Harold Pulley oral history interview 1, 2012 May 31

In this first of four interviews, Harold Pulley, North Carolina native and alumnus of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, begins by discussing his family background including his father's acquisition of farmland in return for construction labor, his mother's education and personality, and his maternal grandfather's parentage and role in helping enslaved people escape, fighting in the Civil War, and bootlegging. He recalls how his father's stories about the African-American experience during slavery influenced him and comments on the role of stories in the enslaved community. Mr. Pulley discusses how interracial marriage was viewed during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, shares his and his family's experience living in Franklinton, North Carolina, during segregation, and describes the prejudice from both the black and white communities that he, his mother, and his siblings faced as persons of mixed race. He recalls vivid childhood memories of observing the aftermath of a lynching and explains how he was taught how to interact with white men. Other topics include influential teachers, educational and career pursuits of Mr. Pulley's twelve siblings, and comparison of life in Norfolk, Virginia, to that in Franklin County, North Carolina.