Transcript of an oral history interview with Victoria R. Bryant

Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
~~~5avanYilili Oral HisfOIJ' Interview
~ DEPAitT!\IENT 01' CULTUitAL
AFFAIRS
EASTSIDE DOCUMENTATION PROJECT
Interviewee's Full Name: Dr. Victoria R. B1yant
Interview's Address: 2 Compton Round
Pooler, Georgia 3 1322
Interviewee's Neighborhood: East Savannah
Interviewer: Charles J. Elmore
Date of Interview: March 26, 2009
Length oflnterview: 51 minutes, 30 seconds
Interview Medium: Video (Reginald Franklin- Videographer)
Transcriptionist: Samanthis Q. Smalls
Date of Staff Review: Revised and Corrected by Michelle Hunter on 19 October 2009.
CE: This is an interview with Dr. Victoria R. Bryant, principal Thunderbolt Elementary School,
March 26, 2009 for the Eastside Documentation Project for the City of Sava1mah. Now we start
Dr. Bryant. Uh, tell me as much as you'd like about your early family origins.
VB: Okay. My early family origin um, as far as I am aware of, my paternal family lived in uh,
Beaufort County back in eighteen, in the early 1800s. They uh, lived and worked in the
Beaufort area; they were doing farming and what-have-you under servitude. And then, the
family later moved to Savannah. My great-grandfather was a caddy master with the Savannah
um, Golf Club which was located, at that time, on um, it wasn't called Goebel Street, it was uh,
can't rem, where Shuman Middle School is, the golf course there. He was a very fair skinned
man and he was over all the caddies ...
CE: Okay, you want to tell me his name?
VB: His name was Alonzo Robinson.
CE: Robinson?
VB: Um hum. So he worked there until retirement. Um, and, as a result of that, it developed an
interest in um, my brothers and siblings in golf But they um, you know, he provided a lot of
"know how" and how to play golf and all that. So um, that was something that developed in
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
later years. My grandmother, her name is Caddie Robinson. She's now deceased also. She um,
lived in Sav
CE: Caddie?
VB: Um hum, Caddie.
CE: Spell it.
VB: They call her, C.A.D.D.I.E., Robinson. And she was a homemaker; she did not work outside of
the home. Uh, it was my, my father and his sister were the only two um, children that they had.
CE: Okay.
VB: And my father-Alonzo, Jr.
CE: Wait a minute. Okay.
VB: was a Army man. He fought in the Korean War. And he
CE: Alonzo Robinson, Jr.?
VB: Umhum.
CE: Umhum.
VB: Okay, he and my mother man·ied, uh, back in nineteen ... I want to say 1939.
CE: What's your mother's name?
VB: Her name is Rebecca, maiden name Heyward-Bennett, Robinson. Okay, she did not work
outside the home for awhile.
CE: Um hum.
VB: But after my father um, finished with his Army career, he um, later worked as a caddy um,
master with Savannah Golf Club. And then in the early '50s,
CE: Hold on a minute.
VB: Okay.
CE: Um hum.
2
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: I'll say around 1955 the family um, decided to move to Philadelphia to seek work.
CE: You said "the family," you mean your family?
VB: Yeah. My, my father and uh, and his, and, by that time he um, I think work was slow here and a
lot of the um, people in the neighborhood was moving to the north to get jobs, you know, in the
northern factories and industry.
CE: Okay. Uh, your dad moved to Philadelphia?
VB: Um hum, he moved to Philadelphia.
CE: That the whole family?
VB: Uh, yeah, um hum. But my mother didn' t go now. He went first to um, seek work and then he
was going to send for her. So he stayed there, he stayed there for like maybe 'bout three months
and did not like it and came back. And um, by that time, two children were born into the
family: my sister Janet. ..
CE: Wait a minute. Okay.
VB: My sister Janet...
CE: Where, where, where' d ya'll Jive all this time? You didn't tell me.
VB: Okay. Now when uh, my mother and father married, they lived on Perry Lane in the Crawford
Square area ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: . .. with his family. My mother's family ...
CE: Wait a minute. Um hum.
VB: My mother's family lived in East Savannah on Hall Street which is now called Hanson.
CE: Okay, I just need to get that for my, okay now tell me about when your dad came back from
Philadelphia.
VB: Okay. Okay, when he came back from Philadelphia ...
3
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Umhum.
