Sidney Rittenberg, born in 1921, talks about growing up in Charleston, South Carolina. He relates memories of his parents, Muriel Sluth (Slutsky) and Sidney Rittenberg, Sr., and his older sister, Elinor, who married Art Weinberger, also of Charleston. The interviewee’s paternal grandfather, Samuel Oscar Rittenberg (1867–1932) emigrated from Lithuania and, after living in New York for a time, ended up in Charleston working in real estate with Triest & Israel. Samuel served as president of Brith Sholom Synagogue and was a South Carolina state legislator. Sidney Sr. was a reporter for the News and Courier before becoming a self-taught attorney, partnering with Louis Shimel in the law firm Shimel & Rittenberg. He was a Charleston City Councilman, active in local civic clubs, and associated with many prominent Charlestonians of his day. Although his parents often attended Shabbat services at Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim, Charleston’s Reform synagogue, the interviewee notes that they didn’t observe the High Holidays. Growing up, Sidney had Jewish and non-Jewish friends. He says, “I didn’t really like being Jewish because it separated me from the other kids. . . . I thought, ‘I’m an American. Why should I be anything else?’” Sidney noticed tension between the Reform Jews and the Orthodox Jews. “People looked down on each other because they weren’t strict enough or they were too strict.” He describes instances of antisemtism; portrays an African-American man who made baskets and wove figures like dolls and ships; and recalls enjoying children’s programs offered by The Charleston Museum. The interviewee discusses an incident that deeply affected him as a fourteen-year-old; he witnessed the unjust treatment of a black man by the police and was powerless to stop it. See also Sidney’s second interview with Dale Rosengarten on June 19, 2013, and his two interviews with cousin Deborah Lipman Cochelin on July 27, 2013, and October 27, 2013.
Sidney Rittenberg, in this follow up to his interview on June 17, 2013, recalls his initial encounters with the idea of Communism. While attending Porter Military Academy, the school chaplain, Reverend William W. Lumpkin, got Sidney’s attention when he stated, “There are people working in little Communist cells around the South, secretly, for equality and justice that are Communists and they don’t consider themselves Christians, but the lives they lead are like Christian lives.” As a teen Sidney was exposed to “socialists, communists, anarchists, everything imaginable liberal,” when he spent a summer at the New Jersey resort run by his maternal grandparents, Martin and Sadie Sluth (Slutsky). “I was struck by the fact that the one who was a Communist, who was a lawyer, was very reasonable and seemed to make a lot of sense to me.” While attending the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rittenberg volunteered to teach local mill workers how to read and write, and he began working with unions in Durham, North Carolina. Sidney also joined the American Student Union, eventually becoming president of the left-wing campus organization. In 1940, Sidney left school. By that time he had joined the Communist Party [CP] in defiance of a federal investigation of the college’s president, Dr. Frank Porter Graham, “on charges of Communist sympathy.” Sidney traveled to New York and to his hometown of Charleston, South Carolina, to collect CP dues and renew contact with members. The interviewee describes his experiences as a trade union organizer in High Point and Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina, and his work on behalf of the Alabama Sharecroppers Union [SCU] in the early 1940s. Rittenberg and interviewer Dale Rosengarten share stories about union organizer Clyde Johnson and labor organizer Claude Williams. Dale’s fieldwork for her undergraduate thesis on the SCU led her husband, Theodore Rosengarten, to record the story of a black tenant farmer named Ned Cobb, and produce a book called All God’s Dangers: The Life of Nate Shaw, which won the National Book Award in 1974. Sidney describes how his union organizing for R. J. Reynolds workers in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, led to him being drafted into the army shortly after the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941, despite being rejected earlier because of poor eyesight. Rittenberg outlines his service in the U.S. Army, particularly while stationed in China, beginning around the time of the Japanese surrender in 1945. Serving as a claims investigator for the army and, later, after his discharge in January 1946, serving as a famine relief observer for the United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration [UNRRA], he witnessed the inner workings of Chinese society. “These people were not only in the grip of a terrible backward oppressive system . . . they accepted it as fate, as proper. . . . That’s the great thing that Mao and the Chinese Communists did; they broke up that concept of fate, that you can’t do anything about it, and they made people feel that they could do something.” Sidney joined the CP in China and contributed by supplying books, helping people who were in danger leave the area, and providing whatever assistance was needed. He notes the difference between the CP in the U.S. and the CP in China. After leaving UNRRA, Sidney, intending to head home to the U.S., instead met CP leader Zhou Enlai and General Nie Rongzhen, who offered Sidney a job helping the CP reach out to the American people. Sidney touches on how he coped with being imprisoned in China for more than a dozen years. Imprisonment and solitary confinement “didn’t change me . . . because I believed in the principles. I believed we were working for a better world and there was nothing better to do than that.” He comments on the positive reception he received when he returned to the U.S. in 1980, and notes that “I didn’t really turn from Marxism/Leninism until about a year after I got out of prison the second time. Then I began reexamining basic premises.” In 1993, he co-authored with Amanda Bennett the story of his life in China, The Man Who Stayed Behind. See also two more interviews with Sidney Rittenberg, conducted by his cousin Deborah Lipman Cochelin on July 27, 2013, and October 27, 2013.
