Oral Interview With my Great Aunt Cedell

1. What is your name? 

Cedell Robinson-Hawkins

2. Where were you born? 

Cleveland, OH

3. Where did you grow up?

 Cleveland, OH until my parents moved to MS when I was 10 years old

4. What were your parents names and occupations? 

My mother’s name is Rilla Fossit, and my father’s name is Leonard Robinson. My mother was a hairdresser, my father was a share-cropper by day and a barber in the evening.

5. Do you have any siblings? 

Yes, I have five sisters and brothers. From the oldest to the youngest are Wiley, Vizerene, Marie, Joe, and Vanessa. Nessa was Dad’s outside child by another woman. Your grandma, Rilla died at a young age. She was only 45. So, dad was really free to do what he wanted. We couldn’t say nothing; he was a strict man.

6. What was your life like growing up as a black girl in _________? Did you encounter racism? 

Well, when we moved to Mississippi it was terrible. Blacks walked on one side the street and the white folks on the other. They had “for colored” on the bathrooms, movies, and water fountains.  At the movies we always had to go to the balcony. Being young we always would drop popcorn on the white folks. We didn’t pour no drink cause they probably would have tried to kill us. We weren’t allowed in all the restaurants which was then only store fronts. If we wanted something, we had to go to the back door. We had to pay the same money, but still go through the back.

7. What privileges or setbacks do you feel that you experienced growing up a black female in the North/South? 

Til this day, I don’t know why my parents moved to Mississippi. When we moved here, didn’t go to school cause the old man wanted us all in the fields. Before the sun came up we were in the fields and until it went down.

8. What, if anything, do you remember your parents telling you about race?

 My daddy always told us to stay clear of dem white folks. Even though they think they are better than we are, we all bleed the same color.

9. What did your parents tell you or instill in you regarding being a woman, specifically a black woman? 

My mom was a quiet woman, she didn’t talk much but when she did; you listened. She said if you don’t have anything to sell, stop showcasing it. We should keep tend to our children and make sure home is taken care of. Your husband would run home after a long day of hard work in the fields.

10. Did you attend school?

 Yes, I went to the 8^th grade. I remember we had to walk about 2 miles to school.  I remember we had to put burlap in the bottom of our shoes cause we had wore em out.  But after bout the 8^th grade, I had to go to the field wit daddy.

11. What was it like in school for you as a black female?

 It was just blacks, no white folks went to school with us. The books we had was those that the white folks handed down to us. They were tore up, but we were glad to get that.

12. Did you graduate and attend college? 

No, but my son went to college. He served in the military for 8 years, and played baseball with the St. Louis cardinals til he messed up his knee. I wanted him to do more than I did. He was given a chance, we weren’t able to finish school and go to college.

13. Did you get married? 

Yes, I met this tall handsome man. His name was James Hawkins, and he tickled my fancy I tell ya. We got married June 27, 1948. We were married from 1948-1979 when he passed away. It took a lot out of me, but I made it through.

14. Did you have any children? 

No, I wasn’t able to have any children, but I was able to adopt my husband’s son. His mother did not want him, so, I adopted him. If I didn’t tell nobody, they wouldn’t know. I can’t do nun without him, he’s always there. You know it. Everybody look at him cause he so big and tall like his daddy, but he just a big baby.

15. Ask them about their adult life and what it was like living as a black woman?

 After me and James married, we decided to stay in St. Louis. This is where we built our lives together. Back then we would go to each other’s houses. Since, me and Vizerene lived so close we all would get together and just have a good ole time. We whatn’t doing nothing but sitting around talking and dranking our little champagne. We thought we were doing something. Every summer we came down to see Rie and the family. We always stayed at your grandma Rie house. She wouldn’t let us stay nowhere else.

16.  What were their relationships like with other women? 

 Specifically ask about white and black women. I had some good relationships- white and black.

17.  What do you think is the role of both black men and women in relationships and inside of the home should be? 

We were taught that the women was to take care of the home, the men was the one that was responsible for going to work and make sure the wife and children had what they needed. Today it is all turned around. Men are sitting at home and the wife going to work and taking care of the home.

18.  What do you think about people dating outside of their race?  

Black men marrying white women and black women marrying white men? I think it is enough black men and black women to marry their own race. It seem like everytime a black get some money or up on his feet, he go out and get a white woman. Why? I tell ya because it was drilled into them that they wasn’t suppose to have no white woman. Now that they can, they do. They looked at how the white man took the black women and did whatever they wanted to do. Now, they are doing the same thing.  Its just done changed.

19.  What issues do you think most affect black Americans today? 


We still got a long way to go cause we still try to hold one nuther down.  When we get up where we can help, we go and sit with the white folks and look down on your own kind. We try to hard trying to be like them when we are some beautiful, talented people. We can do anything we put our mind to.