacher in 1970. She talks about her role as a resource teacher, making daily and weekly lesson plans for the 25 students she taught. She also discusses the origins of Head Start in her community.
• Lavaree Jones interviewed by Major O'Neal, Audio/Transcript.
  This interview was recorded in Dr. Alferdteen Harrison's oral History class at Jackson State University and is conducted between two students. Lavaree Jones gives a rundown of the history of the beginnings of Head Start starting with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party registering voters and Freedom Schools during Freedom Summer.
• Jessie M. Jelks interviewed by Michael Richardson, Audio/Transcript.
  Jessie Jelks began work as a teacher with Head Start in 1967 and by 1979 had worked her way up to Education Special Services Specialist. She talks about the improvements and growth of Head Start since she first began working. At the time of the interview she was still working as Education Special Services Specialist.
• Jerome Wyatt interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Jerome Wyatt started working at Head Start in Jones County, Mississippi, in 1972 as Area Director. Mr. Wyatt talks about his time working with Head Start, including the internal and external problems he had to deal with when coming into the job. He says that White politicians were actively working to take control over the program.
• Judge Houston Patton interviewed by Carl S. Slade, Audio/Transcript.
  Judge Houston Patton started with Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) in 1965 as a Head Start administrator for Hinds, Madison, and Rankin counties in Mississippi. After attending law school, he worked from 1972 until 1979 with Head Start Legal Services in Jackson. He talks about these jobs including meetings, budgets, and personnel.
• Helen D. Ware interviewed by Delia Rinee Smith, Audio/Transcript.
  Helen Ware was involved with the Greenwood, Mississippi, Head Start program in Leflore County from its initial planning stages in 1969. She talks about her time working as a social worker for Head Start, including her role going into the community to get parents excited about enrolling their children.
• George W. Jamison interviewed by Delia Rinee Smith (2nd Interview), Audio/Transcript.
  In this second of two interviews, George Jamison talks about his role in policy decision and policy writing for the Head Start program. His first position in Head Start was with social services and he began writing policies from there. He also discusses the relationship between Head Start and the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s.
• George W. Jamison interviewed by Delia Rinee Smith (1st Interview), Audio/Transcript.
  George Jamison began working for Head Start in 1964 under Child Development Group of Mississippi (CDGM) and decided to keep working after the change over to Mississippi Action for Progress, Inc (MAP). He talks about his travels through Mississippi to meet with communities and promote Head Start after the change. This is the first interview of 2.
• Francis M. Alexander interviewed by Lavaree Jones, Audio/Transcript.
  Francis Alexander did extensive Civil Rights Movement work in Rolling Fork, Mississippi in the 1960s. In this interview, Ms. Alexander talks in detail about that work as well as her work in the greater Rolling Fork community. Later, she went on to open a Head Start school in her home after she began teaching her own children how to read and write.
• Eunice Hicks interviewed by Carolyn Murray, Audio/Transcript.
  Eunice Hicks began work at Head Start in 1965 as a social worker because of her degree in Sociology. She goes through her career and the different positions she held in the organization and the different centers she worked in. The interview is incomplete because Side A was recorded over.
• Emma Wheeler interviewed by Carolyn Murray, Audio/Transcript.
  Ms. Wheeler worked at Head Start from 1967-1977, first as a disbursement clerk, then bookkeeper, and eventually assistant director. In the interview, she talks about some of the things the students learned as part of the program and the role parents of students played in the program.