Sidney Rittenberg talks a second time with cousin Deborah Lipman Cochelin in follow-up to their recording session on July 27, 2013. Some of the interview covers the same ground as Sidney’s June 17 and June 19, 2013, interviews with Dale Rosengarten, including stories about his family; the unjust treatment of an African American by Charleston, South Carolina, policemen in the mid-1930s; and Rittenberg’s experiences living and working in China. Sidney attended Sunday school at Kahal Kadosh Beth Elohim (KKBE), the Reform synagogue in Charleston, South Carolina, and relates his memories of KKBE’s Rabbi Jacob Raisin. When he was about fourteen years old, Sidney met Joseph Nelson Mease, a College of Charleston freshman from Canton, North Carolina. Mease introduced Sidney to topics in natural science and historic figures like Charles Darwin. “The main effect that Joe Mease had on me was that I immediately declared myself an atheist.” Sidney describes his after-school activities, family vacations, and how he befriended medical school students and helped them with their studies while he was still in high school. He discusses why he chose to pursue his college degree at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, instead of taking advantage of a full scholarship to Princeton. For graduate studies, he was sent to Stanford University by the U.S. Army to study Chinese language, politics, culture, history, and anthropology. In September 1945, Rittenberg was assigned to the army’s claims department in the judge advocate’s office in Kunming, China. While in China, he observed that the foreigners who were allowed into the country between 1946 and 1966 came from all over the world and the vast majority were Jewish. “Why? Because, like me, they grew up with, first of all, a natural affinity for oppressed people.”
Sidney Rittenberg, born in Charleston, South Carolina, in 1921, is interviewed by Deborah Lipman Cochelin, whose great-grandmother Rachel Rittenberg Sanders was a sister of Sidney’s grandfather Samuel Oscar Rittenberg. Sidney tells stories about his parents, Muriel Sluth (Slutsky) and Sidney Rittenberg, Sr., and his sister Elinor Rittenberg Weinberger. He talks about growing up in Charleston, including the schools he attended and the friends he made. A good bit of the narrative is similar in content to his June 17, 2013 interview with Dale Rosengarten. The cousins recall several members of their extended family and Sidney describes time spent as a child on Sullivan’s Island. See also Sidney Rittenberg’s other interviews on June 19, 2013 and October 27, 2013.
Over the course of two interviews delivered in August and September of 2013, Senator Arthur Ravenel discusses his memories of growing up in Charleston and his many personal and professional accomplishments.
In this interview, health worker and community activist, Romina McCandless (b. 1983), talks with her mother, Mirna Bria (b. 1946), about her life experiences as immigrants. In 1984, Bria and her husband left their native Argentina and moved with their two young kids to South Africa looking for better economic opportunities. At the end of the Apartheid in 1994, the family relocated to Hilton Head, South Carolina where McCandless lived until she left to attend the College of Charleston. In the first part of the interview, McCandless and Bria remember the years they lived in South Africa, the reasons why they moved to Hilton Head, and the challenges they faced in both places. They share memories but present different explanations about the events they recall. In the second part of the interview, McCandless focuses on her community work. She explains that while working as an interpreter at MUSC, she became aware of the disparities in health care access and delivery related to race, ethnicity and socioeconomic factors that were affecting the Hispanic community. This knowledge fueled her passion for improving the health care system. She obtained a Master’s degree in Health Education and got involved with PASOs, a South Carolina nonprofit organization that focuses on enhancing the Latino community access to health services. McCandless also tells about her work as an SC ACLU Board Member and how this organization was involved in challenging the SC Immigration law SB 20. At the end, mother and daughter remember the last days of Mr. Bria. Descripción: En esta entrevista, la activista comunitaria y trabajadora de la salud Romina McCandless (1983) habla con su madre Mirta Bria (1946) acerca de sus experiencias de vida como inmigrantes. En 1984, Bria y su marido dejaron su Argentina natal y se trasladaron con sus dos hijos pequeños a Sudáfrica en busca de mejores oportunidades económicas. En 1994, después de la caída del Apartheid, la familia volvió a migrar y se estableció en Hilton Head, Carolina del Sur. En esa ciudad creció McCandless hasta que dejó la casa de sus padres para ir a estudiar al College of Charleston. En la primera parte de la entrevista, McCandless y Bria recuerdan los años que vivieron en África del Sur, las razones por las cuales llegaron a Hilton Head y los desafíos que enfrentaron en ambos lugares. Madre e hija intercambian recuerdos, pero ofrecen diferentes explicaciones y significados a los eventos que recuerdan. En la segunda parte de la entrevista, McCandless se centra en sus pasiones: el trabajo comunitario y las políticas de salud. Explica que trabajando como intérprete en MUSC se dio cuenta de las disparidades en la prestación y acceso a servicios de salud y entendió como la raza, el origen étnico y los factores socioeconómicos afectaban negativamente a la comunidad hispana. Este conocimiento alimentó su pasión por mejorar el sistema de salud. Obtuvo una Maestría en Educación para la Salud en la Universidad de Carolina del Sur y se involucró con PASOs, una organización sin fines de lucro cuya misión es mejorar el acceso de la comunidad latina a los servicios de salud. McCandless también cuenta acerca de su trabajo en la junta de directores de la Asociación Americana de los Derechos Civiles (ACLU) y como esta organización lideró el proceso para recusar la ley de inmigración de Carolina del Sur SB 20 . Al final de la entrevista Bria y McCandless recuerdan los últimos días del señor Bria.