VB: um, he worked odd jobs. Was not successful with the jobs that, you know, he worked; it was
not really what he wanted. So I think he stayed here after that time for about ten years.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Which would take us into what? Early sixty ... , no he, he, it was 'bout .. .
CE: Around 1965?
VB: Um um. No, no; it, it was less than that. He, he stayed here 'round about um, until 'bout '59.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And then he moved to Philadelphia again but my mother didn't go.
CE: Okay.
VB: She refused to go.
CE: Okay.
VB: So she moved back to East Savannah with her um, mother and father. By that time they had
tlu·ee children.
CE: Wait a minute. Um hum. Now give me the tluee.
VB: Okay. It was Janet.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Ger
CE: Oldest?
VB: Janet was the oldest.
CE: Um hum.
VB: No, no. I'm sorry. My brother Arthur was the oldest. He was from a previous marriage. I mean
previous relationship, not marriage. Arthur was the oldest. But he was not living with us now,
he was living with my grandmother. But Jan, from Alonzo was Janet. ..
4
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Wait a minute, let me get this straight now. At that time there were three children, that was uh,
VB: Janet.
CE: Janet?
VB: Uhhuh.
CE: Okay.
VB: Gertrude. And myself~ Victoria. And those are family names, traditional family names.
CE: And you say, "We also had a brother Arthur"?
VB: Yeah, Arthur was our oldest brother. He was like two years older than Janet. And his father
died um, right after he was born. So he, he and uh, my mother never married. I don't know how
specific details you want.
CE: Yeah, that's what I want.
VB: Okay.
CE: Now I got it straight; I just want to make sense of it.
VB: Okay.
CE: He was living with ya'll grandmother when ya'll came?
VB: Um hum, um hum.
CE: Okay. Okay.
VB: So my grandmother and grandfather provided a place for us. We stayed, lived with them um,
until I think, I was in ...
CE: On Hanson? What was, what was the address?
VB: It was 2243.
CE: Hanson?
VB: Hanson Street. It was Hall then and they changed the name ...
CE: Umhum.
5
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: ... to Hanson. And they owned the land, you know, they, they owned um, quite a bit of land on
that street.
CE: Umhum.
VB: So we, we stayed there until. .. I guess I was in high school.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Okay. Um, you want to talk to me about my maternal
CE: Um,
VB: grandparents?
CE: um, when ya'll moved, when ya'll moved from Hanson Street, where did ya'll go after that?
Still lived in East Savannah?
VB: We still lived in East Savmmah, uh huh.
CE: Alright.
VB: We moved right next door in a house, there was a house right next to where it was built. So we
moved right next door to my grandmother and grandfather.
CE: These were your maternal grandparents?
VB: Huh? Yeah. Um hum. And his name was uh, Peter Betmett; Peter and Elizabeth Bennett.
CE: That's B.E.N.N.E.T.T.?
VB: Umhum.
CE: Okay.
VB: And he uh, my grandfather, served in the Navy. And at the time when he went into the Navy it,
went into the Armed Services, the Navy was the only uh, part of the military that accepted
blacks. So he fought and I, I always remember his picture of him with his uniform on. So he
was in World War .. .
CE: One?
G
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Uh huh, World War I. While he was in WWI, he learned to be a welder.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And I have to laugh at what he, after he got out of the Navy, what he learned to do, you know
there wasn't very many jobs in Savannah for blacks as welders. So, his trade was, he built uh,
moonshine parts and made a killing off of it. And sold, and sold them.
CE: Making parts for moonshine operations.
VB: Um hum. Which was highly financed you know, at that time. That's all people wanted to buy.
My mother used to share with us uh, she used to be so frightened when uh, the people would
come to purchase the parts.
CE: Umhum.
VB: 'Cause she just knew that a policeman would be behind them somewhere. She said that was the
most frightening thing.
UNK: (voice over intercom) Dr. Bryant?
VB: (to CE) Excuse me. (to UNK) Yes?
UNK: Virginia Ingles's is on line one for you.
VB: (to UNK) Okay hold for just a second. (to CE) Can we, can we?
CE: Umhum.
VB: Okay.
BRIEF BREAK IN VIDEO
VB: Yeah. Oh you have no, you have to wait until I get into all of it. I can't, it's so much I tell you.
CE: Yeah, well I think for the purpose of the origins, that's probably enough as I need. I want to
spring it on, on you personally.
7
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Okay. Well let me tell you one story; my grandfather always told us this story. Now on my, on
my, on my uh, grandfather that came from um, South Carolina, they were from Jolm's Island,
South Carolina; my maternal grandfather. His name was Joseph Heyward.
