Oral history interview with Richard Bowman, July 8, 1998
Subtitle: interview K-0513, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Navies, Kelly Elaine, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2006
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; School integration; Race relations; African Americans; Education; Social life and customs; Segregation in education; African American students; Riots; High schools; Stephens-Lee High School (Asheville, N.C.)
Other titles: Interview K-0513, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Richard Bowman, July 8, 1998; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Richard Bowman grew up in Asheville, North Carolina, attended Tuskegee College, served in the Army in Germany, and lived in Los Angeles, California, for forty years before returning to Asheville. He discusses important events in his life, including his experience in segregated schools and his efforts to improve Asheville schools following his retirement. He also recalls his early stance against segregated libraries and buses in Asheville. He faced racism in the Army and at the Department of Motor Vehicles in Los Angeles. Bowman explains his views on race relations in California by comparing the riots in 1965 with the riots in 1992. Bowman is glad for improvements like school integration in Asheville, but he volunteers his efforts in order to ensure that integration serves black students well.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on Dec. 21, 2007).

Interview participants: Richard Bowman, interviewee; Kelly Elaine Navies, interviewer.

Duration: 01:27:26.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Mike Millner.  Sound recordings digitized by Steve Weiss.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 167 kilobytes, 160 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0513, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 45 p.

Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.