Artist and playwright Maribel Acosta was born in Havana, Cuba in 1969. She moved in her twenties to Ecuador and since 2010 has been living in the Lowcountry with her family. Acosta has gained a reputation within the local arts community for her paintings, graphic design, community-based theatrical productions, and community service. In the interview, Acosta tells about her childhood in Havana, her early fascination with the arts, and her training as an artist in the most prestigious Cuban institutions. She also talks about her journey as an immigrant and explains that moving from Cuba to Ecuador represented a true cultural shock. Twenty years later, she decided to emigrate again, this time to the United States, with her musician husband and their two children. In the United States she struggled with learning to communicate in English, but that was not a deterrent for her creative passion and her efforts to share her work. Acosta explains that since her children became more independent she has had more time to focus on her artistic endeavors. She has exhibited her paintings in a private gallery in West Ashley and at the Saul Alexander Gallery at the Charleston County Public Library. Finally, she also tells about her project, "Hola Familia", a radio program in Spanish that is broadcast once a week by El Sol 980. Descripción: La artista y dramaturga Maribel Acosta nació en La Habana, Cuba en 1969. A los veinte años se estableció en Ecuador y desde el año 2010 reside en el Lowcountry junto con su familia. Acosta es reconocida por sus pinturas, diseño gráfico, producciones teatrales y servicio comunitario. En la entrevista cuenta sobre su infancia en La Habana, su temprana fascinación por las artes y su formación como artista en las más prestigiosas instituciones cubanas. También relata su historia como inmigrante y explica que el paso de Cuba a Ecuador representó un verdadero choque cultural. Veinte años más tarde cuando decidió radicarse en Estados Unidos junto a su marido músico y sus dos hijos tuvo que aprender a comunicarse en una nueva lengua. Este desafío no le impidió seguir creando y compartiendo su trabajo. Acosta explica que a medida que sus hijos se han vuelto más independientes ella ha encontrado más tiempo para enfocarse en sus proyectos artísticos. Ha exhibido sus pinturas en una galería privada en West Ashley y en la galería Saul Alexander de la Biblioteca Pública del Condado de Charleston. Finalmente, habla de su proyecto “Hola Familia” un programa radial en español que se emite semanalmente por El Sol 980.
