Anderson, Leroy, July 10, 1985
Scope and Contents
The Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture Oral History Project contains 44 oral history interviews arranged in three series based on the corresponding project or scope of the oral histories. The majority of the oral histories were conducted or coordinated by Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture members with the exception of Phase 2 of the Avery Normal Institute Oral History Project which was conducted by the Avery Research Center. Within each series, the oral histories are arranged alphabetically by last name. Greater details about the contents of each oral history can be found at the file level abstract of each interview. Each oral history, when available, includes a transcript and any supporting documentation like questions, notes, tape logs, and interview release forms. Transcripts do not currently exist for every interview and work to create them is ongoing.
Series I: Avery Normal Institute Oral History Project, 1980-1996 contains oral histories with former students, teachers, principals, and community members of the Avery Normal Institute discussing their attendance at the school including classes, teachers, extracurricular activities as well as perceptions of the school in the larger African American Charleston community and perceived reasons for why the school was closed. 12 of these oral histories are accessible on the Lowcountry Digital Library including the interviews with Ruby Cornwell, Julia Craft DeCosta, Marcellus Forrest, Dr. Joseph Hoffman, Felder Hutchinson, Anna D. Kelly, Louise Mouzon, Peter Poinsette, and both interviews with J. Michael Graves and Eugene C. Hunt.
Series II: Laing School oral histories, 1981 contains two oral histories with former students of the Laing School in which they discuss their time attending the school, their lives after graduation, and their impressions of the Avery Normal Institute.
Series III: Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture oral histories, 1983-1995 contains seven oral histories with members of the Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture discussing the founding of the organization and its grassroots efforts to acquire and preserve the Avery Normal Institute school buildings. There are also oral histories in this series with former students of the Avery Normal Institute and Immaculate Conception discussing their attendance at both institutions.
Dates
- Creation: July 10, 1985
Creator
- From the Collection: Avery Institute of Afro-American History and Culture (Organization)
Access Restrictions
There are no restrictions to this collection; however, a cassette player is required to listen to the audiocassette tapes. A cassette player will be made available to researchers in our reading room.
Full Extent
From the Collection: .834 linear feet (2 Hollinger boxes, 79 audiocassettes, and 27.7 gigabytes (audio and transcripts))
Language of Materials
From the Collection: English
Abstract
The interview emphasizes Dr. Leroy Anderson’s (b. Nov. 30, 1916) attendance of Avery Normal Institute and the development of his own educational career. He talks at length about his upbringing in Charleston, SC as the son of James William Anderson (postal service worker) and Anna Pettigru. Anderson recounts black-white relations in the city, segregation, and discusses attending Shaw school and Avery Normal Institute. He talks about color consciousness and elitism at Avery and remembers the efforts of parents, Avery, and the church to instill culture in their students. He credits Benjamin Cox for inviting members of the Harlem Renaissance to the school and recounts that Avery stressed a standard of excellence, sense of service, and the philosophy of reaching back and pulling somebody up. He also mentions his musical education, John William Whitacker’s influence as a mentor, and the ritual of a rhetorical presentation every Friday in the chapel. Anderson recalls his experience in WWII, including his identity crisis after coming back from WWII in 1947, his service in the army, raising through the ranks, and dealing with segregated units. The interview then focuses on Dr. Anderson’s career as a teacher and educator: he taught at Avery before going to Fisk University in 1947/1948 to get his Masters, and later received a PhD from the University of Kentucky at Lexington. After returning to Charleston, he taught at Burke High School until 1953. He then opened W. Gresham Meggett School on James Island where he stayed until 1960. Lastly, he briefly recalls the beginnings of the civil rights movement with mentions of Esau Jenkins and Septima Poinsette Clark. Referring to Gullah, he notes the importance of teaching children to be “bilingual.”
The oral history is conducted by Dr. Edmund Drago.
Repository Details
Part of the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture Repository
125 Bull Street
Charleston South Carolina 29424 United States
843-953-7608
averyresearchcenter@cofc.edu