CE: Alright. (unintelligible).
VB: He was like my, yeah great-grandfather really. That's what he was.
CE: Your great
VB: grandfather. And they were always proud people you know. Always one
CE: What was his name now?
VB: Joseph Heyward.
CE: Joseph Heyward.
VB: Umhum.
CE: Was from?
VB: John's Island, South Carolina.
CE: And that was your grandfather?
VB: That's my mother's grand, my mother's grandfather.
CE: Okay, on what side? On mother's or father's side?
VB: On my, on my uh, mother.
CE: Okay. Alright, now. Okay, you said .. .I'm sorry. Go ahead.
VB: Um hum. And uh, he uh, you know he was a independent man. And, and they worked, you
know, in the, near the rice fields in John's Island. But anyhow, when he got married, uh, his
wife died at a early age. She was like thirty-five or forty. So he decided to um, uproot the
family and bring 'em to Savannah. Well they had a house, he had built a house. So, he took the
house apart and put it on a boat and he moved it clown the Savmmah River.
CE: What?
8
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Um hum, yes he did.
CE: Wait, let me get that. "He took the home apart. .. "
VB: Um hum.
CE: " ... and put it... "
VB: On a raft he made.
CE: " . .. and brought that house ... by the river."
VB: Um hum. Now how he got it. ..
CE: " ... to Savannah." Good God.
VB: Um hum. I don't know how he managed to do that. But that was always the story that they told
us. But anyhow he uh, from that he built the house that's on Hanson Street, that was on Hanson
Street. He built that house from that lumber.
CE: The house still there?
VB: No. We just tore, had the house torn down.
CE: Original (unintelligible).
VB: I have, I have a picture of the house. Everybody you know, I, I took a picture of it before it was
torn down.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And so everybody has a picture or they're gonna get a picture of the house.
CE: Okay.
VB: Um hum. But it was a, the house was, when he finished it, it was a uh, six room house with a
front porch and a back, you know, a back area.
CE: "Six rooms ... "
VB: Six room wooden frame house. Later on they added, you know, added siding to it and um,
modernized it as time changed.
9
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Um hum. Alright.
VB: Okay.
CE: Alright let's move on to education.
VB: Okay. I started my early education in kindergarten in the community of East Savannah.
CE: Where? At Mother Emily's?
VB: At Mother Emily's. You remember. .. yeah?
CE: No, but I know.
VB: You' ve heard about it, Mother Emily. Did, did someone, did you, did anyone share the picture
with you? Of a kindergarten class?
CE: No. You have some?
VB: I know a friend of mine has a picture. I have a picture but I got to locate it
CE: What I'm going to do is I'm going to tell Ms. um, Ms. Hunter, Michelle Hunter, the project
director ...
VB: Uh huh.
CE: . .. that, to call you as a backup and any pictures you have, like of that house ...
VB: Uh huh. Okay. Alright.
CE: your grandfather built. And especially Mother Emily's Kindergarten.
VB: Yeah, she's got a, she had a picture of all of us in that class: Ola Lewis ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: .. . all the Bakers, all the Mitchells, it was all of us, all of the original East Savannah family.
CE: Okay.
VB: We, we were, we were, all of us was five years old at the, well a couple of ' em were like four.
Maybe one or two was three. But the rest of us was uh, basically five years old. But I have a
10
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
copy of the picture. But I got the picture from um, Nyanza Moultrie; I don't know if you spoke
with Nyanza, the Moultrie family.
CE: (unintelligible). But I spoke with Ben Moultrie. That her daddy?
VB: Uh huh. That's the daddy. Ben Moultrie, Jr.?
CE: Umhum.
VB: Cemetery guy?
CE: Umhum.
VB: Um hum. Yeah that's
CE: So you think you can get that picture?
VB: Um hum. I can get that picture from, matter of fact, she works at Jenkins.
CE: Okay.
VB: I can call her and get that picture from her.
CE: Alright, I'mma tell, I'mma tell Ms. Hunter.
VB: Okay. And I'll have the picture of our house; I've got that. Matter of fact, a guy was um, gmma
do it for me in um, in the lead paint.. .
CE: Umhum.
VB: But it started with uh, in, in kindergarten with Mother Emily's Kindergarten learning Bible
verses and ABC's. And then um, we started first grade at Powell Lab on Savatmah State
College campus.
CE: Um hum.
