Alice Wright Interviewed on November 10, 1995

MILES: This is an interview with Alice Wright for the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute's Oral History Project by Binnie Miles at Miles College on November 10, 1995. Mrs. Wright, how are you today?

WRIGHT: Fine.

MILES: Good. We are talking about the Civil Rights Movement during some of the early years. Let me ask you this about your family. What part of the state are your parents from?

WRIGHT: Livingston, Alabama.

MILES: Were you born in Birmingham or were you born in Livingston?

WRIGHT: I was born in Livingston, Sumpter County.

MILES: About how far is that away from Birmingham?

WRIGHT: About 100 miles.

MILES: Did you grow up in Livingston?

WRIGHT: No. I grew up in Bessemer.

MILES: How old were you when you came to Birmingham, do you remember?

WRIGHT: Eleven months old.

MILES: You were just a baby.

WRIGHT: Yes.

MILES: Do you have any brothers and sisters?

WRIGHT: Yes. I have two brothers and sisters living and I have two dead.

MILES: Were they born in Livingston, also?

WRIGHT: They were also born in Livingston.

MILES: So where do you fit in the five children?

WRIGHT: I was the middle one.

MILES: What about education? Did your parents have so-called "formal" education?

WRIGHT: No, they didn't. I think they went about the 5th or 6th grade.

MILES: Were they from Alabama?

WRIGHT: They were from Livingston. They were farmers.

MILES: What kind of farming did they do?

WRIGHT: Well, just cotton. Of course, they raised other things for their own livelihood.

MILES: So, when you moved to Bessemer did they still have a garden or things like that?

WRIGHT: Yes. They had a garden, a cow, pigs, and that type of thing when they moved to Bessemer in the early years.

MILES: So, did you learn to milk a cow?

WRIGHT: No. I never did.

MILES: Did you have to feed the pigs?

WRIGHT: Oh, yes.

MILES: When they got older did you sell them?

WRIGHT: Well, they only just raised enough for themselves.

MILES: What about your education? Did you finish elementary and high school?

WRIGHT: Yes. I graduated from Dunbar High School in Bessemer, Alabama.

MILES: What about after high school?

WRIGHT: After high school I went to Booker T. Washington Business College.

MILES: How was that for you during that time?

WRIGHT: It was fine.

MILES: What kind of courses did you take?

WRIGHT: Well, I just took regular management course such as typing, shorthand, English, that type of thing.

MILES: I guess during that time, that the only place to go for a higher education, Booker T. Washington Business College?

WRIGHT: Yes, at that time, back in the '42 or '43.

MILES: I guess there were a lot of people who attended that school, who, as they moved up, because of being able to go to Booker T. Washington, you were able to get better jobs?

WRIGHT: True. That is correct.

MILES: Did you have any other schooling after you attended Booker T. Washington?

WRIGHT: Well, I had taken a course in mortuary science at Jeff. State and a real estate course at UAB.

MILES: How did you get involved in the Movement?

WRIGHT: Well, I got involved through my employer. He was the treasurer of the Alabama Christian Movement for Human Rights. I kept his records, the type of information when the kids went to jail to get them out on bond. I kept their weekly, monthly reports and see that their receipts and all were correct and sent to the bank for their collection.

MILES: Who was your employer during that time?

WRIGHT: W. E. Shortridge.

MILES: And that's a funeral home?

WRIGHT: It is.

MILES: How was that for you, keeping those books and the information that you 00:05:00learned? I'm sure even doing numbers, you had conversations and you knew some of the things that were going on, what were some of the things that they shared?

WRIGHT: Well, it was like keeping up with the receipts of the week because they had meetings every Monday night and they would give contributions. And so, many people would give money and that type of thing every week to keep the Movement going.

MILES: How often would people get locked up?

WRIGHT: Oh, just every day. It was a very crucial time, at that time that I worked there, when Mr. Shortridge was treasurer of the Movement. It was just a daily thing.

MILES: During the time, then that money was not that great and people didn't get paid that much but they gave, how much money would people donate? Would it be a 00:06:00couple of dollars or more than that?

WRIGHT: Oh, they donated quite a bit of money. A lot of the doctors in Birmingham didn't want their names published, but they gave almost monthly, donations to the Movement.

MILES: Were these Black or White doctors?

WRIGHT: They were black.

MILES: Why did they not want their names published?

WRIGHT: Well, it was just crucial then. They were afraid of being bombed and the pressure that would be put on you if they found out that you were supporting the Movement.

MILES: You talked about the donations and people going to jail often, were you ever afraid because you kept the books or wondering if something may ever happen to you?

