Voices of Grambling: Recent Episodes
Brian M. McGowan
This podcast is part of an oral history project by faculty and students of Grambling State University's Department of History. Students and faculty interview members of the broader Grambling community in order to recover and preserve stories and memories related to the institution.
Valena Lane discusses her family's funeral home business, her time at Grambling State University, her experiences as one of the first Black graduate students at Louisiana Tech, as well as her career in the Housing Authority
Cassandra and Lonnie Smith discuss the political and business legacy of their father and A.D. Smith Insurance.
Delores Wilkerson Smith discusses her father's political and business legacy, the Collegiate Shoppe, and her sister and state representative, the honorable Pinkie Wilkerson.
Bobby Rabon discusses his time as a driver for Crowe's Taxi, a Black livery service, as well as delves into other topics such as growing up in a sharecropping family, his time at Grambling State University, and his time in the army. N.B. this episode contains stories of racial violence and language.
Former mayor, Martha W. Andrus, discusses her tenure as the first female mayor of Grambling.
Former mayor, Martha W. Andrus, discusses the early history of Grambling and her father, B.T. Woodard, including his legacy as first mayor of Grambling as well as his tailoring business.
In this episode, three historians from the Department of History discuss their impressions and takeaways from the first five episodes.
In this episode we welcome alumna and professor Suzanne Mayo. Dr. Mayo discusses her experiences growing up in Grambling, attending the institution, and her career before returning as a faculty member.
In this episode we welcome alumnus and retired faculty member Herbert Simmons, Jr. He discusses his time at Grambling in the early 1960s, and his later experiences as a faculty member.
In this episode we welcome Mary Barnes. In 1965 she worked with the NAACP to desegregate Grambling and become the first white student at the institution. She describes her reasons for her activism, and her career of social justice activism.
In this episode, Grambling students interview Janice Givens a Grambling alum. She shares her experiences as a student at the institution with regard to education, social events, and student activism.
In this episode Grambling students interview current Grambling President Rick Gallot, Jr. about his lifetime of experiences with the town and institution.