My Grandmother's Growing Up In African-American Culture

My interviewer was born in 1944 she is 71 years old. She is also my grandmother. While growing up till now there has been a lot of changes that took place across this nation. My grandmother grew up watching her mother and herself faced discrimination, invention of a color television, and now having an African-American president.
While growing up in the country my grandmother didn’t have a lot of new technology, because they couldn’t afford it. In her pre-teen and teen years they did have a radio where they would listen to worship music. Gospel music was a part of African-American culture and the belief of God as our leader. They were not allowed to listen jazz because it was thought of as secular and devil music I her words. My grandmother’s …show more content…
She and her siblings was not allowed much freedom from her mom or dad. They could only come from school to home or work because during that time prejudice and violence towards African-American were common. Their parents wanted to keep them hidden from and danger because of their fear. They always taught them to stay in their place, the kids did not have any freedom. Whatever income the kids would make from work they have to give it to mom and dad. Education while growing for my grandmother was not important because she had focus on helping around the house. Growing up her mother was a housekeeper and a cook for a school and her father worked in the textile industry. These jobs were common for African-American people because white people would not hire them to work anywhere else. African-American were still unequal pay, segregation, and discrimination. Black people could not stay in white suburbs because white people would not rent to them. Black people either live in the ghetto or built their own homes. My grandmother was taught to by her mom to not trust anyone and the only people she could converse with was her neighbors and family members. My grandmother and her siblings was allowed an amount of friends. In her old age she does not really have any friends because the way she was raise, she just have us. The people of her generation do not socialize with …show more content…
Her focus was working and tending to their own business, not concentrating on the government. Even though voting for African-American was legal, my grandmother parents were still unable to vote because of the racism and discrimination in the south. My grandmother did not get involve in the Civil Rights movement. She did not protest, march or did sit-in like most African-American because of the way she was raised. Her parents felt to keep their kids out of trouble or danger it best to stay at home. When she did get the right to vote she was very excited, because she felt her opinion matter and have a voice in politics. My grandmother did not keep up with president, but she however like John F Kennedy because he looks good and pushed for African-American voting rights. As time change so did African-American life in the world. There was more justice and equality for blacks. There was now equal pay, no more segregation in restaurants and on buses. My grandmother was happy about these changes except that men still made more than women. She was very excited when Obama became president. She never expected a black man would be president. When he got in office she believe he would make changes and better the lives for black people. My grandmother love the fact Obama cares for all people no matter their gender, race, and sexual orientation. Even though these changes came about she will