Diana Salazar is a Mexican American born in Homestead, Florida. Her father and grandfather worked as labor contractors, supplying immigrant workers to farmers on the Eastern Seaboard. In the interview, Salazar remembers when she was twelve and a teacher told her “do not become a statistic Mexican girl that works in the fields and gets pregnant. […] You go get your education because you’ve got it in you.” She also recalls that as a child she witnessed an immigration raid on a labor camp in Maryland. Though she knew she was not at risk of being deported, the events left a deep impression upon her. Around the age of sixteen, her parents moved to Orlando and stopped being migrant workers because they did not want this lifestyle for their children. Later, they moved to Hollywood, South Carolina where Salazar completed her high school senior year at Baptist Hill High. She returned to Orlando, Florida where married her first husband. She came back to the Lowcountry in the 1980s with her second husband and first child. Salazar tells about her extensive work experience and activism. In 2006, when massive immigrant protests were held around the country to raise awareness about the struggles of undocumented individuals and demand comprehensive immigration reform, three thousand people congregated in Marion Square in Charleston. Salazar tells she organized the march with the guidance and support of her cousin Emma Lozano, a Chicago activist, but she found no support from local politicians. Salazar is proud of her achievements, among them being the recipient of the Martin Luther King Picture Award. Descripción: Diana Salazar nació en Miami, Florida. Su padre y abuelo trabajaron como contratistas, supliendo de mano de obra de trabajadores inmigrantes a los agricultores de la costa este de Estados Unidos. En la entrevista, Salazar recuerda dos eventos que la marcaron siendo niña. El primero fue una conversación con un profesor que le dijo "no te conviertas en una estadística, otra chica mexicana que trabaja en el campo y se embaraza joven. [...] ve y edúcate". El otro suceso fue una redada de inmigración de la que fue testigo en un campo de trabajo en Maryland; a pesar de que sabía que no estaba en peligro de ser deportada quedó profundamente impactada. Cuando tenía aproximadamente dieciséis años sus padres decidieron dejar la vida migrante y se establecieron en Orlando, Florida. Más tarde se trasladaron a Hollywood, Carolina del Sur y fue allí, en la escuela Baptist Hill donde Salazar curso su último año de la preparatoria. Siendo muy joven se casó y fue a vivir Orlando con su marido. En los años ochenta regresó a Carolina del Sur con su segundo marido y su primer hijo y desde entonces ha residido en el Lowcountry. En la entrevista, Salazar cuenta sobre su amplia experiencia laboral y su activismo. En el año 2006, cuando miles de personas marcharon en distintas ciudades del país para crear conciencia sobre las luchas de los indocumentados y para exigir una reforma legislativa, alrededor de tres mil personas se congregaron en Marion Square en Charleston. Salazar explica que fue ella quien organizó la marcha, que recibió el apoyo de su prima Emma Lozano, una activista de Chicago, pero que en cambio, no encontró repuesta positiva en los políticos locales. Salazar se siente orgullosa de sus logros entre los cuales figura de haber sido elegida para recibir un premio por su trabajo en la comunidad llamado Martin Luther King Picture Award.
Lydia Cotton was born in Puerto Rico in 1962. She moved to the Lowcountry in the 1980s. A hard-working woman, her life changed dramatically in 2003 after surviving brain cancer. She was unable to maintain regular employment, but she was determined to make the best of her life. She concentrated her talents and energies on helping the growing Hispanic community in the City of North Charleston. Soon, she became the liaison between the Hispanic Community and the Department of Police of the City of North Charleston. Thanks to this partnership and strong community work, the level of crime in the city reduced significantly. Cotton explains how she has built trust with the residents and authorities over the years and remembers how she and other community workers organized the first community meetings in Spanish in the City of North Charleston. Cotton reflects about the need for community involvement and participation in civic issues, how she understands leadership, and talks proudly about the volunteer work done by a group of Hispanic residents called “Dame la Mano.” Finally, she tells about her last project, a weekly radio program in Spanish that she sees as a new channel to inform, educate, and help people to access the resources they need. Descripción: Lydia Cotton nació en Puerto Rico en 1962 y en los años ochenta se estableció en el Lowcountry. Independiente y trabajadora, su vida cambió drásticamente en el año 2003 cuando le diagnosticaron un tumor cerebral. Afortunadamente se recuperó, pero quedó incapacitada para trabajar en forma regular. Desde entonces concentró sus talentos y energía en ayudar a la creciente comunidad hispana de la Ciudad de North Charleston. Pronto se convirtió en intermediaria y mediadora entre la comunidad hispana y el Departamento de Policía de la Ciudad de North Charleston. Gracias a este trabajo colaborativo el nivel de crimen en la ciudad se redujo notablemente. Cotton explica la naturaleza de su trabajo y cómo fue el proceso de ganarse la confianza de los vecinos y las autoridades. También recuerda como ella y otros trabajadores de la ciudad organizaron las primeras reuniones comunitarias en español en la Ciudad de North Charleston. Explica cuál es su concepción de liderazgo y discurre acerca de la importancia de la participación en temas cívicos. Habla con orgullo de un grupo de vecinos que han formado una organización sin fines de lucro llamada "Dame la mano". Finalmente, cuenta acerca de su nuevo proyecto “Hola Familia” un programa radial semanal y en español que busca informar y educar a la comunidad.
