Couple Reveal WHY They Loved Their Black School Teachers During Segregation

This interview was conducted in 1989. Every once in a while, during the course of my film career where I have interviewed thousands of people, folks come along like these two. Brilliant speakers. Compassionate humans. Both emotional and intellectual at the same time. J Samuel Williams and his wife Lyllie, ( I am not sure but I believe he called her Annie) were those kind of people. They passionately describe their early life in Farmville Virginia, Prince Edward County, growing up in the black schools educated by black teachers – motivated by black teachers and others. They talk about segregation, integration and the horrific decision by the leaders in Prince Edward County to close the schools rather than allow the schools to integrate. They tell a story that begins in the late 1940s and when I think about it, goes on today, although things have certainly improved in very important ways. I want to thank Pastor Williams and Lyllie for their honesty and the contribution they made to my television documentary Making Sense Of The Sixties, and I am honored to present this longer interview with them on YouTube.