doi:10.7916/d8-cxbg-9860Oral history interview with Pat Jordan, 1999Jordan, Patoral historiesmixed materialCivil rights movements--History--20th century.--United StatesCivil rights demonstrations--MissouriUnited States Race relations 20th centuryJordan, PatSt. Louis Committee of Racial EqualityNational Association for the Advancement of Colored PeoplePat Jordan begins her interview with recollections from young adulthood. Throughout the interview, Jordan describes the challenges faced by poor, rural-based youth in Missouri and across the country. She shares anecdotes of sexist and classist treatment in Lebanon High School to illustrate the social dynamics in 1950s Missouri. Jordan gives special attention to the areas of Laclede County. Jordan speaks of her early interest in agriculture and the stigma around it within her high school. Jordan chronicles her move to St. Louis, where she joined the NAACP. Jordan recalls the NAACP's picket of White Castle, the help of NAACP activist Pearlie Evans in securing her housing at Pruitt-Igoe in 1960, and her involvement in the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church. She describes how she joined CORE in 1963 and the work she did there until 1967. Jordan recalls the changes of CORE in the late 1960s, including the election of W. Charles Ray Howard and the Oakland Conference in 1967. Jordan explains what led her to leave the group and her decision to move to Eminence, Missouri. For the rest of the interview, Jordan describes her life after 1967, including her employment with the Citizen's Equal Rights Alliance. She also describes community uplift efforts within St. Louis. Jordan describes the courses she took at Forest Park Community College and Webster University, as well as her love of history. Other topics of discussion include: Maslow's hierarchy of needs; community gardening and agriculture; truck and service car strikes; and Jordan's relationship with her brother. The interview concludes with Jordan's accounts of FBI surveillance and the circumstances of her last two arrests