Oral History - Lee Barry Leavelle

Oral History - Lee Barry Leavelle

Clip from oral history interview with Lee Barry Leavelle (SUNY Potsdam Class of 1971), interviewed by Jeanette Sanchez on March 26, 2013.

Sanchez, Jeanette, Interviewer.
Leavelle, Lee Barry, Interviewee.

SUNY Potsdam. College Archives and Special Collections

March 26, 2013

This oral history was conducted as part of Jeanette Sanchez's Spring 2013 semester Anthropology internship.

eng.

Sound

Sanchez, Jeanette

Leavelle, Lee Barry

Panera Bread, The Bronx, New York

LBL: Well, the nice thing about Potsdam is that it was then, I don’t know if it still is, it was a music school, Crane music school, so the musicians that go there are excellent, and we had a band down there called The Group, and it was made up of white guys, and they played a lot of soul music, Sam & Dave, Temptations, so when they were playing, we were there, and a lot of people were there, cause the music was very nice. So we didn’t have, maybe the radio station, you know, because you didn’t get WABC, and you didn’t get WWRL, you just got a local radio station.
JS: Did you have a school radio station?
LBL: Yes, yes we did. I believe we did, in fact, one of my friends, Keith, I can’t think of Keith’s name, but Keith was a, he worked in the radio station, and that was probably when I was maybe a junior or a senior. So it began to change, the 60s brought in soul music, R& B, became proper, and going downtown to the bars, there was always Wilson Pickett, James Brown, and everybody liked a good mix of music, so there was no problem with the music at all.

1 minute, 24 seconds

0:00-3:13 Introductions early life and schooling, interest in Biology, applying to Potsdam
3:13-5:28 Arriving in Potsdam, first impressions, social life in Potsdam;
5:28-8:15 Joining the Baseball and Wrestling teams
8:15-10:06 Afro American Society, differences between the Afro American Society and the Black Student Union
10:06-11:26
Goals of the Afro American Society, demonstration on campus;, failure of Afro American Society
11:26-14:51 EOP, working with administrators to affect change on campus, events conducted by Afro American Society, lack of availability of literature about African History on campus
14:51-16:54 Dispute between the Wickmans and the Afro American Society
16:54-20:34 Afro American Society protest, demands and results of protest, Whites Against Racism, general student activism on SUNY Potsdam campus
20:34-22:40 Faculty support, problems with some faculty in the Biology Department
22:40-24:19 Race relations within the Town of Potsdam, diversity at Potsdam during the late 1960s and 1970s,
24:19-26:09 Social life on campus, Jazz Group, campus radio station, music taste
26:09-31:52 Life after Potsdam, how long did the Afro American Society last? Lasting remarks on integration and preparedness of teachers of white campuses
31:52-36:30 Signing of contracts/consent forms