VB: I attended uh, we attended Powell Lab first through third grade. And then they moved us that's
on Savannah State. And then they moved us to the um, Powell Wing, which was later called
Jolmson.
CE: Um hum.
II
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: And we moved there in, I was in third grade, so that was 1958? '58/'59 school year?
CE: Who taught you in first through third grade at Powell Lab?
VB: First grade was Ruth Dobson. Second grade was Ms. Hamilton. Third grade was Ms. Wallace,
no, Ms. Marks, Eldora Marks.
CE: Um hum. Second grade was Ms. Dorothy Hamilton?
VB: Uh huh.
CE: Well doggone.
VB: Um hum. Ruth Smith now, Ruth Smith was my fourth grade teacher; she's still living. Matter
of fact, Ruth is subbing somebody told me here not too long ago but they stopped her. Ruth
Smith and uh ...
CE: Okay, at the Johnson wing, okay, "at"
VB: At Johnson.
CE: At Jolmson wing of Powell Lab
VB: Well it didn' t come, it didn't become Johnson
CE: No.
VB: until they built the high school, you know.
CE: Umhum.
VB: Remember?
CE: They built Powell Wing first.
VB: Yeah. We only had that wing and the cafeteria. And then they built Johnson what, in 1960?
CE: Something like that.
VB: Um hum. And that's when they changed the name, you know. Uh, I don't think they changed
the name then. I can't remember. Freddy got the history over there. It was in
CE: I don't need all that.
12
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Okay.
CE: (unintelligible) is important.
VB: Okay. But anyhow um, they changed it over to Jolmson when they built the high school. And
then one year ...
CE: Wait a minute, let me get that. Was it Sol C. Johnson Elementary School?
VB: Um hum. Johnson Elementary, um hum. Then one year we had to go to Hubert when they
realized it was overcrowded. And they sent the East Savmmah kids to Hubert that were in
seventh grade.
CE: Okay. Who taught you in the Powell Wing?
VB: Uh, I told you who, I told you it was uh, Ruth Smith. Fifth grade was uh, Palmer, Ms. Palmer.
Loretta Palmer, that was her name. And then sixth grade ...
CE: Okay, "I was taught by," who was it in the third? 'Cause you continued third grade right?
VB: Yeah. I went through the whole, tluough sixth grade.
CE: Alright. Go ahead give me, give me, give it to me year by year.
VB: Okay. Alright, first grade, starting with first grade. You got that?
CE: I got first, second, and third.
VB: Okay.
CE: Then you moved to the Powell Wing.
VB: No, no, no, no. Uh uh. We, at first and second, we were at Savarmah State.
CE: Yeah, I got that.
VB: Powell. Okay, third grade we moved to the Powell Wing, on Johnson's campus, on the soon-tobe Johnson's campus.
CE: Okay. (inaudible)
VB: And it was a move 'cause we walked from Savannah State to the Johnson wing.
13
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Alright.
VB: Okay. And uh, in third grade I had Ms. Wallace was my teacher.
CE: Okay.
VB: Alright.
CE: Mrs. Wallace.
VB: Um hum.
CE: Umhum.
VB: What I said, third grade?
CE: Must've been fourth grade 'cause third grade.
VB: No, no, third grade was Eldora Marks.
CE: Yeah, you said that.
VB: And in fourth grade it was Ruth Smith.
CE: Okay. Ruth Smith. Um hum.
VB: And then uh, fifth grade was Loretta Palmer.
CE: Who's fourth grade?
VB: Ruth Smith.
CE: Third and fourth? I mean, fourth grade.
VB: Um um, fourth grade was Ruth Smith.
CE: Okay.
VB: Umhum.
CE: Alright.
VB: Fifth grade was um, Loretta Palmer.
CE: Umhum.
14
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: And then sixth grade was Ms. Bynes. Lord um, Frenchie Bynes daughter. Uh, what was that
girl first name? I should never forget her name 'cause she was mean. She was something.
CE: Her oldest daughter is just 'bout a year younger than me. Couldn't have been her daughter.
VB: Um, must've been her daughter-in-law. She was a Bynes. Oh God, what's that girl? I can't
think of it. I know the last name was Bynes. I'll never forget her. Um .. .
CE: Okay. But it wasn't Frenchie's daughter.
VB: What was that woman's name? I can't think of her first name.
CE: But you say in seventh grade?
VB: Then seventh grade we had to go to Hubert. We attended Hubert in seventh grade. Then came
back to Johnson in eighth grade. My homeroom teacher at Hubert was uh, Harriet Powell. Then
I continued Jolmson from, until graduation.