WRIGHT: I really wasn't afraid even though we would get daily threats over the 00:07:00telephone that "We're coming and bomb you," and "We're going to do this to you," and "We're going to do that," over the telephone. However, they never did do anything at the funeral home but they did at Mr. Shortridge's home.

MILES: What happened to his home?

WRIGHT: Well, he had this attempted assassination one night and it was just the grace of the good Lord, that he was not killed.

MILES: So when they attempted to assassinate him, how was that done?

WRIGHT: Well, they shot at him several times and bullets went into his home where his family was, but no one was hurt.

MILES: So, after that, did he decide this was too dangerous?

WRIGHT: Oh, no. He was a fighter. He was a civil rights fighter. And, of course, they did have to put guards at his house, things got so tense at one time.

MILES: How were the police during that time in terms of the neighborhood where you lived, and also were you worked?

WRIGHT: Well, they were always pretending they were going to help you. For instance, my son Desmond went to Bessemer at, I think it was McClendon at that time, for a sit-in at the lunch counter. And, several of them were beaten and about a day after the FBI came out to get information and, this and that, but you never heard anything else from them.

MILES: So it was just a lot of lip service?

WRIGHT: That's all.

MILES: What about your family, were they fearful for you, were you afraid for yourself?

WRIGHT: Well, I guess you just have to do what you have to do and I never really thought about it too much. And, of course, I used to also attend the Movement on 00:09:00Monday nights and I was riding with someone else so, I just forgot about it. I got used to the intimidation and all of them, the calls saying they were going to bomb you and the funeral home. You just got accustomed to it.

MILES: What about at your home? Did you ever get calls at home because...

WRIGHT: No. I never did get any calls at home.

MILES: You mentioned that you have a son, Desmond?

WRIGHT: Yes.

MILES: When he was growing up, and your daughter Constance, what did they think about the Movement? Were they involved, were they afraid for you?

WRIGHT: Well, my son Desmond, he marched in some of the demonstrations. At that time he was going to school at Abrams High in Bessemer.

MILES: Did you ever meet Dr. King?

WRIGHT: Oh, yes.

MILES: When was the first time you met him that you can remember?

WRIGHT: Well, when I first met him he was at the shop, the funeral home, with (Inaudible), that's where I first met him. And, then, I would always see him at the Movement on Monday nights.

MILES: What did you think of him?

WRIGHT: Oh, I thought he was a wonderful man. I really did.

MILES: Did you have an opportunity to talk with him at all?

WRIGHT: Well, no more than just speaking casually. They would go into their meetings and that type of thing.

MILES: When you said "what a great man you thought he was," when you saw him and was in his presence, how did you see other people viewing him? What did they seem to think of him?

WRIGHT: Well, the other people seemed to (Inaudible) except some of the elder people. They were always afraid. For instance, my church, they would never have the Movement because they were too afraid of them bombing the church and that 00:11:00type of thing. There were some elders who was not having the same viewpoints as the others. But, most of the elders were a little afraid.

MILES: What about your daughter, was she involved?

WRIGHT: No. She was not involved. She did not know about the signs in the stores saying "colored" and "white". When I used to tell her about it, then she couldn't hardly understand seeing that type of thing in stores that said, "colored" and "white". But, my son knew about it.

MILES: What would he say?

WRIGHT: Oh, he just thought it was awful.

MILES: Your son went to college?

WRIGHT: Yes, he's a graduate of Miles.

MILES: Did you instill in them the importance of voting?

WRIGHT: Oh, yes, I did that. And, when he got of age, he went down to register 00:12:00to vote.

MILES: When you became a registered voter, what did you think during that time of the poll tax? Did you have to take a test?

WRIGHT: Yes. I just thought it was awful and the questions they would ask you were just unreasonable.

MILES: Would you share with us some of those questions that they asked?

WRIGHT: Oh, they would ask you "How many stars are there in the sky?" That type of thing.

MILES: Things that had nothing to do with wanting to vote?

WRIGHT: That's right.

MILES: What was your community's relationship with the police department as you grew older?

Aside from, when you said, "the police pretended that they wanted to protect you and they really didn't" in the community where you lived. Were the police friendly? Did they come into the community?

WRIGHT: No. They didn't come into the community unless there was crime, but 00:13:00other than that you never saw them. You might see them riding around in the community in their cars.

MILES: Were you a member of any community organizations other than the Movement?

WRIGHT: Well, I was a member of the Voters League in Bessemer but that was about all?

MILES: Did you hold an office, like secretary or treasurer?

