Oral history interview with Mabel Williams, August 20, 1999 [electronic resource] : interview K-0266, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007).
Abstract Mabel Williams paints a vivid picture of segregated Monroe, North Carolina, detailing the subjugation that ate away at African Americans' sense of self. Among those who resisted was Williams's husband, Robert, the descendant of a long line of assertive African Americans, who slept with a pearl-handled revolver under his pillow. Williams remembers Robert for much of this interview, describing how his militant, assertive conviction in racial equality clashed with the rigid segregationist mentality in Monroe. Unable to assimilate in the way that many African Americans did, Robert earned the ire of white city fathers, who prevented him from finding employment in a quest to injure him and his family and undermine his masculinity. The local newspaper stopped printing his letters, one of his only safety valves for expressing the frustrations that gave him migraine headaches. But these efforts at stifling Robert's activism failed; he only grew more determined to resist white supremacy, arming himself and training fellow African Americans in armed self-defense. Guns became an important part of the Williamses' lives, whether on Robert's hip or on the seat of the car next to Mabel. Thus protected, Robert organized demonstrations to desegregate an all-white swimming pool, and even ran for mayor. Williams eventually left not only Monroe, but the United States altogether. This interview is a detailed account of the life and work of one civil rights activist who believed in violent resistance in a time of non-violent protest.
Electronic resources
Record details
- Edition: Electronic edition
- Publisher: [Chapel Hill, N.C.] : University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, 2007.
Content descriptions
- General Note:
- Duration: 03:07:53.Interview participants: Mabel Williams, interviewee; David Cecelski, interviewer.Text encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.This electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hillapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.Title from menu page (viewed on Oct. 31, 2008).
- Type of Computer File or Data Note:
- Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 272 kilobytes, 344 megabytes.
- Original Version Note:
- Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0266, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Original transcript: 83 p.
- Funding Information Note:
- Funding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.
- System Details Note:
- Mode of access: World Wide Web.System requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.
Search for related items by subject
- Subject:
- Williams, Mabel R. > Interviews.
Williams, Robert F. (Robert Franklin), 1925-1996.
African American radicals > North Carolina > Monroe.
African American women civil rights workers > North Carolina > Monroe > Interviews.
African American women political activists > North Carolina > Monroe > Interviews.
African Americans > Civil rights > North Carolina > Monroe.
African Americans > Segregation > North Carolina > Monroe.
Civil rights movements > North Carolina > Monroe.
Direct action > North Carolina > Monroe.
Monroe (N.C.) > Race relations.
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| 100 | 1 | . | ‡aWilliams, Mabel R. ‡0(CARDINAL)901076 |
| 245 | 1 | 0. | ‡aOral history interview with Mabel Williams, August 20, 1999 ‡h[electronic resource] : ‡binterview K-0266, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007). |
| 246 | 1 | . | ‡iAlso cited as: ‡aInterview K-0266, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) |
| 246 | 3 | 0. | ‡aInterview with Mabel Williams, August 20, 1999 |
| 250 | . | ‡aElectronic edition | |
| 264 | 1. | ‡a[Chapel Hill, N.C.] : ‡bUniversity Library, UNC-Chapel Hill, ‡c2007. | |
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| 500 | . | ‡aDuration: 03:07:53. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aInterview participants: Mabel Williams, interviewee; David Cecelski, interviewer. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aText encoded by Jennifer Joyner. Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aThis electronic edition is part of the UNC-Chapel Hillapel Hill digital library, Documenting the American South. It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South. | |
| 500 | . | ‡aTitle from menu page (viewed on Oct. 31, 2008). | |
| 516 | . | ‡aText (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: ca. 272 kilobytes, 344 megabytes. | |
| 520 | . | ‡aAbstract Mabel Williams paints a vivid picture of segregated Monroe, North Carolina, detailing the subjugation that ate away at African Americans' sense of self. Among those who resisted was Williams's husband, Robert, the descendant of a long line of assertive African Americans, who slept with a pearl-handled revolver under his pillow. Williams remembers Robert for much of this interview, describing how his militant, assertive conviction in racial equality clashed with the rigid segregationist mentality in Monroe. Unable to assimilate in the way that many African Americans did, Robert earned the ire of white city fathers, who prevented him from finding employment in a quest to injure him and his family and undermine his masculinity. The local newspaper stopped printing his letters, one of his only safety valves for expressing the frustrations that gave him migraine headaches. But these efforts at stifling Robert's activism failed; he only grew more determined to resist white supremacy, arming himself and training fellow African Americans in armed self-defense. Guns became an important part of the Williamses' lives, whether on Robert's hip or on the seat of the car next to Mabel. Thus protected, Robert organized demonstrations to desegregate an all-white swimming pool, and even ran for mayor. Williams eventually left not only Monroe, but the United States altogether. This interview is a detailed account of the life and work of one civil rights activist who believed in violent resistance in a time of non-violent protest. | |
| 534 | . | ‡pOriginal version: ‡tSouthern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern communities, interview K-0266, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡nOriginal transcript: 83 p. | |
| 536 | . | ‡aFunding from the Institute of Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview. | |
| 538 | . | ‡aMode of access: World Wide Web. | |
| 538 | . | ‡aSystem requirements: Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player. | |
| 600 | 1 | 0. | ‡aWilliams, Mabel R. ‡vInterviews. |
| 600 | 1 | 0. | ‡aWilliams, Robert F. ‡q(Robert Franklin), ‡d1925-1996. ‡0(CARDINAL)213283 |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aAfrican American radicals ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aAfrican American women civil rights workers ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe ‡vInterviews. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aAfrican American women political activists ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe ‡vInterviews. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aAfrican Americans ‡xCivil rights ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aAfrican Americans ‡xSegregation ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aCivil rights movements ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe. | |
| 650 | 0. | ‡aDirect action ‡zNorth Carolina ‡zMonroe. | |
| 651 | 0. | ‡aMonroe (N.C.) ‡xRace relations. | |
| 700 | 1 | . | ‡aCecelski, David S. ‡einterviewer ‡0(CARDINAL)207781 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aSouthern Oral History Program. ‡0(CARDINAL)315877 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bDocumenting the American South (Project) ‡0(CARDINAL)530366 |
| 710 | 2 | . | ‡aUniversity of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. ‡bLibrary. ‡0(CARDINAL)155444 |
| 740 | 0 | . | ‡aOral histories of the American South. |
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