Lucia (Lucy) Cordero was born in 1941 in Arecibo, Puerto Rico. When she was twenty-one, she married Angel Cordero. They lived and raised their children in the city of San Juan. Her husband worked with the Federal Aviation Administration as a traffic controller and in 1982, he was transferred to Charleston, South Carolina. They moved with their three young adult children and got established in Goose Creek, South Carolina. Cordero describes Charleston in the 1980s, stating the Latino community was almost non-existent. Cordero remembers she met her first friend at Sunday mass at the Naval Weapon Station's church, and thanks to her, they connected with other Latino families. Soon, they started gathering to share celebrations and to keep their cultural heritage alive. This small circle expanded to more military families and gave birth to the Tri-County Hispanic American Association. This organization, the oldest Latino organization in the Lowcountry, was later instrumental in the organization of the first Latino festivals in the area. The Catholic faith was very central to community life, and Cordero remembers their efforts to have Spanish Sunday mass celebrated in the Charleston area. Finally, Cordero reflects on the growing Latino community in the region and the challenges the community faces. Descripción: Lucia (Lucy) Cordero nació en 1941 en Arecibo, Puerto Rico. A los veintiún años se casó con Ángel Cordero. La pareja se estableció en la ciudad de San Juan y allí criaron a sus tres hijos. Angel trabajaba para la Administración Federal de Aviación como controlador de tráfico. Cuando en 1982 fue trasladado al aeropuerto de Charleston en Carolina del Sur la familia se radicó en Goose Creek. Cordero describe Charleston en los años ochenta y afirma que la comunidad latina de tan pequeña, era casi inexistente. Sin embargo, encontraron a su primera amiga en la misa dominical en la base naval (Naval Weapon Station) y fue así que conocieron a otras parejas con las que empezaron a reunirse para compartir su cultura y celebraciones. Tanto disfrutaban estos encuentros que su pequeño círculo pronto se amplió a más familias militares. Los Cordero fueron socios fundadores de una organización llamada The Tri-County Hispanic American Association. Esta organización desempeñó un papel decisivo en la organización de los primeros festivales latinos de la zona. Cordero recuerda también que estas familias trabajaron arduamente para que hubiera misas en español en el área de Charleston. Finalmente, reflexiona sobre el crecimiento de la comunidad latina en el Lowcountry y los desafíos que esta enfrenta.
Erin McKee was born in Brooklyn, New York. Right after college, Mckee started her career as a flight attendant with National Airlines. When this company went bankrupt she joined Tower Air. In this interview, Mckee recalls some of the most dangerous, most difficult, and most satisfying moments she experienced working on international flights. In the ‘80s when she started working with the airline industry, flight attendants were expected to look attractive, they have to be slim, have their nails done, and their her hair up. It took time and work to change the requirements for applicants to meet the real focus of the position ‘the main reason that a flight attendant is on the airplane is if there's an emergency, to get you out of that airplane safely. It's not to look good. It's not to serve you meals really. You're there by law, federal regulations, to get people out of a plane in a certain amount of time if there's an emergency." At the end of '80s early '90s McKee and her coworkers organized a union to demand better regulations regarding the scheduling and number of hours they were forced to work. She became the secretary/treasurer of her union and was part of the negotiating committee. Because of her experience, she went to Washington, D. C. to testify before a legislative subcommittee about duty time legislation. Mckee moved to Charleston in 1996 and around 1998 Tower Air closed and she was out of work. She thought that her vast experience with unions would help her to find a job quickly but her background was not seen as an asset in a right to work state. She finally started working with American Income Life Insurance and then with Electrical Workers' Building Trades Local IBEW776. In 2013 she became the President of the State Labor Council (AFL- CIO).
Civil rights leader and community activist William Saunders was born in 1935 and has resided most of his life in Johns Island, South Carolina. In this interview, Saunders reflects on the economic and cultural changes he has witnessed over the years. Many of the changes had a negative impact on the health and life expectancy of the African American community. Regarding land ownership and access to natural resources, he states- both poor white and black landowners lost their properties because of shark loan practices. He criticizes government policies that facilitated city annexations, profuse housing development, and promoted tourism industry without considering their impact in the life of folks residing in rural and urban areas of Charleston. He thinks organic farming is a positive practice but one that does not benefit poor families. Saunders states he keeps working on his community as a member of the Gullah/ Geechee Commission. He also co-chairs with Tommy Legare the organization Concerned Citizens of the Sea Island, which is against the extension of I-526. Saunders states that activism can carry a heavy toll. "If you got the knowledge, and you care, then you have to suffer. You really have to suffer because you’re the one that gets involved."
