The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow



Overview of the Item

Repository: The HistoryMakers
1900 S. Michigan Avenue
Chicago, Illinois 60616
(312) 674-1900
info@thehistorymakers.com
http://www.thehistorymakers.com
Interviewer: Adele Hodge
Videographer: Matthew Hickey
Title:Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow
Dates:August 19, 2002
Abstract: (ABSTRACT)
Quantity: 6 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
Identification: 1999.001
Language: The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Named "The Little Warrior" for her tireless work as a social and spiritual activist, Reverend Willie Barrow has spent her entire life on the front lines of the civil rights struggle. She grew up in Burton, Texas, where as a student in the 1940s she led a demonstration of rural African-American schoolchildren against a segregated school system that refused them bus service because of their race. The success of that early campaign taught Willie Barrow that determination and organization can bring about positive social change. Willie Barrow attended Warner-Pacific Theological Seminary in Portland, Oregon, and as a student built a church in that city. After graduation, she was ordained as a minister and began her career as both a spiritual and social activist.

One of Reverend Willie Barrow's key roles has been as Field Organizer for Dr. Martin Luther King during the major Civil Rights marches and demonstrations of the 1950s and 1960s. As Field Organizer, Reverend Barrow was responsible for the organization of transportation, shelter, meetings and rallies for the demonstrators who came to participate in the marches and sit-ins during that era. Beginning in 1953, she served in this capacity and continued her Field Organizer position through the legendary 1965 March on Selma, Alabama where she trained new recruits, organized boycotts and demonstrations on Dr. King's behalf, and participated in voter registration drives. During the 1960s, Reverend Barrow was among the founding members of Operation BREADBASKET, a program that provided spiritual guidance and practical assistance to communities in need. Later, in 1968, she led a three-person delegation to North Vietnam and participated in the negotiation of the Vietnam Peace Treaty.

Currently, Reverend Barrow serves as co-Chair of the Rainbow-PUSH Coalition, the organization that grew out of Operation BREADBASKET. At the Coalition, she coordinates the activities of the national organization and serves as an aide to Reverend Jesse Jackson, with whom she has shared a partnership since the first days of BREADBASKET. Reverend Barrow also serves as associate minister of the Vernon Park Church of God in Chicago.

Reverend Willie Barrow has been honored with a Doctor of Divinity degree from Monrovia, Liberia and a Leadership Certificate from Harvard University. In September 1997, a street on Chicago's South Side was renamed in her honor. Earlier that same year, the Reverend Willie Barrow Wellness Center was opened. The Center is a clinic housed within Doctor's Hospital that treats those with limited health-care benefits. Together with the Barrow Health Mobile Clinic, these services bring affordable and accessible health care to needed areas in Chicago. Through these institutions, the legacy of Reverend Barrow continues to provide inspiration.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®

Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Willie Barrow was conducted by Adele Hodge on 2002-08-19 in Chicago, Illinois and is recorded on 6 30-minute Betacam SP videocassettes. Access copies exist on Betacam SP, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1. The interview contains information on (COMPLETE ONE SENTENCE DESCRIPTION OF INTERVIEW). Accompanying materials in the collection include Willie Barrow's correspondence with The HistoryMakers® related to the interview; a copy of the signed release form and the production report; the biographical information used by the interviewer to prepare for the interview (DETAILS); paper copies of the interview transcripts, 3 1/2" floppy disks with electronic copies of the transcripts; selected quotes for video clips; photocopies of photographs captured on video; XML files with metadata created in editing and cataloguing the interview for The HistoryMakers Digital Video Library; and paper copies of these XML files.

Restrictions

Restrictions on Access

Access to paper records is restricted. Other restrictions may be applied on a case-by-case basis.

Restrictions on Use

All use of materials must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers® and appropriate credit must be given. All use credits must be pre-approved by The HistoryMakers®. Copyright is held by The HistoryMakers®.

Index Terms

This record series is indexed under the following controlled access terms.
Contributors:
Barrow, Willie, 1924-
Hickey, Matthew
Hodge, Adele
Persons:
(PERSONS)
Corporate Bodies:
(CORPORATE BODIES)
Family Names:
Barrow
Places:
(PLACES)
Subjects:
(SUBJECTS)
Document Types:
Video oral history interview
Titles:
The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow

Related Material

Accompanying materials: Accompanying materials are filed in (NUMBER) folders in a half-Hollinger box and shelved at The HistoryMakers® Archives and Collection Library by accession number, separately from the videos.

Administrative Information

Location of Originals

Betacam, VHS, DVD and MPEG-1 access copies are held for in-house use at The HistoryMakers®; Betacam SP, VHS and DVD playback hardware is provided for in-house viewing of the access copies; MPEG-1 copies are searchable and viewable via a digital video database.

Preferred Citation

The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, August 19, 2002. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.

Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 1, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:30:47.

Rev. Willie Barrow opens this segment with some autobiographocal information on her family. She mentions how her evangelist father and mother stressed the importance of family and upholding the family name. Because she traveled with her father, Barrow decided to enter the seminary, but didn't have money to continue in college. A guardian angel supported her education, which she supplemented with a job welding ships during WWII. The segment closes with her recollection of her fighting the racism in Texas when she was a high school student.


Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 2, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:30:50.

Willie Barrow recounts a few stories from her one-room schoolhouse high school years, in particular the segregated school bus tale. She continues with her fortuitous transition to seminary, courtesy of a great-aunt. Barrow jumps ahead to her philosophy on human interaction in a post "9/11" world. The pain of losing a majority of her family, including both sons, her parents and husband, has left her scarred but not bowed. Barrow jumps back to her civil rights days of marching with Martin Luther King in Selma and the great obstacles they faced. She continues with recollections of the training and her observations of events during that volatile period.


Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 3, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:30:52.

Willie Barrow shares many of the insider details of life as a young civil rights worker. In describing the difficulties faced in Selma, Montgomery or right here in Chicago, she returns to her philosophy of standing up for what is right even in the face of insurmountable odds. She applies that same philosophy to the business world, as she describes boycotting companies lacking a visible black presence in the executive office. Barrow details the origins of Operation Breadbasket and Operation PUSH. As a woman minister, Barrow has experienced gender discrimination within the church and she details some of those incedents. But she also talks about how she faced that discrimination head-on and won. The segment closes with Barrow's recounting of how Martin Luther King asked her to work with Jesse Jackson and how they have worked together ever since then.


Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 4, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:30:50.

Willie Barrow delves into the unique challenges she's faced as a player in the Civil Rights Movement, particularly as a board member in Operation PUSH/Operation Breadbasket. She remembers the rise of the coalition which brought Chicago Mayor Harold Washington to power. Barrow also discusses the importance of forming coalitions. At the time of the interview, Barrow was very hopeful about the outcome of the 2002 election.


Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 5, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:30:48.

After nearly 40 years of involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, Willie Barrow still has an agenda to fulfill. She asesses the progress of black America and ponders its future. Barrow stresses the need for education, unity of purpose and creating more "Willie Barrow's"-- people who will take a stand on important issues. Barrow also ponders the Slavery Reparations movement, but casts it as part of a larger spiritual movement. In final reflections, she wants her legacy to be that of a woman who was 'committed to her people." The segment closes with several photos.


Video Oral History Interview with Willie Barrow, Tape 6, August 19, 2002, TRT: 00:19:07.

This tape is a compendium of Willie Barrow's life since she married in 1945. Barrow narrates her personal photographs as they are recorded on videotape.