Daisy Jeffries

HUNTLEY: This is an interview with Ms. Daisy Jeffries for the Birmingham Civil 00:01:00Rights Institute. I am Dr. Horace Huntley. We are at Miles College. Today is May 12, 1995. Thank you Ms. Jeffries for coming out and sitting and talking with us today

JEFFRIES: I appreciate the invitation.

HUNTLEY: Yes, ma'am. I just want to start out by asking some general types of questions.

Where are you from originally? Where were you born?

JEFFRIES: I was born in Demopolis, Alabama.

HUNTLEY: In Demopolis. And you went to elementary school and high school in Demopolis?

JEFFRIES: I went to elementary school in Demopolis. And when we moved to Gallion, Alabama, I went to Stillman Elementary School. And then we moved. I had an aunt that lived in Demopolis and I lived with her while I went to school.

HUNTLEY: So you came to Birmingham after you finished high school?

JEFFRIES: Yes. After I finished high school, I came to Birmingham and went back to school.

HUNTLEY: Where did you go to school then?

JEFFRIES: Oh, I went to Parker. They had these classes down there that they called them, addition to school that you had already had.

HUNTLEY: The Parker Annex?

JEFFRIES: Oh, quite a few of us went to Parker.

HUNTLEY: And you graduated from Parker?

JEFFRIES: I did.

HUNTLEY: And then where did you go to college?

JEFFRIES: Miles College. I graduated from Miles.

JEFFRIES: I appreciate the invitation.

HUNTLEY: Yes, ma'am. I just want to start out by asking some general types of questions. Where are you from originally? Where were you born?

JEFFRIES: I was born in Demopolis, Alabama.

HUNTLEY: In Demopolis. And you went to elementary school and high school in Demopolis?

JEFFRIES: I went to elementary school in Demopolis. And when we moved to Gallion, Alabama, I went to Stillman Elementary School. And then we moved. I had an aunt that lived in Demopolis and I lived with her while I went to school.

HUNTLEY: So you came to Birmingham after you finished high school?

JEFFRIES: Yes. After I finished high school, I came to Birmingham and went back to school.

HUNTLEY: Where did you go to school then?

JEFFRIES: Oh, I went to Parker. They had these classes down there that they called them, addition to school that you had already had.

HUNTLEY: The Parker Annex?

JEFFRIES: Oh, quite a few of us went to Parker.

HUNTLEY: And you graduated from Parker?

JEFFRIES: I did.

HUNTLEY: And then where did you go to college?

JEFFRIES: Miles College. I graduated from Miles.

HUNTLEY: How many brothers and sisters did you have?

JEFFRIES: I had three brothers. I never had any sisters. I had three brothers and all three of them have passed on.

HUNTLEY: The only girl?

JEFFRIES: The only one left now.

HUNTLEY: Right. Were your parents from Demopolis as well, both of them?

JEFFRIES: Both of them. They moved to Gallion, Alabama. That's where they were really from.

HUNTLEY: What kind of work did they do?

JEFFRIES: Well, my father was a Baptist preacher, and Mommy worked. Women didn't work a lot out, you know, she just worked around the house. She never had a job out, she just kept house.

HUNTLEY: She was a housewife?

JEFFRIES: Yes. And he preached and had a little farm like. My brothers worked. One of my oldest brothers worked out, but he drowned.

HUNTLEY: Was that here in Birmingham?

JEFFRIES: No. In Gallion, where we were.

HUNTLEY: Is that Gallion?

JEFFRIES: G-A-L-L-I-O-N.

HUNTLEY: What we are doing, we are attempting to get information about how Birmingham developed over time and you, by living in Enon Ridge, how would you describe Enon Ridge as a community in the time that you were living there, in the early days?

JEFFRIES: Enon Ridge was up the hill from Smithfield. Fine hard-working people, nice homes and Churches. It consists of Tuggle School and down the hill to Parker High School. Well, when I first moved there, I always thought it was a nice place, it was a quiet place and the people believed in owning something or having something. It had several churches there and it was just a small, nice neighborhood. Everybody knew everybody, helped everybody.

HUNTLEY: What were the occupations of people that lived there? You finished Miles and you were a teacher, right?

JEFFRIES: Yes, that's right.

HUNTLEY: What other kinds of occupations were in your neighborhood?

JEFFRIES: Well, quite a few went to school. Quite a few finished Miles with me. And, of course, went into work business, you know how they had work going on, especially boys. A lot of them went into work business. But quite a few went to school.

HUNTLEY: Were you a member of any community organizations?

JEFFRIES: Oh, yes. I can't remember.

HUNTLEY: Were you ever a member of the NAACP?

JEFFRIES: Oh, yes. I could have brought you a book about that. Yes-- we went at night and met and night when the other people were afraid. Yes, I was quite an NAACP person. I always have been a civic minded person and I work with them now.

HUNTLEY: Well, what were some of the issues that you were concerned about as a member of the NAACP?

