Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

8-5-2021

Abstract

Jennifer Tilton interviews Clyde Tyrone Alexander II, a man with an extensive history in construction and the community. At the start of the recording, the interviewee talks about family history within military service. He mentions his father was in the Navy and how, during that point in history, much of the Black community was involved in the military field. After briefly mentioning his family being a part of Tulsa’s Black Wall Street, the conversation goes more into family history. Particularly, Alexander mentions his mother working in the Norton Air Force Base and that military service had been a bridge for a lot of the Black community but limited spaces made it difficult to enlist. That obstacle led to many Black men learning skills that will help in finding work. In Alexander’s case, that meant working in construction. His father and a man by the name of Norm Wilson worked in this field and were even able to break through the racial barriers of construction unions in their time.The interviewee goes over the trials and tribulations of construction, especially having to do piece work, dealing with racism, improving multi-ethnic relations with local communities, and negotiating their work. Alexander talks about low-income housing construction in regards to redeveloping communities and how that caused conflict between planners, builders, and local residents.There was also a payment of giving thirteen houses to the struggling Santa Fe Federal and a local, community driven bank that was short-lived. Then he speaks on the time of the civil rights movement, and how his father had taken him to many protests and events. He further speaks on how the fight for civil rights led to attempts by the local government to put an end to these demonstrations, even going so far as to propose lethal violence as then-mayor Al Ballard had wanted. Many stable businesses had left areas centered around the movement, such as grocery stores, as the support for this kind of cause was never held by the businesses. When speaking about the San Bernardino riots that occurred in 1969, Alexander said that documents about the event are archived in the University of California, Riverside. There is the discussion of Operation Second Chance, which works to raise the educational levels and jobs skills for young people. The topic of Frances Grice also comes up in the discussion. When talking about Grice’s relationship with Alexander and how she was ahead of her time with her goal to move to cleaner energy and use of solar panels. The interview ends with Alexander speaking about something important to him, which is the need to have different levels of investment in projects. Instead of asking for things such as subsidies, he believed that investments like community centers and profit shares would be a better solution.

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