Oral history interview with Susan Wells Slater, 2000

Biographical Note

Susan Wells Slater was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1942. After growing up in various Brooklyn and Queens neighborhoods, Slater studied at Baruch College of the City University of New York for two years. Slater joined the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1961 and served as the Assistant President and Secretary of the New York branch under Gladys Harrington. In the late 1960s, Slater began working in the computer industry and eventually opened her own computer consulting business. She met her husband John in Synanon Community, California in 1972. She became active in the Quaker community later in life. Slater died of lung cancer in 2012

Scope and Contents

Slater describes her upbringing in Brooklyn and Queens, New York, focusing on her early life in the Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. Born in 1942 to a fireman and a secretary, Slater characterizes her parents' politics, and recalls following the Brown v. Board of Education trial and reading "Letter from a Birmingham Jail." She describes how moving from Flatbush to a more affluent section of Jamaica, Queens influenced her understanding of class and its impact on the education system. She recounts her early experiences with anti-Semitism and later experiences with sexism at Baruch College. Slater discusses getting involved in New York CORE in 1961, the dynamics and activities of the organization, and Gladys Harrington's leadership. Slater mentions protests at Howard Johnson's, Jones Beach, and the New York Board of Education, among others. She remembers the fragmentation of New York CORE and the formation of the East Harlem branch, the CORE National Convention in Washington, DC, and her relationship with an undercover police officer. Slater describes her transition from activism to a career in computer consulting after the civil rights movement. She discusses working for Computer Associates, an American software corporation, specifically mentioning her experience as an early female employee and her upward mobility within the company. She explains her life in Synanon, a sober community in California and her husband, John. Finally, Slater recalls her relationship with Roy Wilkins, describes the conservatism of Roy Innis, and reflects on her feminism and financial security

Subjects

• Civil rights demonstrations--New York.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Computer Associates International.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Congress of Racial Equality. New York (Harlem) Chapter.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• Oral histories.
• Slater, Susan Wells--Interviews.
• Synanon (Foundation)
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.