WRIGHT: No. I didn't hold any office in the Voter's League.

MILES: You said you got involved in the Movement because of where you worked and because your boss was involved, was it something that you saw that you really just wanted to do, or was it something, because you worked there that he wanted you to do?

WRIGHT: It was just something that I wanted to do. I just wanted to see, with the kids coming along, having a better life than I had.

MILES: How would you describe, let's say, a typical Monday meeting?

WRIGHT: Well, at that time the church was usually packed and they also used to have officers there in the back to see what was going on. I just assumed that they carried that information back to their bosses or whoever sent them there.

MILES: Did you go to jail at any time during the Movement?

WRIGHT: No. I never did go to jail.

MILES: Who were some of the people who went to jail, because you knew a lot of them because of the receipts and keeping up with the records? Did you ever talk with any of them once they got out? And, if so, what was it like for them being in jail?

WRIGHT: Well, not necessarily. Some of the officers of the Movement went to jail, like Shuttlesworth and Rev. Woods and that group, but that's about the 00:15:00extent of that.

MILES: What was your parent's reaction to you participating in the form of keeping the books? Were they concerned that people would know that you were keeping these books and something may happen to you?

WRIGHT: Well, they were concerned because they knew at that time what really could happen to you. And, at that time, nothing was ever done about it. Someone would come and ask questions, but never know a result.

MILES: What church were you a member of during that time?

WRIGHT: New Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Bessemer.

MILES: Is that the church that you're still a member of now?

WRIGHT: Yes.

MILES: Was your church very active in the Movement?

WRIGHT: Not active at all.

MILES: Did the minister ever say why?

WRIGHT: Well, Rev. Ravizee was there at that time and he was kind of an elder 00:16:00minister and with them bombing the churches where the Movement was holding some of their meetings, I think he was just afraid for something happening to the church, so they were not active at all.

MILES: Because of the Movement, what kind of benefit would you say that you, your family and your community did you realize?

WRIGHT: Well, they were hiring. You would go into the department stores and it was unheard of being any Black salesmen and that type of thing, nothing but White. I remember the (Inaudible) at Loveman's, no Pizitz, where you would have to go to the basement to eat and, of course you had to stand up at the lunch counter. There were no provisions there for you to sit. Well, you can go to the 00:17:00offices like city hall and the county courthouse. It was unheard of even going in there and seeing Black people in those positions, as you do now.

MILES: If you were in control of the Movement and you could go back and change some things, would you change anything?

WRIGHT: No. I wouldn't.

MILES: You think everything was okay the way that it was?

WRIGHT: I think they did a wonderful job. I also feel that they made quite a bit of improvement, but there's still more improvement can be made.

MILES: What kind of improvement would you like to see made?

WRIGHT: Now?

MILES: Yes.

WRIGHT: Well, here in Birmingham I think they've done quite a bit for heads of departments, you know some of them being held down by Blacks, which it used to 00:18:00be unheard of. But I still feel that there's some type of improvement still can be made.

MILES: You said you kept the books during that time during the funeral home. Do you have any items that may be related to the Movement, to the development of Birmingham that you would like to donate? Did you keep any of those old receipts just for history, or anything like that?

WRIGHT: Well, Mr. Shuttlesworth kept all of that, because he typed the daily receipts and who paid who even though it wasn't public knowledge. He kept very good books as far as that's concerned, and he kept all of that material.

MILES: So you don't have any?

WRIGHT: I don't have any. It is in the possession of his widow, Mrs. Shuttlesworth, she has that information now. Letters from Dr. King and Wyatt T. 00:19:00Walker and people of that nature. They would write him when they were out of the city, when they weren't here.

MILES: Today, what do you think of the Movement? What do you think of youngsters today as it relates to the Movement, those that are of voting age? Do you think enough young people are registered to vote?

WRIGHT: Well, I think they could do better, for the sacrifice that they've had to get to vote. I feel that they really should use the opportunity.

MILES: Do you think, with looking at what's going on across the country, that people utilize the power of the vote as much as we should?

WRIGHT: No. I don't think they do, because we just have that sitting down thing. And, then, some of us take the attitude, "Oh, they're going to do this anyway, whether I vote or not," which is bad.

MILES: If you could say one something to 00:20:00encourage people to vote, what would you say?

WRIGHT: I would say "Get out and vote, and it would really make a change."

MILES: Well, we certainly thank you for taking the time and sharing with us today.

WRIGHT: Thank you.

MILES: We appreciate it and we'll be talking with you a little later.

MILES: Thank you.