CE: Okay. When did you graduate?
VB: June 1967.
CE: You along with my youngest brother.
VB: Huh?
CE: My youngest brother finished Beach High that same year.
VB: Really.
CE: (inaudible).
VB: Yep, June of 1967.
CE: And after you graduated from Jolmson, what happened?
VB: Then I stayed, I had to stay home a year to take care of my grandmother who, by that time, was
developing Alzheimer's.
CE: Wait, let me get that.
VB: She couldn't be left alone so I had to stay with her.
15
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Okay.
VB: And then in January of '68.
CE: Um hum.
VB: I started Savannah State; I started college at Savannah State.
CE: Okay.
VB: Majoring in sociology. Did not want to be a teacher at that time.
CE: Umhum.
VB: But I was in the Future Teachers of America.
CE: What year did you graduate?
VB: Huh?
CE: What year did you graduate?
VB: Uh, from Savannah State?
CE: Umhum.
VB: 1972.
CE: You graduated from the, the year before I came. I came in the Fall of '72.
VB: Well see really I finished in December of '71 but I couldn't graduate until uh, '72 'cause they
didn't have the winter graduations ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: .. . during that time.
CE: Okay.
VB: Okay. Then I got married in uh, I got married October 1971.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Married, my husband was uh, his name is Greene, Bryant. Met him at Savannah State.
CE: Green?
16
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Umhum.
CE: G.R.E.E.N.?
VB: E.
CE: Um hum, Bryant.
VB: Uh huh.
CE: Okay.
VB: Met him at Savannah State. He was majoring in engineering. Um, and then he was drafted in
the Army. Went to, went to um, went in the Army. I think he went in the, he was, the year we
got married.
CE: Um hum. Alright, he went to the Army?
VB: He went to the Army like, we got married in October so he went in must be that June.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Got married that October.
CE: Alright.
VB: Okay. He stayed there um, for awhile. And then um, he was, he started, you know, they
stationed him in, he was stationed in, let me see, his first, he was in San Antonio.
CE: Okay, how long did he stay in the Army? I don't need all that.
VB: Oh, he stayed in the Army oh, he retired from the Reserves, so he stayed in the Army about
four years then he joined the Reserves and retired from the Reserves in '99. '99 or 2000, one. I
know he been in there ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: It's been awhile.
CE: Um hum. Go ahead.
VB: Okay. Then he went back and finished his degree, became a teacher. We had our first child
17
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Where'd he teach at?
VB: He taught at Tompkins High School. That was his first job.
CE: That's where my first job was.
VB: Really? At Tompkins? Um hum.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Taught math; he was a math major. He taught math at Tompkins for, until the high school
closed. And then he moved to, he was reassigned to Savannah High School. And at that time I
was still home ' cause by that time we had two kids. And he was going, you know, different,
with the Reserves he was going different places. I was going with him ' cause I wasn't working
at the time. Then it ended up in nineteen seventy .. .
CE: Wait a minute. Um hum. Go ahead.
VB: Okay. And then, by nineteen seventy uh, six .. .
CE: Umhum.
VB: ... we had uh, we, we, by that time we had four children.
CE: Um hum. Okay.
VB: So I started substitute teaching just to, you know, bring more money into the family.
CE: Um hum. Just a minute. Um hum.
VB: And when I was subbing, I was asked to take a long term sub position because the teacher was
not returning that year. And that was in the, the year of nineteen, it was 1976. And I finished
that school year out at Sprague Elementary as a um, first grade teacher; a first grade permanent
sub. Yeah, that's what it was. And that's when I fell in love with teaching.
CE: First grade, Sprague Elementary School?
VB: Um hum, in Garden City. At the time, we were living in uh, Garden City. So it was that year I
went back to college and got my uh, teacher certification.
18
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Hold it a minute. Um hum.
VB: Okay. Was that
CE: What year was that?
VB: That was uh, the year of nineteen sixty ... , 1976.
CE: Umhum.
VB: I enrolled in Savannah State to achieve my certification.
CE: Umhum.
VB: And was able to um, finish that within one year. And my first job as a full teacher was at
Shuman middle School. But you know my, you probably know my um, supervisor. Did you?
Vera Thomas?
CE: Um hum.
VB: Yeah. That was my supervisor and teacher in the field.
CE: I know her very much. She's very dear to me.
VB: Huh?
