Abstract Everett P. Williams Jr. discusses growing up musically gifted, starting a career in music during his studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and subsequent experiences that led him to his role as minister of music at Asbury United Methodist Church in D.C. Mr. Williams talks about Washington, D.C. from 1981 up to the time of the interview (2022), particularly as a center of culture, the impact of COVID on Asbury United Methodist Church and his role in the church’s response, reactions to the...

Abstract Everett P. Williams Jr. discusses growing up musically gifted, starting a career in music during his studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and subsequent experiences that led him to his role as minister of music at Asbury United Methodist Church in D.C. Mr. Williams talks about Washington, D.C. from 1981 up to the time of the interview (2022), particularly as a center of culture, the impact of COVID on Asbury United Methodist Church and his role in the church’s response, reactions to the...

Abstract Everett P. Williams Jr. discusses growing up musically gifted, starting a career in music during his studies at Oberlin Conservatory of Music and subsequent experiences that led him to his role as minister of music at Asbury United Methodist Church in D.C. Mr. Williams talks about Washington, D.C. from 1981 up to the time of the interview (2022), particularly as a center of culture, the impact of COVID on Asbury United Methodist Church and his role in the church’s response, reactions to the...

Abstract A career federal employee who answered the call to ministry in the United Methodist Church later in life, Rev. Irene C. Pierce reflects on her 95 years. This includes her early childhood and a later visit to Pickens, South Carolina; her church life, extending beyond Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C., to the general church and then pastoring a small Black church in a mostly white town; dealing with racism while trying to climb the ladder at the Treasury and Commerce...

Abstract Dr. Joseph N. Yearwood III reflects on the racial discrimination that caused his parents to send him to Brooklyn, N.Y., in the mid-1940s for his early education; the life he experienced upon his return to the District of Columbia at the age of seven, and his subsequent education and career choices; the joy of service and connection through membership in his fraternity, ROTC, the Masons, and his church, Asbury United Methodist Church in Washington, D.C. He talks about the impact of the...

Scope and Contents

Josephine Baker talks most about her involvement with the Charter School movement and shares some of the battle scars gained from those who thought, even after 25 years of a stellar reputation with DCPS, that she must be anti-DCPS to take on this new initiative. She explains her motivation, the importance of educational options in each child's development and what she believes they achieved on behalf of children, who she insists must always come first.

Scope and Contents Josephine Baker talks most about her involvement with the Charter School movement and shares some of the battle scars gained from those who thought, even after 25 years of a stellar reputation with DCPS, that she must be anti-DCPS to take on this new initiative. She explains her motivation, the importance of educational options in each child's development and what she believes they achieved on behalf of children, who she insists must always come first. 'In Part Two of this Oral History,...

Abstract Educator, administrator, editor and musician, Dr. Marion E. Hines reflects on her life of 80 years, including her work in the DC Public Schools and two universities; her education in the public schools, then at Howard University and Georgetown University; her approach to teaching languages; her love of travel and music. She speaks in depth about the Wesleyan Choir of Asbury United Methodist Church, what it means to her and to the church; Asbury’s participation in various historic events such...

Abstract Ruth Scarbrough discusses her life as a native Washingtonian transplanted as a teenager in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She reflects on growing up in pre-gentrified northwest and northeast Washington, D.C., the 1968 riots, living in non-diverse communities in Oklahoma, transcribing the Cassius Clay v. United States court case, pursuing career goals without the prerequisite education, and rising to career success in the federal government. She also speaks about raising boys as a single...

Abstract Ruth Scarbrough discusses her life as a native Washingtonian transplanted as a teenager in Prince George’s County, Maryland. She reflects on growing up in pre-gentrified northwest and northeast Washington, D.C., the 1968 riots, living in non-diverse communities in Oklahoma, transcribing the Cassius Clay v. United States court case, pursuing career goals without the prerequisite education, and rising to career success in the federal government. She also speaks about raising boys as a single...