Paula Tejeda was born in San German, Puerto Rico in 1946. Besides her daily job as Charleston School of Law Associate Law Librarian and Head of Technical Services, Tejeda is the president of Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston. In the interview, she remembers her childhood, her college years, and her vast career as a professional librarian in Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Florida, and South Carolina. In 1985, she moved with her husband to Santo Domingo because he was employed at Gulf and Western Industries. Four years later, they relocated to Florida and lived there until her two sons reached adulthood. Then, she received a proposal to join the newly opened Charleston School of Law and decided to accept the challenge. In 2004, Tejeda and her husband moved to the Lowcountry and were surprised to find a very diverse Hispanic population in terms of nationalities of origin. Soon, Tejeda and her husband joined the Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston. Tejeda describes the history, mission, and goals of Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston, an organization she has fully embraced, serving as treasurer and president. Descripción: Paula Tejeda nació en San Germán, Puerto Rico en 1946. Se radicó en Carolina del Sur en el año 2004 para desempeñarse como subdirectora y jefa de Servicios Técnicos de la Escuela de Derecho de Charleston (Charleston Law School). En la entrevista, Tejeda recuerda su infancia en Puerto Rico, sus años en la universidad y su vasta carrera profesional en Puerto Rico, Santo Domingo, Florida y Carolina del Sur. En el año 1981, Tejeda y su esposo se establecieron en Santo Domingo donde él trabajaba para la compañía azucarera Gulf and Western. Cuatro años más tarde se trasladaron a Florida. Cuando sus hijos crecieron y dejaron la casa paterna, Tejeda recibió la propuesta de unirse al cuerpo profesional de la nueva Escuela de Derecho de Charleston. En Carolina del Sur, encontró una población hispana diferente a la de Florida, una comunidad que ella describe como mucho más diversa en términos de nacionalidades de origen. Al poco tiempo de llegados, ella y su marido se unieron al Círculo Hispanoamericano de Charleston, organización en la que se ha desempeñado como tesorera y presidenta. Finalmente, Tejeda describe la historia, misión y objetivos de esta institución.
Charles Moore, a member and business manager of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Local 776, was born in Florence, South Carolina, on July 19th, 1961. Soon after, his family moved to the Isle of Palms, where he spent his youth. Directly after graduating from high school, Moore joined the Marine Corps and served from 1979 to 1983. He spent most of his service time overseas, first in Japan and later in Korea. After completing his years of service at the age of twenty, Moore attended Embry-Riddle College in Daytona, Florida, aspiring to become a helicopter pilot. However, he returned to South Carolina before finishing his training and, needing a steady job, decided pursue a civilian job and continued on to join the local union. He explains that transitioning from military life to the union was not difficult, as both systems provided similar structure and order. Moore talks about IBEW, the union which represents electricians and workers of the communication and broadcasting industries, and describes its role in negotiating with contractors and ensuring benefits for the workers. His pride in his work with the union, in his trade, and in the Charleston-based projects on which he has participated is evident. He says proudly, “I can walk around here and see every building I worked in. I’m a part of the community. I love being a part of the community. My children get tired of it because every time we ride around, [I say], ‘Yeah, I built that. I built that.’”
"Herbert Lee Frazier was born at the Charleston Naval Base Hospital. The son of a Navy cook, Herbert grew up wandering King Street, enjoying cartoons, and maturing under the love and support of his close-knit family. Frazier also describes his youth and the neighborhood he grew up in, including the damage it suffered from Hurricane Hugo and the following gentrification. Frazier attended The University of South Carolina, majoring in journalism. Although he gravitated towards an advertising career, he found himself working as an intern at The Post and Courier in a newly integrated news room. Frazier notes that his career in journalism allowed him to “follow his curiosity.” Frazier went on to work at papers such as The State Newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, The Times-Picayune in New Orleans, Louisiana, The Dallas Times-Herald, in Dallas, Texas, and The Charlotte Observer in Charlotte, North Carolina. In 1990, he was named the journalist of the year by the South Carolina Press Association in recognition of his work with the South Carolina Association of Black Journalists. Frazier also recalls such experiences as teaching at Rhodes University in South Africa, participating in journalism organizations, and leading training sessions in developing countries with the State Department. In the interview, Frazier reflects on the ethics, integrity, and technological advancements in journalism . He also talks about the challenges he faced as an African American journalist and remembers some of the most interesting stories he wrote. "