CE: She's a very dear friend of mine.
VB: Yeah, yeah. Yep I, my, for my student teaching there she supervised me. And then I got a job
there at Shuman uh, I want to think it was in 1979? 'Cause for two years I worked as a parapro.
CE: Um hum. Just give me, give me ... Shuman in 1979?
VB: Yeah. I want to say, yeah, '79.
CE: Okay.
VB: And then I finished the year at Shuman.
CE: Um hum.
19
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Then I um, moved. I went to middle school, to Myers Middle School. And I was hired there
under Frances Wong \Vorking with special needs students. And I taught there for tlu·ee years.
CE: Um hum.
VB: So then I later moved to uh, Derenne which was closer to home 'cause by that time we were
living in Liberty City. And Virginia Edwards hired me as a math teacher. And I taught there for
like eight years. By that time, I. ..
CE: Wait a minute. Let me get all that. Okay.
VB: By that time, I was completing my masters in um, library science media.
CE: Where?
VB: At uh, Georgia Southern University.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And, it was that same year she uh, the next year I was hired as a media specialist at Derenne.
So that ended my teaching career and started another phase.
CE: And that ended the teaching phase of your career?
VB: Um hum. Yes. But by that time after, after um,
CE: What year was that?
VB: Well, that was in 1989.
CE: Okay.
VB: In 1988, I had just completed a masters in middle school too, from Armstrong. And I did that in
conjunction with um, me doing the masters in media. 'Cause they were all pretty much the
same time. Yeah. Like the, like the ...
CE: "Got my masters concurrently at Armstrong in Middle School" what now?
VB: Middle School Education.
CE: Which was concurrently with the degree at Georgia Southern?
20
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Um hum. From Georgia Southern.
CE: Good God.
VB: That was a tough time. My kids were small too. But I felt, you know, I felt because I started
late you know, as a, as a ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: Stayed home, stayed home for like, I forgot how many years. I stayed home but I started
working. So I said, "Oh no. I need to get everything I can get now while the kids were young."
And my husband was, you know, teaching.
CE: Umhum.
VB: So that was the option we decided to do so. And I, I was glad. I'm really glad that I, we did it
that way.
CE: Okay.
VB: But, okay now after that um, after that I was, I was um, transferred to Tompkins, the, the new
Tompkins Middle School.
CE: Um hum.
VB: They had just converted the high school to a middle school.
CE: Um hum.
VB: So um, the (unintelligible). So I was transferred over there. And I worked at Tompkins for four
years as a media specialist. At the end of those years, I had received my specialist degree in
um, leadership. And that was in nineteen ...
CE: Ninety what?
VB: Ninety-four.
CE: That's a Ed.S. right?
VB: Um hum. Yeah.
21
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Georgia Southern?
VB: Um, South Carolina State University. And I was working on the Ed.S. and the doctorate at the
same time. So that ended my career as a media specialist. And then I was hired as an assistant
principal that same year in 1994. I think I started in October in 1994 assistant principal at
Tompkins Middle School. And I remained an assistant principal for-Tompkins, Pulaski, East
Broad-for about three years.
CE: At Tompkins Middle School?
VB: No, no. I was at, I was at Pulaski.
CE: At Tompkins, then assistant principal at Pulaski?
VB: Um hum. I stayed at Tompkins a year and a half. Then I went to Pulaski
CE: Um hum.
VB: slash Heard; I was between two schools. Heard Elementary. And then my final year as assistant
principal was at East Broad Elementary. Then when Virginia Edwards became superintendent
CE: Wait a minute. At East Broad ...
VB: Elementary.
CE: In? Which year?
VB: Then um, when Virginia became superintendent, I applied for a position as a district level
administrator.
CE: Alright, wait a minute. "When . .. "
VB: I guess "while" she was superintendent 'cause she was, she had already been the superintendent
for awhile. I think she was acting during that time.
CE: You applied for what now?
VB: Um, Title I. I, I applied for an administrative position in Title I as a Title I Instructional
Specialist. And that was at the district office.
22
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: On Bay, I mean, on Bull Street?
VB: Bull Street, um hum. And I stayed in that position for like 2 Y2 years.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And then I applied for Director of Professional Development, still at the district office.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And I stayed in that position for two years.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And then I applied for this job as principal. I just applied for a principal job then ended up it
was here at Thunderbolt.
CE: Elementary.
VB: Um hum. And my very first job as a para, when I worked a para those few years, my first
assignment was here at Thunderbolt.
