Alexander Braun oral history
Creator: Keckeisen, Sara J. (Sara Ellen Judge)
Date: 2006
An oral interview with Alexander Braun conducted by Sara Keckeisen. He was born July 10, 1923 in Wernersdorf the Ukraine the son of Peter and Katharina (Braeul) Braun. After World War II, Mr. Braun fled west from the former Soviet Union. Eventually he immigrated to Canada (1949) on contract with the Canadian Government to work as a miner in Northern Quebec. After years of persistent attempts, in 1953 he was able to come to the United States from Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, to join his wife and her parents in Kansas. Alexander worked in auto body repair. He later was employed by the Kansas Neurological Institute (KNI) and the State of Kansas as a Master Electrician before his retirement in 1991. These are long clips. The first clip is sixty-three minutes, the second is seventy-three minutes. A searchable transcription of the interview is available by clicking on Text Version below.

Alvin and Lucinda Todd Interview
Date: Between 1990 and 1996
Oral history interview with Alvin and Lucinda Todd covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Lucinda was born in 1903, she attended Kansas State Teachers College, and eventually earned a bachelors degree from Pittsburg State Teachers College in 1935. Alvin was born in 1906, and attended Washburn University for two years. Alvin provided for his wife while she participated as a key member of Topeka's NAACP chapter during the Brown V. Board of Education case. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Barbara Gibson Interview
Date: September 25, 1992
Interview with Barbara Gibson covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Barbara was a part of Topeka High's Class of 1943. Barbara attended Washburn University and Howard University, where she majored in math and German. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Barbara Henry Interview
Date: May 19, 1996
Oral history interview with Barbara Henry covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Barbara was born in 1947 and attended Delaware State College (now University), an African American college.

Berdyne Scott Interview
Date: November 24, 1991
Oral history interview with Berdyne Scott covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Berdyne was born in raised in Topeka, Kansas. She attended McKinley Elementary and Curtis Junior High prior to integration. Berdyne worked as a teacher and after retirement hosted workshops on the importance and meaning of the Brown v. Board of Education case.

Brian Baggett playing Henry Worrall's Carmencita
Creator: Baggett, Brian
Date: 2012
This is an audio recording of Henry Worrall's original composition Carmencita interpreted from the original manuscript and performed by guitarist Brian Baggett. Worrall published his solo instrumental "Carmencita Series of Mexican Dances" with E.B. Guild music publisher of Topeka, Kansas, about 1896. In the early twentieth century, Worrall's popular guitar instrumentals played a key role in the development of the guitar styles of southern rural folk musicians and country and blues musical idioms. Worrall moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1868 where he died in 1902. Worrall's original manuscript of this piece is available on Kansas Memory as unit 208647. For more information on Kansas guitarist Brian Baggett see the external link below.

Brian Baggett playing Henry Worrall's Sebastopol
Creator: Baggett, Brian
Date: 2012
This is an audio recording of Henry Worrall's original composition Sebastopol interpreted from the original manuscript and performed by guitarist Brian Baggett. Worrall initially published "Sebastopol" in the 1850s with W. C. Peters and Sons of Cincinnati, Ohio. In the early twentieth century, Worrall's popular guitar instrumentals played a key role in the development of the guitar styles of southern rural folk musicians and country and blues musical idioms. Worrall moved to Topeka, Kansas, in 1868 where he died in 1902. Worrall's original manuscript of this piece is available on Kansas Memory as unit 208654. For more information on Kansas guitarist Brian Baggett see the external link below.

Broadus Butler Sr. Interview
Date: May 19, 1995
Oral history interview with Broadus Butler, Sr. covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Butler attended a segregated school outside of Simpsonville, South Carolina. After World War II, Butler went to college at South Carolina State to study vocational agriculture with the goal of teaching and eventually becoming a school principal. In 1971 he became the first African American superintendent in South Carolina, and served in this role for seven years.

