Description
This transcribed interview is of Paul Wilson, who was born in Buxton, Iowa, and grew up in the town. He then moved with his family, to Haydock, Iowa, and subsequently, to Des Moines, Iowa, where he spent the rest of his life. This interview was done in 1992 by Francis Hawthorne, the project director for the African American History Project, and it was financed by the Iowa Humanities Board. The first excerpt focuses on how the Consolidation Coal Company recruited black workers from the South. Excerpt two talks about how blacks and whites in Buxton did not experience the riots and harassment that was happening elsewhere in the United States. And excerpt three looks more at the hours and labor required to work in Buxton's mines.
Full Transcript of Paul Wilson's Interview
Transcribed Excerpts from Paul Wilson's Interview
Source-Dependent Questions
- Excerpt 1: Why did the Consolidation Coal Company to seek out so many black workers and cause blacks to be the majority in Buxton, not the minority?
- Excerpt 2: Many years ago, people who were black were not treated fairly in many places in the United States. Something called “Jim Crow Laws” were rules put in place to keep blacks from having access to the same things as whites. If Buxton didn’t have “Jim Crow laws,” how would that impact the people who lived there?
- Excerpt 3: Describe what a typical day might have looked like for a coal miner who lived in Buxton.
Citation Information
Hawthorne, Francis, "Interview of Paul Wilson," 13 May 1992. Courtesy of University of Iowa Libraries and Archives