Bridges Digital Archive: Audio and Video Recordings

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Document Type

Oral History

Publication Date

3-10-2015

Abstract

Ratibu Jacocks interviews Donald Lee Griggs, a veteran and long-time resident of San Bernardino, California. Griggs talks about his family history, starting from his origins in Iowa and how he left his home state after graduating high school. Griggs explains that he left to join the Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego during the 1960s to work towards a better future and to get away from his hometown. Before going back to the topic of being in the Marines, Griggs mentions how his parents divorced when he was in high school, how he worked as a shoe shiner then detasseling corn. He also mentioned how he almost signed into a record label with his singing group, and how former president Barack Obama had visited his hometown church. Once again on the topic of military career, Griggs talks about how he had to essentially prove himself due to his ethnicity. Living through racist encounters, being stopped from making a mistake in getting revenge, and becoming part of the Marine Recon branch were some of the experiences Griggs had. He also mentioned being overseas during John F. Kennedy’s assassination, The Vietnam War, and having to read about the tragic events in Selma from a Japanese newspaper. One event that he recalls is being invited to dinner by a local Japanese laundry worker, and while eating there, saw many older people bow their backs to him. He assumed this was a sign of racism but once he met the woman’s grandmother, who called him a warrior and taught him some Black History, Griggs learned that the bowing was a sign of respect. This originated from an event where Black soldiers fought bravely and earned the respect of the Japanese community. After returning home to Iowa, Griggs married his high school sweetheart in California and ended up staying in San Bernardino after visiting a friend while stationed in Twentynine Palms. Griggs also mentions that he had to face racism after being fired during a job probation period at Kaiser Steel. He became upset and almost tried to take some kind of action against the foreman but was convinced against it. After explaining how he had been able to take and retake a test for a job at Edison, the interview ends with Griggs talking about how he became a meter reader as a man of color.

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