The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte


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:	Larry Crowe
	Videographer:
	Title:	Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte
	Dates:	March 06, 2003
	Abstract:	(ABSTRACT)
	Quantity:	4 Betacam SP videocassettes, 1 half-Hollinger box containing (NUMBER) folders of accompanying materials.
	Identification:	A2003.038
	Language:	The interviews and records are in English

Biographical Note

Alvin J. Boutte, Sr., was born in Lake Charles, Louisiana, on October 10, 1929. One of eight children born to a seamstress and gardener, Boutte attended Xavier University in New Orleans, earning a B.S. in 1951.

Two years after leaving Xavier, Boutte became president and owner of Independent Drug Stores. In 1964, Boutte co-founded Independence Bank in Chicago and began serving as vice chairman, and in 1970, he became the CEO and chairman of the bank. That same year, he was named CEO of Drexel National Bank, and both institutions were put under the umbrella of Indecorp, the largest African American-owned financial institution in the United States. With Boutte serving as CEO of both banks, he was also appointed president and CEO of Indecorp. He remained there until his retirement in1995.

Boutte has served on the boards of directors of other organizations, including twenty years on the board of Chicago Metropolitan Insurance Company, twenty-three years on the board of Johnson Products and eleven years with Midway Airlines. He is also a past president of the Small Business Administration and a past member of the board of the Chicago Board of Education. The Chicago Urban League named Boutte its Man of the Year in 1971, as did the Chicago Economic Development Corporation. Black Enterprise honored him in 1990 for his commitment to African American business and economic growth. Boutte and his wife, Barbara, live in Chicago. They have four children.

Biographical Note by The HistoryMakers®

Scope and Contents

This life oral history interview with Alvin Boutte was conducted by Larry Crowe on 2003-03-06 in Chicago, Illinois and is recorded on 4 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 Alvin Boutte'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:

		Boutte, Alvin
		Crowe, Larry
	Persons:
		(PERSONS)
	Corporate Bodies:
		(CORPORATE BODIES)
	Family Names:
		Boutte
	Places:
		(PLACES)
	Subjects:
		(SUBJECTS)
	Document Types:
		Video oral history interview
	Titles:
		The HistoryMakers® Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte

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 Alvin Boutte, March 06, 2003. The HistoryMakers® African American Video Oral History Collection, 1900 S. Michigan Avenue Chicago, Illinois.

Detailed Description/Tape Listings

Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte, Tape 1, March 06, 2003, TRT: 00:28:47:26.

Alvin Boutte describes his family's Creole heritage and details his father's and mother's backgrounds and personalities. He describes his childhood neighborhood in Lake Charles, Louisiana, focusing on his schooling. Boutte says he attended a private Catholic school, which he says gave him a much better education than he would have received in a public school. He outlines some of the hobbies he enjoyed as a child, saying he enjoyed reading and basketball. Boutte recalls cultivating his love for reading despite the segregated conditions at the local library. He says he played basketball up through his college days, at Xavier University of Louisiana. Boutte explains the origins of the school, why he chose to attend there, and discusses his time on the school's basketball team.

Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte, Tape 2, March 06, 2003, TRT: 00:29:17:10.

Alvin Boutte describes his education at Xavier University of Louisiana, saying that while he majored in pharmacy, the field of economics interested him more. He then describes his experience in the U.S. Army, which had just been desegregated. Though Boutte faced prejudice at first, by the end of his service, he had become a beloved officer to his men, and he recalls his service fondly. He then describes his first business venture after leaving the Army, when he ran a very successful drugstore in Chicago. Boutte explains the business principles he used to help his pharmacy succeed, and how he applied these principles to the banking industry. Boutte details his success in the banking industry, explaining how success in business and political progress are both crucial to the black community.

Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte, Tape 3, March 06, 2003, TRT: 00:28:34.

Alvin Boutte details the business strategies he used to succeed in the banking world. He also explains how these strategies helped to create wealth in the black community. Boutte describes how his banks helped to improve the technology in the banking world, such as introducing automated teller machines. Boutte then moves into a discussion of his civil activities, describing his involvement in numerous community service organizations, and explaining how black businesses helped to fund political causes. Boutte cites the success of activists like Rev. Jesse Jackson as an example of how business and activism work well together. Boutte then reflects on the future of the black community, and says he is concerned that the black lower class does not value education, and consequently, will struggle to succeed. Boutte says that while he never thought of himself as one who would leave a legacy, he hopes that people will remember him as honest and successful. He explains how he received inspiration to succeed in business from a book he read as a child, and encourages all future black entrepreneurs to have high aspirations.

Video Oral History Interview with Alvin Boutte, Tape 4, March 06, 2003, TRT: 00:05:54:07.

Alvin Boutte describes the photographs he has provided, which detail his career.