Interviewee: ANDREW JOHNSON
Interviewer: LeAndre Johnson (his son)
Interview Date: February 26, 2006
Location: West side of
Tape No.: 02.26.06-AJ (audio digital file)
(35:00)
Topic:
Subject life in the south and how its different in the north but u made it!
Headings:
Comments: Only italicized text in is verbatim; all other text is paraphrased, including the interviewer’s questions. Counter index corresponds to track times when loaded into RealPlayer.
[Audio File Track minutes -- No. 02.26.06-AJ]
Note: Counter index corresponds to track times when loaded into RealPlayer
0:00 Greetings. Migration from
the south to the north. Came to
2:14 What was in store
for you when you arrived in
5:50 First job at Ford
Motor Company. At the time Ford was hiring, and Chrysler, because the Vietnam
War was going on. Plenty of work in the city. At 18
years old he met his wife and got married and started a family. He changed jobs
a few times from Ford to Chrysler. Would work and get laid
off. After the Vietnam war was over the work field
started to decline in the north. Jobs started back up in the south. The people
down there were starting to live good, buying new cars and homes.
8:00 Joined the military. has been married 33 years and has three wonderful kids the he devotes his life to. Sometimes he thinks about going back to the south because the job situation here in the north has declined. Big industries are moving to the south, cost of living is much lower in the south. Discussion of property taxes in north and south
10:20 Confronted with situation were he couldn't go
to certain places and eat in certain restaurants in the south because he was
black. At this time life was really confusing being a child—couldn’t understand
why I couldn’t do a lot of things. Got along with the white kids but their
parents didn't want them to play with us, we couldn’t do that. Why
was I so much different that them and what made them
so much different than me? These things were minor compared to
my parents going through them on an adult level. Still faced
racism in
15:30 Martin Luther King, hearing him and he was
right. Was one of first members in
18:40 Believes there were better opportunities in the north for his family than in the south. if you're not an extraordinary athlete, a lot of opportunities in the south were not there Unless you wanted to be a general laborer. (Clock chimes)
20:33 His wife's parent's reason for migrating to the north was the same (jobs/opportunities. My wife was my first love, my soul mate and best friend. Determined to make a go of it in the city; we raised each other. If he'd stayed in the south he wouldn't have married that early because it would have been harder to support a family with the given job situations there. Was 18 and making the money of a 30,40 year old at Ford. Wouldn't change anything if he could go back, Other than some financial decisions.
24:00 Goes back to
I still made it because I had a
dream for my family. Early 60’s we were part of that big exodus but past
thirty years things kind of went in reversal.
27:15 Wants
to move back home after a few more years in
30:00 If he moved back home he doesn't feel he
would have a hard time finding a job since he is a professional truck driver.
It's a question if his wife wants to move back to his hometown. She wouldn't
want to move to his hometown, but she does want to
move back to the south. We both migrated without our parents, raised our kids--After
a while you just want to take life easy.
Believes he and his wife did a good job raising their children and now its time to relax and enjoy life.
33:00 All the blacks were moving from the south to the north in the 1950' and 60's. Now they are moving from the north to the south as of the 1990's. They are moving back for better living. There are now better job opportunities in the south from what it was years ago. Many people are doing good for themselves and are bringing it back home
33:52 End of tape
.