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Rankins, Hazel, 2011-02-09

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Scope and Contents

Hazel Rankins describes her experiences in domestic service in Arkansas. She speaks about accompanying her sister to her job and helping with domestic work, such as sweeping and hanging laundry to dry. Rankins recalls having to use the back entrance at stores, as well as having to get in line behind white customers when making purchases in the store, even into the 1970s. Rankins remembers her sister discussing white men who she worked for trying to pressure her into sex, an experience she described as humiliating. Hazel Rankins describes having to use the back door and not being able to eat at the same table or off the same plates as white employers. She speaks about a cousin who spent time in jail because he would not tolerate racist boundaries and practices. Hankins shares an incident in which two of her cousins won a basketball game against a white team and were later run off the road and killed by some of the white players.

Dates

  • Creation: 2011-02-09

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research. Audio recordings of three oral history interviews are closed, but the associated transcripts are open.

Biographical / Historical

Hazel Rankins was born in Taylor, Arkansas, in 1952. She had six sisters and one brother. She worked with one of her sisters in domestic service. Hazel Rankins later moved to Des Moines, Iowa.

Extent

From the Collection: 5 linear inches

From the Collection: 19 audiocassettes

From the Collection: 31.5 Gigabytes

Language of Materials

From the Collection: English

Repository Details

Part of the Iowa Women's Archives Repository

Contact:
100 Main Library
University of Iowa Libraries
Iowa City IA 52242 IaU
319-335-5068
319-335-5900 (Fax)