Wayne D. Watson (Finding Aid)

Wayne D. Watson

1945 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Salmon

Favorite Time of Year: Summer

Favorite Vacation Spot: Home

Interview Length: 108 minutes

Interview Date(s): May 13, 2003

Interview Location(s): District Office, City Colleges of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois

Abstract

Wayne Watson starts by telling us of his family history, mainly history that deals with his grandfather. He tells the story of how his grandfather was run out of Anderson, South Carolina by white men and relocated to Chicago, Illinois. He also gives insight into his father's life and speaks in detail about his father's popularity and athleticism. Watson knows less about his mother but does recall a story of a discriminatory situation she encountered on the job. He recalls his youth and thriving outdoors while playing with his friends. Watson also tells of being transferred from one Catholic school to another because of his race. He then reveals his stuttering problem and how teachers and students often made his life difficult. He speaks of why the speech disorder occurs and how he faced and beat it, yet still has to deal with it from time to time in adult life. Wayne Watson starts by mentioning his childhood mentors. He speaks of the positive influence his parents and other select people in school had on him. He then tells the story of how he decided to go to Mount Carmel High School in Chicago, Illinois simply because he heard a schoolmate, who was smart and athletic, say he was going to attend there. Watson tells of his experience at Mount Carmel as being consumed with wrestling, a sport in which he was very successful. He tells an interesting account on how he started dating a high school sweetheart. He then explains how wrestling opened various doors in his life and eventually led him to Northwestern University. After wrestling competitively for a large portion of his life he decided to focus on academics. Watson obtained his Master's and Ph.D. degrees from Northwestern. During these years, he began his studies of oral history, which led him to meet author Alex Haley, whom he worked with for four years. He then speaks on African Americans'sd struggle th After receiving his Ph.D. from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Wayne Watson took a job teaching at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He believes that he didn't really get a feel for what the South was, initially, because he focused all of his attention on the university and stayed close to campus. While in Raleigh, Watson began taking flying lessons and eventually left Shaw University to be General Manager of Wheeler Airlines, the only black airline at the time. He stayed with Wheeler for only two years and blamed President Ronald Reagan's deregulation of the airline industry for his departure. From there he took a position as Head Master at Boggs Academy, a private high school in Keysville, Georgia. His experience there was short-lived and he tells a story of the scandal that made him leave the school. After he left Boggs Academy, Watson decided to move back home, to Chicago, Illinois, and was told by a colleague to look for a job with the City Colleges of Chicago. He accepted Wayne Watson tells how the new Kennedy-King College will be an anchor in the Englewood neighborhood. He speaks about education playing a key role in the community. He then talks about the recent increase in enrollment for the City Colleges of Chicago and tells of how the students can attend without taking out a loan but instead using a Pell Grant. Watson then tells of his vision for the City Colleges of Chicago. He is proud of that fact that students can attend reasonably-priced classes and obtain college credits that will transfer to other schools or help them gain workforce experience. He sees the role of the community college to be all-accepting and to improve one's quality of life. However, he does not feel that America is at the place it needs to be in the treatment and acceptance of African Americans in order to make this dream a reality. Watson's hopes for the future of the black community are to not have to struggle. He describes the neighborhood on the South Side of Chicago, Illinois where he

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