What did we do to get this? Ira Harris reflects on his life during forced desegregation

What did we do to get this? Ira Harris reflects on his life during forced desegregation

Ira Harris was born and raised in rural Franklin County, NC, on his family’s farm. As a child, he learned firsthand the realities of racism. He and his friend Henry were forced to attend an all-white school by a Jim Crow School Board in an attempt to show Blacks were inferior to whites during desegregation, and to stop the effort. Harris shares in painful detail the daily verbal abuse and beatings from white students, [https://blackoralhistories.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Ira-Harris1-Web-225x300.jpg]which included an attempted drowning in the school’s bathroom. In a system designed for failure, he often found himself in “Black detention,” which meant either being locked in an empty classroom all day or a dark closet.

The life journies of 106-year-old Lillian Boyd

Lillian Boyd was born in Washington, North Carolina, in 1919. At 106, her life experiences have been many. She and her four siblings grew up in a loving family where their parents always made sure there was food on the table, and they never went wanting. As a child, she worked in the tobacco fields, where you might find her sitting under a big tobacco leaf to get out of the sun. Racism was not a stranger. As Boyd [https://blackoralhistories.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Lillian-Boyd2-web-225x300.jpg]said, “They didn’t like us and sometimes treated us like animals, so we didn’t like them much either.” That changed when she worked for many white families in Washington over the years, and even helped to raise one family’s child.

The life journey of 84-year-old Helma Witchet

84-year-old Helma Witchet was born and raised in the small rural community of Blounts Creek, NC. The daughter of sharecroppers, she learned firsthand the rigors of growing and harvesting tobacco. Witchet attended the Ware Creek Rosenwald School, one of six Rosenwald Schools in Beaufort County, through the 5th grade. She attended NC A&T in the 60’s, marched with protestors, and can proudly say that the Reverend Jessie Jackson was one of her classmates. Witchet [https://blackoralhistories.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Helma-Witchet2-web-225x300.jpg]went on to become a teacher and then a high school counselor for 31 years in Houston. She credits her parents’ emphasis on education for her successes throughout life.

A life of service that has touched counteless lives along the way. 91 year old Ethel Bryant shares her life story.

Ethel Bryant was born in Washington, North Carolina, on October 21, 1934, to Joseph Henry and Ethel Bryant. Her father was the offspring of a slave owner in Windsor, North Carolina, and was enslaved as a child. Bryant was a member of the first graduating class from P.S. Jones High School in 1952. Her experiences with racism were different than others because of her lighter complexion. As a lover of music, [https://blackoralhistories.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Ethel-Bryant-202x300.jpg]Bryant became an accomplished singer, organist, and pianist, going on to lead numerous choirs and conduct workshops in North Carolina and the Bahamas. Bryant credits the day she accepted Jesus Christ into her life with changing her trajectory, leading to many years of service caring for and helping those in need.

From the child of tennant farmers, to civil rights protestor, to school teacher. Meet 85 year-old Gladys Johnson

Born in 1941 in Edgecombe County, NC, Gladys Johnson proudly says she is “85 plus.” She grew up working on her father’s farm, who was a tenant farmer, along with her other ten siblings. She marched with civil rights protestors while a student at Fayetteville State University in the 60’s and then went on to have quite the career as a school teacher. She shares her life story and her experiences with racism along the way. [https://blackoralhistories.blubrry.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Gladys-Russell-Web-218x300.jpg]