CE: Okay. Okay. And therefore you got a job when?
VB: Uh, I started this position uh, July of2003.
CE: Until present. Alright.
VB: Hum?
CE: I said, "Until right now, alright."
VB: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CE: Alright, that takes care of that. Um, basically I talked to a lot of people in East Savannah. I
mean, I don't that that much ...
VB: Umhum.
CE: Uh, in the area of segregation and Civil Rights, you have anything you want to tell me about
that?
VB: Um, I was not in the era of integration. You know in the, in the elementary school. No, uh uh.
23
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Okay. Uh, and I think about leisure time and socialization and amusements. I've talked to so
many people in East Savannah.
VB: Oh Lord, yeah. Our biggest amusement in East Savannah .. .
CE: Uh huh.
VB: .... um, was doing family things. You know ...
CE: Uh huh.
VB: ... doing things with the family. Um, and it was a community and we were like, everybody in
the community was really related basically. You know, from the um ...
CE: Umhum.
VB: .... from the conununity when it started. And um, church was the main core of everything;
everything was based around the church. When we did social, social stuff you know, we had
'Iii parties ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: ... it was basically a, birthday parties. Everybody who was born in the month of March had, we
used to have one bit1hday party at this particular person's house. It would be at my mama's
house this year, the next year it'll be at Ms. um, Moultrie's house. And ...
CE: Everything was organized around the church?
VB: Um hum, um hum. It was all organized around the church.
CE: That's First A.B.?
VB: Yeah, um hum. And then later on the Holiness church was um, established.
CE: Um hum. I got all that.
VB: Holy Zion.
CE: Um hum.
24
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: And so um, you know, everybody, but everything was centered around First A.B. 'cause we
always had vacation bible school there. We always had any community um, based programs
was there. And all of our families came out of First A.B. Some of them became Methodist,
some became Pentecostal, some became Catholic, you know. But it all was, was centered
around First A.B. And we were typical children growing up in the '50s and '60s. You know,
we had to do a lot forum, different people in the community, you know. Taking care of their
basic needs, going to the store for them and um ...
CE: Um hum.
VB: ... raking their yards and helping them clean up.
CE: "We helped older adults ... "
VB: Umhum.
CE: " ... in the community"?
VB: Yes. And there was no idle time. They didn't believe in idleness. If you were idle, they said that
um, it was a sign of um, laziness. So we had to always be working.
CE: And there was no idle time.
VB: Idle time during the summers 'cause you was in school during the school year. So you know,
typically you had to do homework. And something I, they didn't have a, they didn't have an
established tutorial program, but different ones in the neighborhood who were educated would
help you know, those kids who were having trouble.
CE: Umhum.
VB: Um hum. And we had the bookmobile used to come out in East Savannah.
CE: Um hum, um hum.
25
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Um, so we had all that you know, basically. Those were things that enriched, enhanced,
enhanced us 'cause we didn't have a library. We didn't, a lot of our parents didn' t have
transportation. But you know, like going to PTA meetings or going to um,
CE: Umhum.
VB: social events outside of community was kind ofrare for my, my family 'cause my, by that time
my mother was a single mother. She couldn' t really afford it.
CE: Umhum.
VB: But,
CE: Umhum.
VB: people in the community would help, you know ...
CE: Umhum.
VB: ... in situations like that.
CE: "And the community helped. "
VB: And we would go to the fair; they would let us go to the fair with an adult. Or to um, what else
was a big thing? Oh, St. Patrick's, we couldn't go to St. Patrick's Day parade unless we went
with a adult.
CE: Okay.
VB: And that was kinda rare.
CE: You told me something else too. You said that um, see I've had all that so I don't want to keep
rehashing it ...
VB: Umhum.
CE: ... but I mean, in other words, people's jobs and businesses . ..
VB: Yeah.
26
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: Pretty much, I've covered the water. Ain't no sense in letting you go tlll'ough that. Matter of
fact, 2:00 today I'm gonna be talking to Marvin Jenkins ...
VB: Oh okay. I.. .
CE: And I know that ...
VB: Marvin, yeah.
CE: Marvin, plus I went to school with uh, at St. Pius, was Elaine and ...
VB: Jeannette?
CE: Jearmette. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
VB: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CE: Um hum.
VB: And Jeannette and, Jeannette was all, Jeannette was like a big sister to all of us.
CE: Um hum.
VB: Um hum.
CE: She was in the class of '62 at St. Pius; I was in the next year.
