Interview with Mary A. Adams, October 10, 1997

Project: University of Kentucky Oral History Project

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Interview Summary

Mary A. Adams was among the first African American graduate students to integrate the University of Kentucky. A graduate of Kentucky State University, Adams' father encouraged her to enter UK to earn her master's degree in secondary education. Adams states that her father highly valued the education of his children. Her mother was a former teacher. In September of 1949, Adams began her studies at UK. She recalls that some members of her family attempted to discourage her from attending for fear that she would be harassed, but Adams states she did not have a bad experience. Of course, her experience was different than most white students. In one class taught by future UK President Frank Dickey, she was asked to sit in an area separate from the white students. She was also ignored by many students, and one professor. Adams graduated in 1950, and states that she was graded fairly and that she was determined to show the people at UK that she could do just as well as anyone else. Adams taught high school in Cynthiana, Kentucky for five years and then came back to UK to change her certification to elementary education. She subsequently taught in Lexington-area schools for 35 years. She remembers her best experience at UK was walking across the stage to receive her degree and actually having white people clap for her. She discusses her views of integrated schools, the need for more black teachers, and her expectations for African American students.

Interview Accession

1997oh082_af587

Interviewee Name

Mary A. Adams

Interviewer Name

Lauretta F. Byars

Interview Date

1997-10-10

Interview Rights

All rights to the interviews, including but not restricted to legal title, copyrights and literary property rights, have been transferred to the University of Kentucky Libraries.

Interview Usage

Interviews may be reproduced with permission from Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, Special Collections, University of Kentucky Libraries.

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Adams, Mary A. Interview by Lauretta F. Byars. 10 Oct. 1997. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.

Adams, M.A. (1997, October 10). Interview by L. F. Byars. University of Kentucky Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.

Adams, Mary A., interview by Lauretta F. Byars. October 10, 1997, University of Kentucky Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.





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