Memories of Oxford During Segregation
As told by members of Rust Chapel United Methodist Church --Jackie Wright, Sharon Shields, Ora Cody, and Shirley Reese – to Dr. Mark Auslander and his students for the course “Cultures of the African Diaspora,” and their subsequent project, “A Dream Deferred: African Americans at Emory and Oxford Colleges, 1836 – 1968.” Used by permission.
Rust Chapel United Methodist Church is located in the neighborhood known as "Shakerag." [It was called that] because everyone would wash their clothes on Wednesday and all the clothes would be on the line then everyone would shake their clothes out.
The "Nook" was a local hangout behind [Rust Chapel], which offered a jukebox for the kids to dance to and sandwiches, sodas, and cookies to eat. Idela Gafa owned the Nook.
In the 1950's all the little kids in Oxford would pile in the back of Clara Belle Middle Brooks' car and take a ride to the swimming hole where Mrs. Brooks taught them how to swim.
There used to be a "beautiful" waterfall a couple of blocks north of the cemetery in the area called "Texas". People would go out there and spend the day, but now someone bought the land and built a house on it.
Mrs. Wright remembers the Ku Klux Klan coming down the main road and everyone in the town [was] scared. Nothing really bad ever happened in Oxford, though. She notes that Oxford has always had a pleasant and quiet atmosphere and everyone wants it to stay that way. When she was a child, her family wouldn't lock the door and would even keep it open for some fresh air in the summer time. She says, "The 60's were a struggle. A lot of fun though, even though we were struggling."
The "Nook" was a local hangout behind [Rust Chapel], which offered a jukebox for the kids to dance to and sandwiches, sodas, and cookies to eat. Idela Gafa owned the Nook.
In the 1950's all the little kids in Oxford would pile in the back of Clara Belle Middle Brooks' car and take a ride to the swimming hole where Mrs. Brooks taught them how to swim.
There used to be a "beautiful" waterfall a couple of blocks north of the cemetery in the area called "Texas". People would go out there and spend the day, but now someone bought the land and built a house on it.
Mrs. Wright remembers the Ku Klux Klan coming down the main road and everyone in the town [was] scared. Nothing really bad ever happened in Oxford, though. She notes that Oxford has always had a pleasant and quiet atmosphere and everyone wants it to stay that way. When she was a child, her family wouldn't lock the door and would even keep it open for some fresh air in the summer time. She says, "The 60's were a struggle. A lot of fun though, even though we were struggling."
During the era of segregation, there was one elementary school in Oxford for African American children, grades one through seven. It was used up until around 1957. The school consisted of an outside bathroom and five wooden rooms. For this reason, the kids nicknamed the school the “OLC” (Oxford Log Cabin). The school was about a block east of Rust Chapel, in the neighborhood known as "Peasville.” Its brick foundation is still easily visible.
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Students in higher grades attended the Washington Street High School in Covington. Since African American children were prohibited from using the buses made available to white students, they walked each day down Emory Street, often passing by the buses reserved for whites.