Oral History Interview: Nancie Smith Robinson

This interview is one of series conducted concerning Oral Histories of African-American women who taught in West Virginia public schools. Mrs. Nancie Smith Robinson taught at a number of public schools, including one in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. She gives us very detailed information about her family, including their jobs and education, family reunions, white relatives, Christmas, parenting, her children participating in the Civil Rights Movement, and her family life. Her education is discussed in detailed as well; she attended Douglass High School and Bluefield State College, and recalls her teachers and her social life. Her teaching career is an important focus and she gives very detailed information about her career history, including Glenmount High School, Douglass High School, Jefferson School, and Marshall University. She also remembers the desegregation of schools and discusses race relations and how her race has affected her life. There are numerous other discussion points as well, and some of them include: churches; Mound Bayou; a brief story about not being allowed to be on a bowling team in Huntington; why she left Mound Bayou; a job designing kitchens; the Great Depression; World War II (including some information about rationing & the USO); her perceptions on her childhood; segregation; Camden Park (an amusement park in Huntington, WV); politics; information about Huntington, West Virginia; women's rights; people who influenced her; her self-perceptions; her thoughts on her life; ambitions she has; thoughts on teaching; and many other topics.