JEFFRIES: We broke down a lot of barriers. We went to a lot of places Black folks hadn't ever been. I guess being reared with boys, I had never been, what you call a scary person. And I would go "Are we going to such and such place tonight?" And at that time, they were really rough. They were bombing all around the place. If they found your meeting place, but I never was afraid and wherever they went, I went too.

HUNTLEY: You say you were going various places?

JEFFRIES: Yes. The churches, even at our church, Sardis Baptist Church and we had meetings there when people were afraid to come and most of the churches around 16th Street, most of the churches around there. We went, we was going to see what went on then. And you know in all of that fear, we weren't afraid of anybody. All that fear went away. The police all in a line, parked, we walked 00:07:00right by them like they weren't even there and they finally quit coming.

HUNTLEY: This was at the meetings?

JEFFRIES: Yes. Police was at the meetings. They thought that would frighten you from coming and we went right on with them. Wherever the boys went we went right on with them. But those were some tough times in those days.

HUNTLEY: Were there other teachers involved?

JEFFRIES: A few. They were afraid of losing their job. But I told them I lived a long time before I taught and I thought I could live on. I didn't think about getting fired. I don't guess I had sense enough.

HUNTLEY: Tell me, how did you get involved in the Movement? What were the circumstances of your getting involved?

JEFFRIES: Our church was involved.

HUNTLEY: And what church was that?

JEFFRIES: Sardis Baptist Church up on the hill. Well, this is walking distance from my house. But it was some people there and we had a pastor, Rev. C. H. 00:08:00George, he was an elderly man, but he wasn't afraid of anything and that's where we got our encouragement from him. And we had our meeting and sometimes we would get there and the police just almost like people dropping handkerchiefs, standing all around the door and we would go there and stand and finally they would move and let us come in. I got to the place we just weren't afraid of anything.

HUNTLEY: Did you participate in sit-ins or any of the big demonstrations?

JEFFRIES: No. I didn't go out. Well, we did most of this around the churches, at home. Quite a few of them did, buses and all that kind of thing. But we did help to integrate the buses because we would just get on, we weren't going anywhere. 00:09:00But get on and sit down and they would look at us. And when they got through looking then they would get off. It was interesting though. The things that we went through, you just wouldn't think people with good sense, they told us we didn't have good sense. And most of a lot of the older people was afraid that they were going to bomb their houses and all that kind of thing. But it was something and when I think about it now, it was amazing, but we didn't think about being afraid.

HUNTLEY: Did you attend the Movement's mass meetings?

JEFFRIES: Yes. When it was, as they say, "When it got so hot." We were having meetings every night, every night. Most of the churches around, some was afraid for us to come and our church started it off and then the others and Rev. C. H. George was kind of elderly man that pastored our church, he wasn't afraid of 00:10:00anything and that gave us more courage. It was interesting and I think about it now and I wonder how did we do it.

HUNTLEY: How would you describe a typical mass meeting?

JEFFRIES: Well, it was people, all the people from everywhere would come. And they would have different ministers, those who were not afraid to come. And they would have people to come and speak, men and women. They were just so interesting. And the people, the church full and all around, it was an interesting thing. And the people, they would just think about the thing that they wanted and they would talk about what they could do if we would stick together and they did that. The church couldn't hold them. They would stand up. It was quite interesting.

HUNTLEY: Were there ever Birmingham Police officers in the meeting?

JEFFRIES: Every night. Every night.

HUNTLEY: Why were they there?

JEFFRIES: Think they going to frighten somebody away. And after they saw we weren't thinking about them, they gradually dropped off. But they would be standing right there in the door, standing in the door and we'd just stand. We'd just stand there until they finally moved and we would go on in. Nobody raised any disturbance or say anything.

HUNTLEY: Did you ever go to jail?

JEFFRIES: No. I didn't. I missed jail twice.

HUNTLEY: How do you mean, you missed jail twice?

JEFFRIES: They arrested five people and another lady and myself. When the man had looked around we had walked in the church and they didn't know what happened to us so they had to take them ahead and go on. We laughed about it. And another time, just like when you would walk up to the church and they would just touching them, just touching them, taking them on off, then I just went in the 00:12:00side door, and that's how I missed it. I never did get to jail, but I got close. I wasn't anxious about going to jail.

HUNTLEY: Did others in your family participate?

JEFFRIES: Yes. They participated. I had a younger brother. He was a bad man. He wasn't afraid of anybody. When White people see that you are not afraid then they get afraid. We would walk up and just stand there. And finally they would move to the side. I reckon they say, I'm tired of these niggers standing up here. They moved to the side and we'd walk in. So finally they quit that 00:15:0000:14:0000:13:00foolishness, you know. People sure can be crazy.

HUNTLEY: Did your husband participate?

JEFFRIES: Well, he was working. No. He didn't participate too much. He pushed us and any help he could give to us. He worked at the steel plant and they was really checking on all the fellows at ACIPICO and steel plants like that. Of course, we had to eat.

HUNTLEY: Well, if you were teaching, there were teachers who refused to participate because they were afraid? Why were you not afraid?

