Topic: Segregation

Jack Alexander, Topeka Water Commissioner

Interview of Jack Alexander, October 26, 2020

Interviewed by Michael (Mike) Lennen

In this 2020 oral history interview, Jack Alexander reflects on his early life growing up in Topeka, Kansas in the 1930s and 1940s, and his extensive public service career beginning with enlistment in the Navy. Alexander served in various roles both in local government, particularly as Water Commissioner for the City of Topeka, and in state government, including appointment to the Kansas Corporation Commission. He also made significant contributions to local volunteer organizations. Alexander’s recollections create a portrait of an individual committed to public service based on a solid foundation in family and community and a sincere appreciation of and Show Moreconcern for others.

Highlights -- short excerpt from the interview

Commissioner responsibilities

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Interview of Ralph Skoog, July 17, 2015

Interviewed by Burdett Loomis

In his 2015 oral history interview, former Representative Ralph Skoog recalls a Kansas Legislature in transition. Ralph was initially elected to represent Topeka and Shawnee County in 1961, prior to the U.S. Supreme Court's Baker v. Carr 'one-person, one-vote' decision. His first 'district' was one-third of Shawnee County. When he returned to the House in 1967 after an unsuccessful campaign for Congress in 1964, he represented a more equal-size district of approximately 17, 000 residents of the County. Ralph recalls a legislature very much in transition at the beginning of the decline of rural domination of Show Morethe policymaking process and at the beginning of institutional change that came to fruition after the end of his last term. He recalls passage of important highway, prison, and school district consolidation legislation during his time of service in the House. Show Less

Interview of Carolyn Campbell, March 25, 2022

Interviewed by Eric. Sexton

Mrs. Campbell, as she is known around the Statehouse, has experienced an important part of state history in Kansas government. Following her 1991 retirement from Southwestern Bell, she has served countless numbers of elected legislators; then using that experience , she became an elected official in her own right in local and state school board positions. becoming the first African American to serve on the Kansas Board of Education. Mrs. Campbell started her interview with this: "I am a proud product of segregation. I tell that because folks sometimes think, “Oh, that’s too bad,” Show Morebut I want everybody to know that as a black child in Topeka with the four all-black elementary schools that we had, we got excellent education, and we were told that we could be whatever we wanted to be, and we were valued every day. " This interview covers her experiences as a 12 year member of the Topeka Public Schools Board of Education, and later her eight year term as a member of the State Board of Education where she was the first African American elected to this post.

Highlights -- short excerpts from the interview

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Interview of Pamela Johnson Betts, March 25, 2022

Interviewed by Eric Sexton

The interview begins with Pamela Johnson Betts talking about attending Washington Elementary School, which was one of the schools noted in the landmark Brown v. Board Education case that overturned segregation. She describes her friendship with Cheryl Brown Henderson, daughter of Rev. Oliver Brown who was the plaintiff in the case, and the fact that the family never talked about the landmark case. The two women worked on saving the Monroe school building in the early days before it became a national historic site. This was the beginning of a 50 year career in public service Show Morefor both. Ms. Johnson Betts also talks about an experience she had in the 7th grade when a teacher slapped her (the only African-American student in the class) and the lessons from that experience. Later in the interview she compares the leadership styles of the three governors with whom she worked and some of the public policy issues she was responsible for managing, such as childhood immunizations, public health. Her own experience in working on issues affect the elderly was shaped by those earlier experiences. She was fortunate to find other African American women role models in top management positions, such as Dr. Joycelyn Elder, Surgeon General of the United States. Even as a member of the Governor's cabinet, she continued to experience incidences of racism directed at her. She talks candidly about how she dealt with those incidents and their impact on her. The interview concluded with her stating that "public service is the rent we pay for living on this earth." Show Less

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Topic: Segregation