Smith, Joy Mae

Interview 198a : In this interview with Patsy Colbert, Joy Mae Smith reminisces about growing up in Diboll and attending the segregated schools. A member of the graduating class of 1944, the first class to graduate from Diboll Colored School (later H.G. Temple High School), Mrs. Smith remembers Professor Hurdle and his wife, Professor Davis, and Mr. Bradley as teachers and leaders at the segregated school. She recalls the accreditation process and attending Dunbar in Lufkin for two months as a high schooler while the students of Diboll waited state accreditation. She also recalls attending the Sunday baseball games and visiting the Rodgers Café. Mrs. Smith sent her children to Diboll's schools during the racial integration process, and doesn't recall any racially charged incidents during that process.