Carl Williams Interview
Date: November 4, 1991
Oral history interview with Carl WIlliams, Jr. covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Carl was born in 1920, and attended Monroe Elementary, a segregated school for African American children in Topeka. Carl was very active in African American organizations and civic clubs in the Topeka area. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Charles Hill Interview
Date: May 5, 1996
Oral history interview with Charles Hill covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Charles attended Claymont School in 1952 when the school began to integrate. Charles notes that it was not until years later that he began to realize the significance of his school's integration.

Charles I. Baston interview
Creator: Baston, Charles I.
Date: May 14, 1992
Charles Baston was born in Lee's Summit, Missouri, on April 24, 1917. He attended grade school and junior high school while still living in Lee's Summit, and after junior high he moved to Topeka to attend the Kansas Vocational Technical School. He moved to Topeka permanently after his World War II discharge. Baston was a member of the executive committee of the local chapter of the NAACP during the Brown v. Board hearings. Much of his interview deals with the NAACPs role in finding plaintiffs in the Brown case, the problem with busing students to segregated schools, and other individuals who were instrumental to the success of this suit. Towards the end of the interview he also talks about how the Brown decision has not reached its full potential because of the racial prejudices that still exist today. Jean VanDelinder conducted the interview. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service, and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Charles Sudduth Interview
Date: July 27, 1994
Oral history interview with Charles Sheldon Sudduth covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Charles attended Douglas Elementary school, a two room schoolhouse, while his siblings went to the integrated Topeka High School. He did not have many interactions with white people until reaching high school himself. Charles became the first African American stockman at Green's Grocery Store. Charles had three children with his first wife, and two adopted children from his second marriage. The Brown v. Board of Education decision really helped his children that were in school at the time. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Cheryl Brown Henderson Interview
Date: December 4, 1991
Oral history interview with Cheryl Brown Henderson covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Cheryl was born in 1950 in Topeka, Kansas. Her father, Oliver Brown, was among the parents involved in the class action court case known as Brown v. Board of Education. following the U.S. Supreme Court decision in Brown v Board, Cheryl began school in the newly integrated elementary system of Topeka. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Christina Jackson Interview
Creator: Jackson, Christina
Date: September 20, 1991
Christina Jackson was born on August 15, 1926, in Topeka, Kansas, to Georgia and Jess Edwards. In this interview, Jackson speaks about her experiences at the segregated Washington Elementary School and then at the integrated East Topeka Junior High and Topeka High School. According to Jackson, Washington had very strict teachers who emphasized the importance of learning about African American history. Her children attended Monroe School and, after desegregation, moved to State Street School, which had formerly been a school for white children only. Her children recalled that the faculty at State Street worked hard to integrate the black students, who were for the most part accepted by their peers. It was not until her children entered Holliday Junior High that they struggled with racial discrimination and derogatory comments. Jackson also discusses her work experiences and involvement in social clubs and volunteer organizations. This interview was conducted by Jean VanDelinder and Ralph Crowder. The Brown v. Board oral history project was funded by Hallmark Cards Inc., the Shawnee County Historical Society, the Brown Foundation for Educational Excellence, Equity, and Research, the National Park Service and the Kansas Humanities Council. Parts of the interview may be difficult to hear due to the quality of the original recording. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Clarence E. "Sonny" Scroggins Interview
Date: July 27, 1994
Oral history interview with C.E. "Sonny" Scroggins covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Sonny became active in the NAACP at a very young age, between ten and eleven years old. He participated in sit-ins and run-ins at local businesses in Checotah, Oklahoma. While living in Topeka, Sonny was involved in getting Monroe Elementary School on the National Register of Historic Places. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Claude Emerson Interview
Date: October 25, 1991
Oral history interview with Claude Arthur Emerson covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Claude was born in 1942, the Emerson family was represented in the class action case to end segregation in Topeka's elementary schools, which became the Brown v. Board of Education case. Lowman Hill Elementary was closest to the Emersons' home, but due to segregation Claude and his brother had to attend Buchanan Elementary. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Clementine Martin Interview
Date: Between 1990 and 1996
Oral history interview with Clementine Martin covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Clementine attended Washburn University for a year before leaving college and marrying Eugene Martin. Eugene worked as one of the few nonwhite policemen in Topeka, which also barred him and his wife from joining any civil rights organizations early on. Clementine later joined the Kansas Association of Colored Women and the American legion Auxiliary. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Connie Menninger Interview
Date: November 15, 1991
Oral history interview with Connie Menninger covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Connie married Dr. William Menninger in 1953, and worked for NBC while her husband attended medical school at Cornell University. as an NBC employee she covered the network broadcast on the Supreme Court decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Her children later attended Randolph Elementary, Boswell Junior High and Topeka High Schools. Connie also worked and volunteered with the Kansas Historical Society for almost 15 years. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Constance Motley Interview
Date: October 6, 1992
Oral history interview with Judge Constance Motley covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Constance decided to pursue a career as a lawyer and worked for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund team. She assisted on one of the four other school segregation cases being tried around the same time of the Brown v. Board of Education case. Following the Brown decision, she was involved in school cases in Atlanta, Savannah, Brunswick, and Albany, Georgia, as well as twelve cases in Florida. in September of 1966 she became the first female African American federal judge.

