Florist

So you were influenced by Ms. Jeannie Harlan [sic. Jennie Harlan (ph.)], and I think you mentioned off-camera Narvie J. Harris [HistoryMaker Narvie Harris].$$Yeah.$$Tell us how these elders, these mentors influenced you and describe some of your experiences with them?$$Well when I was in ninth grade [at Hamilton High School, Scottdale, Georgia], Dr.--well Ms. Harlan, she was Townsend [ph.] then but when I was in high school she would have us during the summer, we were--school was continuous all year for her so she had us practice typing that we had to be of a certain speed by the time school started back, and I was able to do that and then she wanted us to creative learning shorthand. So I was able to do a book of poetry in shorthand. She had us doing all kinds of creative projects in school to create interest and she would have little incentives that she would give, it might've just been a ream of paper or some--but she created the interest for you and so Dr.--Ms. Townsend-Harlan she also would have us become professional like secretaries for the teachers. So you had to dress up and come and pass inspection with her before you could be assigned to the teacher or the prize would be assigned to the principal, so I was all--able to be assigned to the principal's office and things. So those are the kinds of things that she helped us learn, how to dress, how to act and the practical approach as we were learning business and taking business classes in high school, because we weren't assured that we were gonna go to college, so they had to prepare us to make sure that we could function when we finished high school.$$Yes.$$And then Ms. Harris worked closely, Narvie J. Harris worked closely with my mom [Eula Shepherd White].$$Okay.$$'Cause my mom was very active in the community and Ms. Harris was our, informal black superintendent to make sure she traveled the dirt roads 'cause others wouldn't come and made sure we got used books, and that we had materials so that we can have school and that's how through--down through the generations from my older sisters and brothers down to--that we have been able to know each other with my mom, my dad [Oscar White, Sr.] and learning to read and write and being the ones in the neighborhood who could read and write and we were very popular growing up in our neighborhood, the White family, and we were known to know how to do things and, and if people were seeking information they would seek us out. So that kept us learning, I mean from one of my, one of my younger brothers making, building a car to a master plumber, to being a an artist, to drawings, to building houses, buildings to painting just all just area and then my other brother [Eddie White] who's a minister who could preach and so, we, we could do the, and then we relied up each other's advice. That and consult--so to be sisters and brothers and then to have the extended family to do that, the counseling was real important. So Ms. Harris played into a lot of that 'cause she was outside the community so she could bring resources and information to us or through our parents and then recently we had her to be our grand marshal for our community parade last year.$$Good.$$And we were able to get her reacquainted with her old neighborhood with old friends and relatives and she was so excited and to be honored in that way.$$Good, good did she get to know most of you by name? Was it that type of relationship?$$Oh, yes she knows my dad when they--my mom. She tells me things I didn't know about my mom and dad. Now that's why we're in our church [Poplar Springs Missionary Baptist Church, Ellenwood, Georgia] and then the community bringing her back to the community 'cause she knew so many families that we're trying to identify our own history.$$Yes.$$And those families in the neighborhood, so by her being our grand marshal we're gonna invite her back this year too.$$Good yeah.$$So that we can continue 'cause last year we took her around to some of the ones who are eighty, ninety years old to their home. She was just real excited about that.$$Yes.$$And they knew her when she walked in the church. So many people knew her.$$Yes, we're honored at HistoryMakers [The HistoryMakers] to have had the opportunity to interview her in the last couple of weeks and we're doing a special for her on the 14th of March and we would certainly like to ask you to come out and join us as we honor her at the school.$$I would be happy to, yes.$$At the school which is named in her honor. Ms. Narvie J. Harris truly is an institution in this community (simultaneous)--$$(Simultaneous) Yes, she is.$$--and has meant so much to so many.$Ms. Bussey [HistoryMaker Alice Bussey] you returned to Atlanta [Georgia] from Los Angeles [California] in 1975?$$Yes.$$You continued to work with the federal government, the [U.S.] Department of Labor at that time?$$Yes.$$For how much longer did you work for them and what else, if anything, were you doing in terms of developing your careers?$$I continued to develop with the Department of Labor and looking for opportunities because I just accepted a position so that I would not have a break in service, and once I returned I began to look at, now what other opportunities? And I found that there were opportunities in areas that I wanted to work with my background dealing with public policy, dealing with those most in need and I asked to be a part of the team dealing with women on welfare, dealing with the food stamp program and dealing with veterans, high school dropouts, the training--to look at how public policy impacted those groups, and I was able--I also asked as part of civil rights laws that were put on books under Title VII, that each employee or individual had to have the opportunity to be trained that was a federal employee and the also in that there were certain rights for women that were not known and I asked to become the Federal Women's Program manager for the southeast region. As a part of my position that I knew the law that I could so, so that was--that meant my supervisor had to give me 25 percent of my time to deal with those functions as the regional Federal Women's Program manager where I had the opportunity to help write the manual under the Title VII training manual for women for the thirteen regional offices here in the state and I was able to travel from Florida, be on the radio and (unclear). So that was a dimension of giving back and helping to change public policy and the condition of a group that I knew was not being dealt with internally so I wanted to use the outside force to impact the inside, and in my regular position was that of a specialist, a manpower development specialist they called it at one time where I would help look at cities, municipalities, government, colleges, universities that received grants and monies from the government. I was able to approve or I could disprove. It was a very unique position, not knowing it at the time but it was very unique in that I learned how systems work. Since I had studied that in, in my studies, remember I said I went from sociology to business to government urban studies to public administration. So I became an interpreter of tax laws, 'cause taxes was one of the highlights of things I knew how to do and liked doing. So we had a lot of tax law and policy integrated into what we had to interpret to implement programs at the federal, state and county level.$$Yes (simultaneous).$$(Simultaneous) So that's how I got to know Shirley Franklin when she was running the City of Atlanta. Michael Lomax when he was over at the county 'cause I was the first African American to be over the State of Georgia; for about six years I was able to put millions of dollars into the state to manage programs and I called audits when those who didn't feel that these funds should go to African American communities, I could call audits and make sure that we were getting due process. That's what I moved into from starting out at the bottom and just stayed there to get tenure to learn systems and learn ways to impact my community.$$And how long did you continue with the Department of Labor making this impact (simultaneous)?$$(Simultaneous) I stayed there until '84 [1984].$$'Til '84 [1984].$$I had about three years before I was eligible for retirement.