JEFFRIES: I never was afraid because I was eating before I started teaching. Oh, I'm thinking about I'd hope they fired me and I wouldn't have worried about it. 00:16:00But was just so happy. I had never been a scary person or nothing, not too much. And my husband would say, "You just think you can whip everybody." I said, "No. I don't worry about whipping everybody, but ain't anybody going to whip me."

HUNTLEY: So did he ever attend any of the mass meetings?

JEFFRIES: Oh yes. He attended quite a few of the mass meetings, but he didn't take as much part as I did because I travelled with a lot of them. Places they went, I liked travelling anyway.

HUNTLEY: Where did you travel?

JEFFRIES: Different places around. Not too far away. But we would go and have meetings.Those people would come to us and we would go over to East Thomas and all the neighboring churches and then sometimes we would get a bus and go on out 00:17:00somewhere. We really worked together better than I think we ever did before or since. But it was the most interesting thing. But I never was afraid. I never thought anybody was going to do anything to me. And I reckon I was crazy.

HUNTLEY: Were your neighbors involved?

JEFFRIES: Quite a few. And some, just like everything else, they would sit on the porch and talk about what "they going to keep on running up there until they kill some of them up there."

HUNTLEY: In 1963 when the demonstrations took place here in Birmingham, were you actively involved?

JEFFRIES: Oh, yes. I marched.

HUNTLEY: What do you remember about the marches?

JEFFRIES: Well, we would meet, we would meet at various churches and things like that had just become a part of it, you know. And all you wanted to know was where you wanted to meet and people was making excuses about where they can't go 00:18:00and all of that. But they got those cars, trucks and buses and everything and we would be there. I mean when the members of the church got there, we were there. It was interesting and it would kind of grow on you. It was in your blood and don't be afraid of anything. I think about it now. My mother said, "The Lord take care of babies and fools." You know, they were kind of chicken.

HUNTLEY: How would you assess the Birmingham Movement? Do you think it was successful?

JEFFRIES: I think it was quite successful. Because see somebody had to start somewhere and we talked about it and the folks talked about it and I think the first meeting that they had at the church, it wasn't, they got groups together before they had a meeting and anybody out there belong to any other church, they 00:19:00met. We had the first meeting at our church and all the men, well the men was for it first, you know and setting it up but we were always around on hand and the ministers, it just spread to the ministers but there was some who never showed. The man said that's where they were getting their bread, so they could leave it, but quite a few participated and as time went on, they came in.

HUNTLEY: What is the most vivid memory that you have of the Movement activity?

JEFFRIES: Well, I got so close to going to jail. Of course, it didn't matter with me. I kind of wanted to go because some of my friends were going, but one night we were just about to leave. We thought all the White folks, all the Ku 00:20:00Klux was gone, you know.

HUNTLEY: You were just about to leave the church?

JEFFRIES: Leave the church, yes.

HUNTLEY: After a meeting?

JEFFRIES: Yes. After a meeting. And when we came to the door, they was standing there. "Well, there's some niggers there, they ain't never left. We're just carry them on to jail." So I had a jacket over my arm, I just reached around and got my jacket, I was going to jail. But my brother and two of my brothers were there. They definitely didn't want me to go to jail, you know. And he just kind of pushed me around to this little closet and they went on out there. They went on to jail, but they definitely didn't want me to go to jail. I never did go.

HUNTLEY: Is there anything else that you would like to add that we haven't dealt with that relates to the Movement?

JEFFRIES: Well, if you had told me I could have jotted some things down.

HUNTLEY: You said you marched. Did you ever sit-in?

JEFFRIES: No. They went places and sat-in and I didn't ever go over there.

HUNTLEY: Did you ever help coordinate those kinds of things?

JEFFRIES: Oh, yes. At my church, because those people were so afraid when they first started. And I was so brave and they would look at me. But I didn't have any fear because it was something that had to be done and somebody had to do it.

HUNTLEY: So you thought that this was just part of your duty?

JEFFRIES: I really felt that way and I still feel that way. If there's anything I can do to the betterment of the country or home life, I said, "Well, after all 00:22:00you supposed to be here to do something." And as my mother say, "you should put forth to do something." But anywhere I can help or encourage people to do something like that. Putting all your money and all your fine houses and everything. I said, "And you wouldn't even need to spend a dime to help somebody, not anything." Oh, they lived such and such a place, they don't come up to my standards and this kind of junk. You know we will spite. As my brother say, "Just let them get a new pair of shoes."

HUNTLEY: Ms. Jeffries, I want to thank you for coming out and spending this time with us today because you have been very helpful.

JEFFRIES: Well, if you had told me I could have jotted a lot of things down.

HUNTLEY: Well, we may do it again sometime and that would be helpful.

JEFFRIES: Yes.

HUNTLEY: All right. And if you have any items that you would like to donate to 00:23:00the Civil Rights Institute we would be very thankful for that.

JEFFRIES: Well, I'll do that, I sure will. And I appreciate you inviting me.

HUNTLEY: Thank you very much.