Interview with Thelma B. Johnson, August 20, 1985
Project: Black People in Kentucky Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Thelma Johnson was an extension agent in Henderson County and Daviess County, Kentucky through the extension program run by the University of Kentucky. Johnson came to Kentucky in 1945 and soon after became involved in extension work. She talks about the relationships between white and Black extension agents, and discusses discriminatory administrative attitudes toward Black agents. She talks about receiving lower wages and fewer promotions than her white counterparts. She talks about being unwillingly assigned to work with low income families, and talks about becoming Area Coordinator for the Expanded Foods and Nutrition Program. She briefly discusses civil rights demonstrations in Henderson but says she could not participate due to her state job, and talks about the effects of integration on schools in the area.Johnson talks about being asked to run for public office, and discusses the support she received from the community. She talks about being elected to the Board of Education in Henderson, and discusses her accomplishments as a member of the school board, including hiring more Black teachers. She talks about whether she experienced any prejudice as a member of the Board of Education.
Interview Accession
Interviewee Name
Interviewer Name
Terry L. Birdwhistell
Interview Date
Interview LC Subject
African American leadership African Americans--Segregation African Americans--Social conditions Agricultural extension workers Home economics extension work Johnson, Thelma B. Johnson, Thelma B.--Interviews University of Kentucky. Agricultural Extension Service Race relations--KentuckyInterview Rights
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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.
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Johnson, Thelma B. Interview by George C. Wright. 20 Aug. 1985. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Johnson, T.B. (1985, August 20). Interview by G. C. Wright. Black People in Kentucky Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Johnson, Thelma B., interview by George C. Wright. August 20, 1985, Black People in Kentucky Oral History Project, Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
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Persistent Link for this Record: https://kentuckyoralhistory.org/ark:/16417/xt7j6q1sj19n