VB: Oh, okay.
CE: Yeah. I think you have told me pretty much, you know, I mean, I'm not gone rehash the ...
'Cause I can tell you everybody, who did what.
VB: Really?
CE: Ms. Sweets, uh,
VB: You remember Sweets store? Yeah, yeah, yeah.
CE: Yeah. Buster's.
VB: Uh huh.
CE: You know, so.
VB: Yeah.
27
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: We're not gonna nm tlu·ough that again.
VB: I was thinking about some, did they ever tell you who the mayor \vas of East Savannah a long
time ago? Did they? Did the old timers, they didn' t tell you that?
CE: Umum.
VB: There was, there was this man, I remember growing up um, we lived on Hanson Street, you
know, the last street in East Savannah was, it's Iowa now, but it was another name. Anyhow,
CE: Still Iowa.
VB: No, it was something else. It was Jones Street. They were named based on the names on, in uh,
town.
CE: Umhum.
VB: They had the same names like Gwinnett, Hall ...
CE: Yeah.
VB: .. . okay. But anyhow um, this um, Mr. Morrell, he lived in, he was a, a prominent man. For
some reason, I don' t know, his position in town, he was Jike the director of some, something
downtown in Savmmah.
CE: He was known as the ...
VB: The mayor of East Savannah.
CE: As the .. .
VB: And this was before the um, the, the, when they, before they started building houses in East
Savmmah.
CE: Umhum.
VB: But he was the, he was called the mayor. And any and everything that went on in the
community, he was like the wise man. You know, they would go to him for advice. And you
know, he would tell them because he was like the learned gentleman in the community. And his
28
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
wife was a, a uh, very bright skilmed lady but was very, very religious, very religious. And they
would take in people, you know, that came in from um, like from out of town and didn't have a
place to live.
CE: Um hum.
VB: They would take those people in and provide a place for them until they got on their feet. And
I, I always respected, you know, I didn't know them you know. I always respected them
because I, my grandmother would always, always talk about all the good deeds that they, that
family would do. And uh, I was really, really impressed with him. But he died, well he died
first and then his wife stayed there and they had a, a house that he built and he maintained it.
And it was modernized, you know, like some of the houses you saw downtown
CE: Umhum.
VB: in the historic area. But they were well respected people in East Sava1mah. And some of those
old timers can tell you 'bout Mr. Morrell. But he was the um, called the mayor of East
Savannah.
CE: Alright. Let me get that. Taking people into his home until the people could find housing.
VB: Um hum, he would, he would bring 'em, I can remember vividly a family that he um, brought
111 .. .
CE: Um hum.
VB: . .. and they were from Statesboro. And they came clown here to work, to find jobs down here.
CE: Umhum.
VB: And he took them in.
CE: Alright. I know who he is ' cause I got his name something, I know that he worked with the
NAACP too.
VB: Uh huh, I know he's registered.
29
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
CE: (unintelligible).
VB: Right. Um hum. They all live right down in that area.
CE: Yeah. Leroy Palmer
VB: Um hum, um hum.
CE: (unintelligible). You know, I wasn't cutting you offbut I know about him.
VB: Um hum.
CE: l-Ie's in a lot of the, several of the interviews.
VB: Really? Okay.
CE: Yeah. Ms. uh, Ms. Robinson on uh, Hanson Street
VB: Um hum.
CE: Mary, I think, Mary Robinson?
VB: Mary Lou?
CE: Yeah.
VB: Um hum.
CE: And she was talking about how it is that, you know, the Eastside Community Association,
when the people tried to encroach on the cemetery, a white woman brought a lawsuit
VB: Um hum.
CE: said it was her property. And they fought for paved streets and
VB: Um hum.
CE: And, I've been through the whole LePageville, I mean
VB: Oh yeah?
CE: I know more about
VB: Now that's, now that, now that's, that's a good one. You, is LePageville included in this?
CE: Oh yeah.
30
Bryant, Dr. Victoria R.
VB: Okay.
CE: I know more about LePageville than, I, I mean, it's amazing .. .
VB: Um hum.
CE: You can cut now Reg.
RF: Oh, okay.
END
END
City of Savannah NOTES
1. Footage is unedited and presented in the form that it was recorded.
2. Filmed on the date indicated at the home of the resident.
3. Designations-- "VB" indicates Victoria Bryant. "RF" indicates Reginald Franklin, the Project Videographer. "CE"
indicates Charles Elmore, the Project Oral Historian.
31