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Black Heritage in the Upper Piedmont of South Carolina

WilliamsM Cassette 3 Side 1

Media

Part of Interview: Williams, Maxie

Title

WilliamsM Cassette 3 Side 1

Source

Maxie Williams Interview

Date

1989-11-28

Description

Cassette 3

Side 1

00:09--Mrs. Williams states that she was never warned about white people, but admits a certain sense of uneasiness in some situations.

1:02--She is aware of several lynching incidents in the area. One involved Allen Green of Walhalla (he was dragged through the streets), another involved a shootout in which a man named Gibson was killed. If a white woman felt insulted by what a black man said to her for example, that individual was in danger of being killed by a mob without trial. She can recall being frightened of the chain gang when they occasionally passed her house. Williams states that she has never been able to understand how the Ku Klux Klan could claim to "uphold the law" by hiding behind a sheet and carrying out justice without the benefit of a trial. She points out that Martin Luther King never hid his face from the public.

10:48-Mrs. Williams details the work of church groups such as the WMWA and Burial Aids Society.

17:40--Education--schools were supported financially by church conventions. She first attempts to identify members of a graduating class from Seneca Institute as depicted on a brochure before going on to detail some of the issues regarding the foundation of the Institute and naming prominent graduates. Later she recalls the situation regarding the eventual closure of the school.

31:39--Audio ends.

Rights

Interviews may only be reproduced with permission from Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives. All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the Clemson University Libraries Special Collections and Archives.