Series:

Black Educators in Los Angeles, 1950-2000

Topic:

African American History

Education

Biographical Note:

Director of research and evaluation for the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). Senior research fellow for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and Program Director for the National Science Foundation (NSF).

Interviewer:

Stevenson, Alva Moore

Interviewee:

Stevens, Floraline

Persons Present:

Stevens and Stevenson.

Place Conducted:

Los Angeles, California.

Supporting Documents:

Records relating to the interview are located in the office of the UCLA Library's Center for Oral History Research.

Interviewer Background and Preparation:

The interview was conducted by Alva Moore Stevenson, Program Coordinator in the UCLA Library Department of Special Collections; M.A., African American Studies, UCLA. The interviewer prepared for the interviews by perusing various primary and secondary sources related to education and its evolution as it relates to African American children in the city of Los Angeles.

Processing of Interview:

COHR program staff prepared a timed log of the audio recording of the interview. Stevens was given the opportunity to review the log in order to supply missing or misspelled names and to verify the accuracy of the content but made no changes.

Length:

6 hrs.

Language:

English

Copyright:

Regents of the University of California, UCLA Library.

Audio:

Series Statement:

This series documents efforts to secure quality education for Black students in the Los Angeles area in the years 1950-2000. This includes the issues of integration/desegregation, increasing the numbers of Black teachers and administrators and the struggle against discriminatory hiring practices, securing equitable resources and safe learning environments, and maximizing achievement levels

Grandparents’ migration from Colorado to Los Angeles--Early education--Middle class experiences as a child--Mother’s respect for education--Occupations of brothers--Grandfather a railroad worker--Mother’s experiences as only Black child in the school--Father’s shoeshine business--Mother an agent for Golden State Mutual Life Insurance Company--Perception of mother as exceptional--Comfort level living in mostly-White neighborhood--White students bused in to Manual Arts--Effects of segregation and integration on racial attitudes--Stevens both a tomboy and a “girly” girl--Clothes from the family of Burt Lancaster--Attending bible school--Recreational activities as a teenager--Feeling safety and community--Discrimination in public places--Bias at USC--Joining campus organizations--Wilhelmina White--Positive experiences with Whites--Central Avenue--Competing in jitterbug contest--Dining out--Significance of Central--Attending 20th Street School--Mrs. Adler--Early inspiration to become a teacher--Precious Mosen--Sense of togetherness--Love of reading--Early cognizance of race--Brother leads protest at Jefferson High School--Husband’s experiences in the South--Insulation from bias--Experiences in USC campus organizations--Racial divide in social groups--Subtle racism--Dynamics of light and dark skin color--Jack n’ Jill--Mate selection based on skin color--Stevens’ self-awareness--Role of religion in upbringing--Attending People’s Independent Church--Mother’s role in church--Religion integral part of Stevens’ life--Teen Canteen--Experience at Lafayette Junior High School--George Washington Carver--Black teachers Stevens could relate to--Classmate who became pregnant-Stigma of pregnancy--LAUSD and Lullaby Guild programs for unwed mothers--Abortion fatalities in period before legalization

Black history at Carver Junior High School--Manual Arts High School--Family expectation to pursue higher education--Influence of teachers on decision to attend USC--Black student leaders at Manual Arts--Prom experience--Inclusiveness at Manual--Stevens’ involvement in student organizations at USC--YWCA as a haven--Aspiration to be a teacher--Interest in Geography--Working in Dean of Women’s office--Interactions with other students--Eating at Trojan Grill--Admiration for Black students at UCLA--Lack of political activity among Black students--Career plan to teach--Teaching position at South Park Elementary School--Needs of students--Limited social experiences--Segregation of Black teachers in the fifties--Small numbers--Teacher integration--Prestige of being a training teacher--Teachers changing their racial designation--LAUSD denies existence of unit--Advent of Black administrators in the sixties--James Taylor--African American students’ ability to achieve--Teaching about slavery--Inaccurate curriculum--Onus on African Americans to achieve--Effect of welfare system upon student motivation--Effect of drugs--Class issues between middle and lower-class African Americans--Attitude that does not privilege education--Ebony Guild program for at-risk young women--Rihanna and Chris Brown incident--Influence of media images--Meeting second husband--Short marriage with first husband--Kappa House--Other Black fraternity houses

Delta Five Point Program--Deltas march with suffragettes--Delta camaraderie--Differences between White and Black sororities--Librarian who was a Delta--Social interaction between Black and White teachers--Experience at South Park Elementary School--Delta Jabberwock--Faculty skit--Barbara Boudreaux’s classroom--Watts Rebellion of 1965—Headstart--social action component of the Deltas--Culmination at 36th Street Elementary School--Opening for an evaluator--Assistance of Roy Smith--Racial makeup of Research and Evaluation division--School-age mothers project--Pursuing doctorate at UCLA--Assistance of Ward Keesling--Winston Doby--UCLA professorship training program--Support of Superintendent Harry Handler--NIE Conference--Taking test for directorship in Research and Evaluation--Building reputation as a leader in field of Research & Evaluation--Positions at National Center for Education Statistics and National Science Foundation--NSF Monograph on project evaluation--Plagiarism of Stevens’ monograph

User-Friendly Project Evaluation--Project Director at National Science Foundation--Writing style--Awarding contracts to evaluation companies--Monograph--Authorship positioning--Position as Intermittent Expert--NSF Research and Evaluation Directorate--Opportunities to Learn--Disaggregation of test data for minority students--Testing literacy among principals--Deficiencies in Curriculum coverage--Paper on Opportunities to Learn--Laboratory for Student Success--Mid-Atlantic Research Lab--Correlation between student achievement and coverage of the curriculum--Teacher workshops in Washington DC and Newark--Perceptions of minority children’s abilities--Ten Schools Program--Rita Walters--Winston Doby--Using research-based information--South African EDUCARE program--Teacher Evaluator for EDUCARE--Countering misinformation--Political unrest--Chinese influence in South Africa--Government sale of private land--Valentine’s Day--Monograph in the Journal of Negro Education--Similarities between South Africans and African Americans--Coloreds--Civil Rights Movement--Similarities between Coloreds and Creoles in the U.S.--NSF Experience establishes Stevens’ professionalism

Title I--Congressman Augustus Hawkins--Superintendent Harry Handler--Evaluators for Title I--Grooming for position--Project for unwed student mothers--Pursuing Research and Evaluation Ed.D. --Stint at Central City Mental Health Center--Applying for Testing Coordinator position--Council of Great City Schools--Applying for Director's Position--Racial and ethnic makeup of Research and Evaluation Branch--Work plan for the Branch--Bringing in outside expertise--Increasing quality--Reports on integration--Equity issues--Reports illuminate community life--Research branch an avenue for underserved communities--Vehicle for promotion of minorities--Diversity of Stevens' s staff--Central City Mental Health Center--Al Cannon--Influence of Handler on Black educators' careers--Characterization of strong, opinionated Black women--Retirement Party--African American Student Initiative--Ted Alexander--Huizar’s opposition--Action Plan for LAUSD schools--Classroom inequality issues--Teacher bias--Culturally responsive education--Teaching Black history--Teacher effectiveness and student achievement--Social capital--Caucasian allies in Black social justice--Action Plan objectives--Stevens’s consulting work--Consulting for EduCare--Running a consulting firm--The “First Five” program--Black student education--Charter schools--Underserved children--Black educators