Oral history interview with Alice Thompson, 1999

Biographical Note

Alice M. Thompson (1939-2015), was one of eight children born to Cora Mae and John Henry Thompson of Lake Providence, Louisiana. Both parents were from farming families, and they moved to New Orleans when they were no longer able to support the family by sharecropping. The Thompsons were politically active, and registered to vote as soon as they relocated to New Orleans; they encouraged their children to do the same. Thompson's mother worked at a garment factory, where she attempted to unionize workers, and at Charity Hospital, where she became a shop steward. Her father was a laborer and stevedore who, after fifteen years of service, lost his job with Allen Brothers because he allowed his daughters to attend Louisiana State University's New Orleans campus. Thompson became involved in the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) activities in New Orleans because of her sister Jean's involvement. Alice earned her Bachelor's degree in Sociology from Southern University, New Orleans (SUNO) and was employed as a case manager for more than 30 years. She had one daughter, Alicia S. C. Thompson

Scope and Contents

In this interview with Sheila Michaels, Alice Thompson discusses her family, her education, her involvement with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE); and her arrest and imprisonment for her participation in protest activity. Thompson describes the picketing Woolworth's and K&B drug stores by New Orleans CORE; attempting to desegregate Pontchartrain Beach; the Louisiana Project in the Florida parishes; voter education and registration campaigns; and literacy test preparation. She discusses desegregation efforts in McCombs, Mississippi, where CORE workers endured beatings and the intervention of Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy was needed to ensure their safe passage out of the state. She also describes her arrest and trial in Poplarville, Mississippi. Thompson discusses the response to student participation in protest activity by faculty and administrative staff on the New Orleans campus of Southern University. She also recounts the impact of Hurricane Betsy on New Orleans, the role media played in capturing and publicizing the dangers protestors faced, the challenges her father faced after losing his job, his importance to the New Orleans community, and the pursuit of his education goals

Subjects

• African Americans--Suffrage.
• Civil rights demonstrations--Lousiana--New Orleans.
• Civil rights movements--United States--History--20th century.
• Civil rights workers--United States--History--20th century.
• Congress of Racial Equality.
• Imprisonment--United States.
• Interviews.
• Michaels, Sheila, 1939-2017, interviewer.
• National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
• Oral histories.
• Thompson, Alice--Interviews.
• United States--Race relations--History--20th century.