Interview with Sheila Mason Burton, December 19, 2021
Project: 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (Kentucky) Oral History Project
Interview Summary
Sheila Mason Burton is a lifelong resident of Frankfort, Kentucky. Burton was born in 1948 and grew up in the Black neighborhood of South Frankfort. Burton attended the segregated Mayo-Underwood School during elementary and middle school. Burton went to the integrated Frankfort High School for the remainder of her education. Burton then describes her perceptions of race during her childhood. Burton recounts her experiences with discrimination at Frankfort High School. Burton chronicles her knowledge of the civil rights movement as a child. Burton talks of her father and his entrepreneurial spirit. She shares a wealth of knowledge on the Black community in Frankfort including the 1964 March on Frankfort, playwright George C. Wolfe, and Black leaders in the community such as Prof. Helen Holmes at Kentucky State University. Burton discusses a group of men known as the Grad Club who mentored, raised funds, and supported local students in Black schools. Burton also details her work with the Kentucky Legislative Research Commission, in which she met Kentucky State Senator Georgia Davis Powers and State Representative Mae Street Kidd. Burton assesses the impact of desegregation on her daily life. Additionally, Burton describes the role of youth in protest.Interview Accession
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Interviewer Name
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Interview LC Subject
Frankfort (Ky.) Franklin County (Ky.) Black people African Americans Civil rights Civil rights movements Civil rights demonstrations Mothers Fathers Education Race Racism Race discrimination Prejudice Self-esteem High schools Entrepreneurs Professors Kentucky State University Teachers School principals Students Student government Kentucky State Capitol (Frankfort, Ky.) Kentucky. General Assembly Kentucky. Legislative Research Commission Youth Protests (Negotiable instruments)Interview Rights
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Burton, Sheila Mason Interview by Le Datta Denise Grimes. 19 Dec. 2021. Lexington, KY: Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries.
Burton, S.M. (2021, December 19). Interview by L. D. D Grimes. 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (Kentucky) Oral History Project. Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries, Lexington.
Burton, Sheila Mason, interview by Le Datta Denise Grimes. December 19, 2021, 1964 Civil Rights March on Frankfort (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/xt7zv4dd7nx28