Katherine Curtis
Photo courtesy: Albert W. Durant Collection, Visual Resources, John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, "Cheerleading Squad"
Katherine Curtis provided the reflections below as part of the Oral History Community Nights hosted by Colonial Williamsburg during the late 1980s and early 1990s. The clips are excerpts from The Freedom Years, one of several films produced from these oral history nights. The full film can be viewed here.
Film Courtesy: Media Collections, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Ms. Curtis recalls the difficult living conditions that faced segments of the Black community when she was growing up and the lack of political representation to make change.
Ms. Curtis explains how it was difficult to speak on a level playing field about social and political issues with one's employer, giving the example of her mother who worked as a domestic worker in a white family's home.
Ms. Curtis recalls her grandmother saving enough money to help her parents built a new house. She had kept all the money hidden in her home as she did not trust white banks.
Ms. Curtis remembers the Black communities in Grove and Williamsburg being distinct, but everyone latched onto Dr. Blayton, who was "for everyone."
Ms. Curtis remembers Grove as a vibrant community with its own civics, garden, and savings and loans clubs and churches, including the church built by the residents of Magruder who relocated to Grove when the Navy took their land to build Camp Peary.
Ms. Curtis describes wanting the right to go restaurants and other places during segregation.
Ms. Curtis explains that it was difficult for people to speak out for change as they feared losing their livelihood.
Ms. Curtis discusses the impact of the Brown v. Board of Education decision on Black teachers and students.
Ms. Curtis reflects on the process of integrating Williamsburg schools.
Ms. Curtis recalls integration, when it finally came, unfolding quickly in Williamsburg. The NAACP threatened to march on Williamsburg, and Colonial Williamsburg didn't want protests to disrupt tourism.
Ms. Curtis discusses supporting integration efforts in other parts of the country but not forcing the issue at home.
Ms. Curtis discusses sending her children to private, Catholic school until the seventh grade.
Ms. Curtis imagines what it would take to truly help all students in the schools.