All of the stories in the StoryTown Radio Show are inspired by the true-life oral stories of the people in Jonesborough and the Northeast Tennessee region. In this clip from our archive, Sandy Johnson shares stories about attending Booker T. Washington School, which served as Jonesborough's segregated school for African American students from 1940-1965, until full integration of the school came in Washington County, Tennessee. Sandy attended BTW in the late fifties and early sixties. These are some of his memories of school, his beloved teacher Miss Ethel Brown, and everyday life for students at Booker T. Washington during this era. Sandy is interviewed in 2014 in the old Booker T. Washington School, which had recently undergone renovation and was rechristened "The McKinney Center at Booker T. Washington School" as serves s the community's art center. The building, which once separated Jonesborough's student population, now brings people together of all ages and backgrounds through programming that focuses on the arts and storytelling. Sandy sat in Miss Brown's old classroom to tell his stories.
Storyteller Sandy Johnson
Interviewed by Jules Corriere
Special thanks to:
Pamela Daniels