Oral+History+Questions

__Could you describe your lives prior to dating?__ Granny -
 * Went to St. John's Cathedral HS (95% white)
 * Worked at Spartan Atlantic (discount department store)
 * Life was normal - went to school, worked
 * Hung around with smart kids from all around the city
 * Average Grade: As and Bs
 * Belonged to choir

Papa -
 * Went to Rufus King HS (70% white 30% black),
 * Worked at Spartan Atlantic
 * Did varsity track as a freshman
 * Played football
 * Was an athlete
 * Was very, //very// popular
 * schools were divided (for boys) into clubs (like USM houses),
 * Sang in choir that later broke off into singing group, did performances at school
 * Average Grade: C
 * Was in band and orchestra
 * Came from Middle class family
 * Had 2 brothers, 1 sister

__Where did you guys meet? When did you know s/he was "the one"?__
 * Met in 1966 at Spartan Atlantic, where they worked
 * Papa was moping the snack bar, Granny worked at the snack bar
 * "He was the one" in Senior year
 * "She was the one" after he left work, walked her home, and kissed her a block away from her house

__At the time, did you know any other black and white couples? How were they treated compared to "black" couples and "white" couples?__
 * Granny knew none
 * Papa knew a few, club members dated white girls
 * People talked about them behind their back
 * Teachers didn't approve of it

__Did you guys receive any unfair treatment, got called names, scolded, etc. in public for being together?__
 * Yes, all the time
 * Lots of whispering on buses
 * Faces of disgust everywhere they went (movies, restaurant, etc)
 * Granny called "nigger-lover"
 * Weird looks, stared at them
 * Black girls thought white girls were stealing away their men
 * In the 60s, people couldn't understand why blacks and whites would date

__How did your friends and family feel about you two dating?__
 * Papa's family had no problem, had open family
 * Granny's sister did not care, father and brothers were against it
 * Granny couldn't go to prom with Papa (at King) because Granny's father didn't approve
 * Didn't want daughter to marry stereotypical, lazy black man
 * Granny had close friends that did not care about them dating
 * Black girls disapproved of Papa dating white girl
 * Papa's family and friends accepted Granny more than Granny's family/friends
 * Friends were open minded people
 * Granny's father became less and less prejudice as time went on

__How did friends and family respond to your marriage? Did they approve? Disapprove?__
 * Granny's father did not approve, didn't come to wedding
 * People who came to wedding were open minded and approved of relationship
 * Talk that they weren't going to last
 * People who truly loved them believed they were going to make it
 * Lots of whispering of uncertainty

__To your knowledge, were Craig and Tracy treated differently in society because they were mixed?__
 * Yes, they were
 * Black people were jealous because they were light skinned, at that time the lighter you were the more accepted you were by the white race
 * White people treated them as if they were black, "If you had a hair of blackness in you they were considered black"
 * They didn't have identity problems because of the schools they went to
 * They went to private schools, and they were accepted at school by kids, teachers
 * Would have had problems in public school
 * World made it difficult to fit in, didn't accept them for who they were, "wanted to put them in a little box labeled 'black'"

__Looking back at when you first started dating and now (after your 39th Anniversary), do you believe America's perspective on interracial couples has changed? How?__
 * Yes
 * Much more accepted way of life
 * See many more interracial couples compared to 40 years ago
 * Papa doesn't know if they are accepting or if people are just going along with the program
 * Doesn't bother younger generation, older generation has not accepted it
 * Over the years, people who once oppose the relationship start to approve of it because get to know people