Luz Alvarado was born in Mexico in 1984. She is a single mother of two, a college student, a full-time worker, and a volunteer. In the interview, Alvarado tells about growing up in poverty and how America resonated in her young mind as the remedy for her family problems. When she was fourteen, she was sent to spend a few weeks with her grandmother who lived in a small town. There she met a man much older than her and was flattered by his attentions. He told her he was on his way to the United States and invited her to go. She decided to go without letting anybody know, excited about the prospect of achieving the American dream, and seeing her brother who was living in Florida. Soon, she realized this man had not been honest about his intentions, but by then she was crossing the border. In the interview, Alvarado tells about the complex relationship she had with this man who became her husband and the father of her two daughters. It took her several years but finally, she was able to leave the relationship, and since then she has been the sole provider for her kids. Because she was a victim of criminal abuse, she was able to apply and obtain a visa that allows her to stay and legally work in the United States. Alvarado says that changing her legal status enormously improved her quality of life; she is no longer living in fear of being deported and separated from her children. Finally, she talks about being a Meals on Wheels’ volunteer, helping her church, and the dreams she has for her future and her daughters’. Descripción: Luz Alvarado nació en México en 1984. Cada día, Alvarado cumple muchos papeles diferentes: es madre soltera de dos hijas, estudiante universitaria, trabajadora de tiempo completo y voluntaria en su comunidad. En la entrevista, Alvarado recuerda que creció en la pobreza y que los Estados Unidos resonaban en su mente joven como el remedio para los problemas de su familia. Cuando tenía catorce años, fue enviada a pasar unas semanas con su abuela que vivía en un rancho. Allí se encontró con un hombre mayor que ella que pronto la hizo sentirse halagada con sus atenciones. Le dijo que estaba en camino a Estados Unidos y la invitó a ir, insistiendo en que debía decidirse pronto. Alvarado pensó que era su oportunidad para trabajar y ganar dólares para ayudar a su familia y también de volver a ver a su hermano que vivía en la Florida. Sin dejarle saber a nadie, emprendió el viaje. No había pasado mucho tiempo cuando se dió cuenta de las verdaderas intenciones de su acompañante y se arrepintió de su decisión, pero para entonces, ya estaba cruzando la frontera. En la entrevista, Alvarado habla de la compleja relación que mantuvo con este hombre que se convirtió en su marido y el padre de sus dos hijas. Cuando finalmente fue capaz de dejar esa relación abusiva se convirtió en el único sostén de sus hijas. Debido a que fue víctima de abuso criminal pudo aplicar y obtener una visa que le permitió quedarse y trabajar legalmente en Estados Unidos. Alvarado explica que adquirir documentos para residir y trabajar legalmente ha mejorado enormemente su calidad de vida, que gracias a ello ya no vive con el temor a ser deportada y separada de sus hijas. Por último, cuenta de su trabajo voluntario en Meals on Wheels of Charleston y en su iglesia y acerca de los sueños que tiene para su futuro y el de sus hijas.
JoDee Robinson (b.1969), a child of Cuban immigrants, was born in New York and grew up in New Jersey. Her father owned a restaurant that was at the center of family life. There, Robinson learned to work, made friends, and met her future husband, Richard Robinson. In the interview, Robinson tells about her childhood and teen years as a first-generation American child, and reflects on how their parent’s background, language, and culture colored her experiences. She married an Irish man and soon they realized had very different expectations about roles and responsibilities in the family. Soon after marrying, the Robinsons decided to move south. They lived for a while in Miami, Florida, but finally got established in Summerville, South Carolina. Robinson worked as an interpreter at Midland Park Elementary and did volunteer work with a Hispanic Methodist Pastor. She experienced firsthand the needs of the children and families and was moved to give a creative and positive answer. With that goal, the Robinsons created the nonprofit organization, Nuevos Caminos. In 2011, they were deeply involved in challenging the South Carolina Immigration Law SB 20. Robinson says she was outraged because she realized her own father, a Cuban-American with a strong accent, was at risk to be singled out, stopped and detained if the law passed with full force. In the interview, she also talks about the racism she has encountered while living in South Carolina. Descripción: Hija de inmigrantes cubanos, JoDee Robinson (1969) nació en Nueva York y se crio en Nueva Jersey. Su padre era dueño de un restaurante que fue el centro de la vida familiar. Allí, Robinson aprendió a trabajar, hizo amigos y conoció a su futuro marido, Richard Robinson. Robinson reflexiona acerca de sus años de infancia y adolescencia como hija de inmigrantes y explica como la historia de sus padres, su cultura y lenguaje matizaron todas estas vivencias tempranas. Al poco tiempo de casados, los Robinson decidieron mudarse al sur. Residieron por un tiempo en Miami, Florida pero finalmente se radicaron en Summerville, Carolina del Sur. Robinson trabajó como intérprete en la escuela Midland Park e hizo trabajo voluntario con un pastor de la Iglesia Metodista. Caminando los barrios fue testigo de las necesidades de los niños y las familias. Así nació su determinación de dar una repuesta apropiada y para hacerlo fundó junto a su esposo la organización sin fines de lucro, Nuevos Caminos. En 2011, los Robinson participaron activamente en la recusación de la ley de inmigración de Carolina del Sur SB 20. Robinson cuenta que el proyecto de ley la afectó de manera personal porque se dio cuenta de que su propio padre, un cubano-americano que habla inglés con acento extranjero, corría el riesgo de ser detenido y maltratado si la ley se aprobaba en toda su extensión. Finalmente, cuenta sobre el racismo que ella ve en Carolina del Sur y cuales son sus planes para el futuro.