Constance Sawyer Interview
Date: Between 1990 and 1996
Oral history interview with Constance Sawyer covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Constance's father played a key role in the formulation of the NAACP's plan to challenge segregation in schools. While there were some successes in the Graham case, where junior high schools were required to begin allowing African American students to enroll starting in the seventh grade, attempts to challenge the legality of segregation in elementary schools were initially unsuccessful.

David H. Fisher Jr. oral history
Creator: Fisher, David H. Jr.
Date: April 4, 2008
Topeka, Kansas, resident David H. Fisher, Jr. relates his experience during the June 8, 1966, tornado in Topeka.

Deborah Scott Interview
Date: November 15, 1991
Oral history interview with Deborah Scott covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Deborah went to Buchanan Elementary for kindergarten, but then began attending Lowman Hill Elementary following the result of the Brown v. Board of Education case. Deborah notes the positive and negative effects that desegregation has had on society, highlighting the improved opportunities available to African Americans, yet at the same time notes a loss of some of their historical and cultural heritage.

Donald Rohrbaugh and Gene Hilker's experiences in World War II (transcript)
Creator: Warner, Sidney
Date: February 21-22, 2007
This is an audio interview with Sidney Warner, Buford Rohrbaugh (son of Donald Rohrbaugh), and Steve Hilker (son of Gene Hilker) about the final months of the war in Europe, primarily at the Battle of the Bulge. Sidney Warner was a friend of Donald Rohrbaugh and Gene Hilker, both now deceased. Rohrbaugh served as a radioman and Hilker was a paratrooper. They fought in the Battle of the Bulge and told many stories about that experience to sons Buford Rohrbaugh and Steve Hilker. Both Rohrbaugh and Hilker were wounded more than once and in their last years told their friend, Sidney Warner, and their sons some of their wartime experiences. The 2005 Kansas Legislature passed a bill funding the WWII Veterans Oral History grant program. This transcript is from one of the nine community institutions that received these grants. The transcript from the interview is presented here; the original audio copy of the interview is available through the Gray County Veterans Memorial & Archives and through the Kansas State Historical Society.

Dorothy (Robinson) Scott Interview
Date: January 1, 1992
Oral history interview with Dorothy (Robinson) Scott covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Dorothy earned her bachelor's degree from Washburn University and worked as a teacher. In 1954, after the Supreme Court's decision in the Brown v. Board of Education case, she was assigned to Parkdale Elementary, which had been a previously segregated school for white children. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.

Dr. Ernest Manheim Interview
Date: December 18, 1991
Oral history interview with Dr. Ernest Manheim covering their role and impressions of the Brown v. Board case. Dr. Manheim moved to Kansas City in 1938, to work at Kansas City University. At the time, there were no African American students enrolled at the university, The First African American student was admitted to the university's law school and slowly other students enrolled without resistance from white students or faculty. African American enrollment as KCU was kept out of the press for three years, by which point it was an already accepted fact. Dr. Manheim was asked to testify on behalf of the Browns in the Brown v. Board of Education case. Dr. Manheim feels that his testimony only played a small role in the eventual court decision. This interview has a signed release for scholarly or educational purposes only.