Demonstrations to desegregation a swimming pool
Williams remembers Robert's efforts to gain admittance for African Americans into a swimming pool built by federal dollars. White Monroe residents resisted his pressure, so he organized demonstrations. Williams does not reveal the outcome of the demonstrations.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Mabel Williams, August 20, 1999. Interview K-0266. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
I remember that as I told you before I lived on Quality Hill, or across
the railroad tracks from New Town where the larger black community
lived. And I remember a young, one of my neighbors drowned in a mud
pool, mud puddle swimming out on Quality Hill. That same summer two or
three other young black boys had drowned in mud puddles in, you know,
trying to learn how to swim or just going swimming. You know, hot down
here—
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
Cow ponds and things like that.
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Yeah. Right. And so Robert and—. Robert had said,
"Well, this is just outrageous. We've got this pool
down here." I don't know how he found out that the
pool was built by the WPA with federal dollars.
"You've got this pool down here supported by tax
dollars. And it's restricted to white only." And he
said, "Let's go before the city
council and ask them for a day that they would set aside so that our
black kids can swim." Now that was not a—to us it
wasn't revolutionary. It was just asking for one day.
Or—
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
Did y'all not really think of it as—
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
No, no. We just thought they could set aside a day. I think Robert
thought that the city fathers would do that. When he went before them
and presented that to, "Well what about setting that
aside?" I think at first they just said some time, so that the
black kids could come in and swim. He really, at that time, I
don't think he even thought that they would say no. But when
they said no, they couldn't do that because every time the
black kids swam they would have to drain the pool before the whites
could use that again.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
Did they explain that? Did they have any argument that this was
just—?
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
No, because black people had been in it. That was enough. At first
they—. At first he didn't ask for a day. He asked,
"Could you build a pool in our neighborhood?"
That's what they asked, separate but equal, right?
Didn't even have to be equal. We're just asking
for a separate pool. "No. Can't do that."
The city council, city recreation department—"We
can't do that. We don't have the money."
Then they went back and asked, "Well, if you don't
have the money to build a pool in our neighborhood could you set aside
some time when our kids can use the pool that you have? Because, after
all, it was built with federal funds and it is tax supported by the
recreation committee of the city. And after all, black people do pay
taxes." And they—. Nope. They
couldn't do that. And that's when they brought up
the fact that they'd have to drain the pool and wash it out
every time. So Robert really got angry after they finally went and told
them that, no. There was no way and there was nothing that they were
going to do. They weren't going to even try to do anything to
help relieve the situation. So he told them, said, "Well, you
know, if you want segregation, segregation's very expensive.
And if you can't afford it, then you don't need
it." And that's when he came back and we started to
organize the demonstrations around the pool.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
And what were they—they'd be—
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Our young people and Rob would get together and they'd go
down to the pool and picket around the pool.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
Signs and everything?
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
With signs, yes. Signs and—. This pool's built
with federal funds. We have a right to swim. Open up the pool and let us
swim once a week, or whatever. I don't even remember all of
the signs. Maybe the newspapers recorded. I'm sure they did
record some.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
Did you go down there some?
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. But most of the time when I was down
there—. I didn't picket. I was in the car with
guns. [Laughter] But I was not picketing.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
[unclear]
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Yes, yes, yes. I was always there in the car. Not always, but part of
the time I was there in the car. And each time that I was there in the
car there was a gun in the car with me. And—
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
And you were just—
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Just sitting there waiting and, you know.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
In case the situation arose.
- MABEL WILLIAMS:
-
Um-hmm. When we had to protect the kids and get them out of there. My
youngest son was—. I think my older son was allowed to go
down and picket with the kids as well. So—. At that time, you
know, guns were legal as long as they were not concealed in North
Carolina. So we had the guns on the seat.
[Laughter] They were not concealed. Anybody walking up could
see that the guns were there.
- DAVID CECELSKI:
-
I'm sure they noticed them, too.