Name
Lass, Kathy (Interviewee)
Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017 (Interviewer)
Title
Oral history interview with Kathy Lass, 2001
Other Titles
Reminiscences of Kathy Lass, 2001; Oral history of Kathy Lass, 2001
Abstract
Lass begins this interview by discussing her family dynamics and early upbringing in St. Louis, Missouri. Lass describes Glenridge Elementary School, the Crispus Attucks School, and the effects of school integration in 1954. Lass goes on to describe her year at Northwestern University and her exposure to activism at the University of Missouri. Additionally, Lass offers insight into her family histo ry and political background, including a discussion of her father's political influence. During the second year of her undergraduate studies, organizers from SCOPE, backed by the SCLC, recruited student volunteers. Lass describes her decision to participate and the reaction of her family. She chronicles the week-long orientation at Morris Brown College, naming Andy and Jean Young, Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Bayard Rustin, Ralph Abernathy, and Hosea Williams as workshop leaders. Lass outlines the conditions of her placement in Southampton, Virginia in June 1965 and the impact of the enactment of the Voting Rights Act. Lass describes her role she played in the project, segregation in Southampton society, the experience of church visits across Southampton County, and the hardships of families who hosted her. Lass describes her employment after SCOPE, including her first job after graduate school at a D.C. neighborhood center. She also describes her brief time with corporate employment and her position at the Red Cross. Lass continues her reminisces of Southampton, recalling particular acts of harassment and intimidation, especially in the town of Boykins. Lass concludes this interview with a brief discussion of September 11th, her experience returning from Southampton, and a desire to reconnect with her SCOPE team
Collection Name
Sheila Michaels civil rights organization oral history collection
Subjects
Civil rights movements--History--20th century.--United States; School integration--Missouri; Civil rights workers--History--20th century.--Virginia; African Americans--Suffrage--Virginia; United States Race relations 20th century; Southampton County (Va.); Lass, Kathy; Southern Christian Leadership Conference
Format
oral histories
Genre
Interviews
Date
2001
Physical Description
65 pages
Note (Biographical)
Kathy Lass was born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1942 to a middle-class Jewish family. Lass spent one year at Northwestern University, and the transferred to the University of Missouri for two years. There, she decided to participate in the Summer Commu nity Organization and Political Education Project (SCOPE), a Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) initiative to register Southern African Americans to vote. Through SCOPE, Lass spent the summer of 1965 in Southampton County, Virginia. Following her service in the South, Lass graduated from University of Missouri and pursued graduate studies at University of Michigan. She also obtained a master's degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1976. After working at both local and national labor organizations, she served as Director of International Services at the Red Cross
Note
Interviewed by Sheila Michaels on November 25, 2001
Note (Provenance)
Sheila Michaels, Gift circa 2001-2005
Language
English
Library Location
Columbia Center for Oral History, Columbia University
Catalog Record
11604184
Persistent URL
https://dx.doi.org/10.7916/d8-pe4d-m242
Related URLs
Available digital content for this interview.