Robert Altamont Moses, the fourth of seven children of Charlotte Virginia Emanuel and Henry Phillips Moses, was born in 1921 in Sumter, South Carolina, where his great-grandfather Montgomery Moses had settled around 1832. In describing the house and the property on Church Street where he and his siblings grew up, he notes that "looking back on it, I would say that it was a near-perfect childhood." The Moses family was Jewish, but celebrated both Jewish and Christian holidays. Robert discusses the deaths of his two oldest siblings due to polio; learning from his mother how to cure mullet roe and make haw jelly, "a Sumter specialty;" the 1950 death of his brother Vivian while flying for the United States Marines; and the life of his uncle Herbert "Unc" Moses, who partnered with Robert's father, Henry, in the Henry P. Moses Company, an insurance and real estate business. Robert attended The Citadel and, in the interview, recalls the difficulty of surviving freshman year. While serving stateside in the U.S. Army in the mid-1940s, he met and married Harriett Pace of Kansas City, Missouri, who was on the road playing violin with a band. They settled in Sumter and raised five daughters. Because Harriett was Catholic, they had to pledge to raise their children in the Catholic Church. Robert kept his promise, but states that it was "a bitter pill to try to swallow, to see your children raised Catholic and forbidden to be Jewish." Ironically, Harriett was not particularly observant after they married, and she later became a member of Temple Sinai's sisterhood. Robert and his youngest daughter, Elizabeth, who is an interviewer, discuss the various religious paths the five Moses daughters chose as adults. Note: see also a follow-up interview with Robert Moses dated August 17, 2013. For related information see the August 7, 1999 interview with Robert's brother Richard Moses and August 19, 2013 interview with Robert's sister Mary Octavia Moses Mahon. Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, is the repository for Moses family photographs and papers.
In this follow-up to his August 16, 2013 interview, Robert Altamont Moses shares his memories of Temple Sinai in his hometown of Sumter, South Carolina. He recalls some of the rabbis who served the Reform congregation, such as Samuel Shillman, Avshalom Magidovitch, J. Aaron Levy, Milton Schlager, and Robert Seigel. Although Temple Sinai is listed on the National Register of Historic Places in South Carolina, Moses worries about what will happen to the building, the stained glass windows in particular, when the congregation is no longer viable. He discusses the windows in the sanctuary; the renovations that took place in the 1960s; activities of the sisterhood in past decades; and the decline in the number of members over the last fifteen to twenty years. Robert believes intermarriage is partly responsible for the decrease in the size of the congregation. He notes that Sumter Jews have been fully accepted and have largely assimilated into mainstream society. Jewish family names mentioned during the interview are Strauss, Moise, Lyon, and Kaye. Ira Kaye and his wife, Sumter native Ruth Barnett Kaye (see their interviews dated June 14 and 15, 1996), were close friends of the Moses family. Ira's work as a lawyer on civils rights issues in Sumter in the 1950s and '60s alienated many of Ira's colleagues and fellow Jews. Wanting to overcome society's "stone wall of inbred discrimination," Robert and his first wife, Harriett Pace, tried to lead their children by example in treating black people as they would white. Elizabeth, his youngest daughter and co-interviewer, was raised, like her siblings, in the Catholic Church, Harriett's chosen religion. Robert reveals his feelings about raising the children in the Catholic Church and Elizabeth's conversion to Judaism as an adult. Following Harriett's death, Robert married Clara Gayness - also present for the interview - who, like Harriett, converted to Catholicism. For related information see the August 7, 1999 interview with Robert's brother Richard Moses and August 19, 2013 interview with Robert's sister Mary Octavia Moses Mahon. Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, is the repository for Moses family photographs and papers.
Mary Octavia "Ta" Moses Mahon, born in 1918, shares her memories of growing up in Sumter, South Carolina, with her six siblings, two of whom died in childhood of polio. She describes how the Moses children occupied their time in Sumter and Saluda, North Carolina, where they had a summer home. She recalls attending Sunday school and, on occasion, accompanying her father to Friday night services at Temple Sinai, the Reform Jewish congregation in Sumter. The Moses family observed the Sabbath and the High Holidays at the temple, but not in the home. Ta, with help from her niece Elizabeth Moses reviews some of the family genealogy, which includes surnames such as Seixas, Emanuel, and Cohen, and she responds to questions about her Jewish identity. Ta graduated from Coker College in Hartsville, South Carolina, with a degree in history, and taught in Sumter schools for four years. She married John Mahon, a Methodist, and they raised their four children in Sumter as Methodists. For related information see the August 7, 1999 interview with Octavia's brother Richard Moses and August 16 and 17, 2013 interviews with Octavia's brother Robert Moses. Special Collections, Addlestone Library, College of Charleston, is the repository for Moses family photographs and papers.
