Mesa Historical Society

Abstract

Johnson details her education in Texas and tells of her move to Mesa, Arizona, to teach public school. She discusses the history of the Mesa school system during segregation and after. She describes when the schools were integrated and what it was like being the first African American teacher at the Irving School. Johnson also gives some history of the Washington area and talks about race relations in Mesa.

Abstract Booker, born in Naco, Arizona, talks about her family's history and her experiences as an African American woman in early Mesa. Her great-grand parents were slaves, and her grandfather and father were Buffalo Soldiers in the army. Her mother did laundry for a living, including for the O.S. Stapley family. She describes early downtown Mesa and mentions some businesses such as Everybody's Drugstore, the post office, J.C. Penney's, the hospital, and some churches. Booker discusses race...