Key Facts about Civil Rights Activist and Leader, Ella Baker

Welcome to Tellers of the Untold the podcast. It is March 8 ninth, and this is internet or women’s month, but we’re gonna focus on Black History all the year-round. But this month, we will focus more on females than women. In this episode, you will hear from a 95-year-old woman on the south side of Chicago and her story. And I want to hear more about other senior stories. So reach out and go on tellers, untold calm and send me a message I would love to speak with other seniors and about their stories and highlight them on the podcast. But without further ado, please enjoy this episode. And let’s listen to our seniors and listen to those that have come before us and are and to find out what their stories are. They’re really important, and they can help us the wisdom and knowledge. Without further ado, here’s the episode but make sure you check out tellers, untold calm, and also go shopping. And in the shop, you’ll see that there’s a word search book that you can purchase on Amazon. If you purchase that on Amazon, it’s 699 you get 50 amazing pages of Searches related to all types of black history. Proceeds from that go to mental health. Okay, here we go. Here’s the episode, and I’ll see you guys next week be blessed be happy be safe.

01:39

How was it like being brought up in Chicago being black? So tell me a little bit about, like, when you grew up and where well

01:48

Introduce yourself. Your name first. My name is Playliva della Ray I was one of eight children really nine but that boy died and before I knew I didn’t even know him because he died in in Mississippi when my mother was brought up from my mom, Alabama where my mom and dad worse. And but anyway want a one of our one of eight children we grew up with. And my dad was he married my mom and brought her to Chicago back in the early 30s. And I remember they were ahead as a as a group, a children of five girls and three boys. And and then my dad had a business and back then everybody was heating their houses with coal. And and he was selling he sold coal. He had a he had a big garage where he they would deliver the coal and he would sell it by the baskets. And he contacted my dad contacted tuberculosis and my mom had to take over the badness but he my dad had just bought a brand new board. b a four panel, big panel truck yellow, I remember it was panel and they had he had contracts to do construction work for the city. Oh, boy, Ned was when he got sick. My mom my mom took all the business she had a man to drive the truck because he had all these contracts. And they had the fulfilling and she got man to drive the truck. And she’s told me my oldest sister me we were the two oldest was two older girls. He say you will all have to help me Your dad. Dad is sick and I have to work my work. So, my mother hate, she gave me one boy and one girl, my older sister, one girl and one boy, the boy under me was old enough to handle and take care of himself. But we had to wash and bathe them and comb their hair and get them dressed in school. And do I do ourselves and go to school? So that went on until my mom’s my dad died. My dad died when I was 13 years old. And, boy, that was rough. It was rough.

05:43

Oh,

05:44

what happened after that?

05:46

Well, tell me about the fact that it’s amazing that he was able to have his own business.

05:53

Yes, it is. We grew up in progressive Baptist Church, which was at 37th in La Salle at the time, and then the Dan Ryan had come through had been built. And we use I would go on tour. Oh, that was before. Before I was 13. When I was going, my sister Nah, we were the two oldest. I was we’re going to that. All the way over to Preston, to Mexico. And it was, Oh, it was fine until they had transferred. Oh, well, they belt Raymond School, which has had 37th and Wabash and and we left 36 in Dearborn. And that was rough going all the way across. Wentworth, compressed and to that, Mexico, so they transferred, MC made us to Raymond school. And my oldest sister was old enough, where she was in her late grades. They kept let her go and finish her her grammar school that school. And she did fine. But

07:33

they only transfer the black. They only transfer the black students.

07:36

Well, no. But anybody that was living past that on the other side of bedroom,

07:49

so it didn’t matter what color you know,

07:50

it was anything if you were past if you were past I think it was federal law, or might have been law sale. I don’t I don’t remember. If you were a past that you had to go to

08:10

school. How did you get it? Did you do you remember it? Was it? Do you remember it? Was it Do you remember it? Was it? Do you remember it? Was it? Do you remember it wasn’t view? Remember, it wasn’t viewed?

08:22

I went to blind schools? I didn’t need I never saw in white.

08:28

Okay, so maybe just on TV? Hmm. Like on TV and the movie?

08:32

Well, you know, we didn’t have TV back then.

08:36

And so what do you think? I mean, is that, did that do something for you? Is that was that something that you wish you could have seen?

08:45

It was? I guess if I had been able to go to med school, I know I would have had a better education. I know that.

08:56

So what’s the problem with the school system now? Because it’s you know, there’s kind of the same way I

09:04

if, if if teachers got to come to education that’s the problem.

09:11

Yeah. So why do you think they’re not teaching the black black history and everything black students add on? No way.

09:19

I have no idea. I didn’t know it. I didn’t. I don’t remember even having history. But my brother used to read all kinds of books and he used to talk about and but he was a reader. I never read

09:37

so your dad was a black had a black on business in the 1930s and the 1930s. So was that on murder?

09:47

One that what was that unheard of?

09:49

Was that right? Yes.

09:50

That was very well I’ve mammy I did see in the white. I never saw any whites. Yeah, and

10:00

Were you consider then middle to upper class? Because you and your business have way out?

10:07

That wasn’t even a term back then.

10:11

Okay, so everybody, then everybody

10:13

just went along with whatever. And that’s why it was.

10:18

So do you think it’s gotten better today or worse today or anything? Is that about the same as we

10:24

have? Well, you know, when if, if, kids. You see how the whites move as soon as the blacks move in the area, what they run? They didn’t really when I moved here. When was that? Goodness, I can’t remember. I’ve been here. 5059 years

10:55

old area now.

10:56

Yeah. area called Chatham. And whites were moving out at night. Oh, yeah, they weren’t. They didn’t Oh, it was all mixed. I mean, that’s when it was really mixed. But they then as soon as a black family moved in, and when, if you move next door, learn the neighbors move the next door neighbor move. And that’s the way it was back then.

11:28

So if this was just if you’re all in a black neighborhood, and you didn’t really see many whites, what about some of the historical people in Chicago like when Martin Luther King moved here? Yeah, ever see him did? Mahalia Jackson,

11:42

I asked. That’s when I own that’s when I own that’s when I own that’s when that’s when. That’s when that’s when and

Related Articles

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

- Advertisement -

Latest Articles