LaVon Ledbetter, 1972

File — Box: 2, Folder: 3

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Mrs. Ledbetter was born in Salt Lake City, in 1923. She had both a brother and a sister. Her family lost their house during the Depression and moved across from Pioneer Park. She dropped out of school after junior high to help raise a nephew, while her dad worked a variety of jobs that included janitorial work, the railroad, government, and store clerk. Her mother was in music and accomplished her goal of being played on the radio before she died of cancer during the Depression, a death which Mrs. Ledbetter says was difficult on her family. Her father stayed with the children after that, which Mrs. Ledbetter says is not common. She says she was a “daddy’s girl”. Like her mother, she also developed an interest in music and entertained in Salt Lake City during World War II. She was on welfare when her children were young, and when she was on her own before she was married, she reported that it was very difficult for her to find a place to live. She was almost denied welfare for her second child because the child was mixed race. She discusses her views on welfare, and believes that it made life difficult because people who had not had money before had no knowledge of how to spend it wisely. She believes the system is improving, however. She says that during the Depression it became extremely difficult to find work and her father worked for the WPA, and she developed a hatred for biscuits because they were forced to eat them so frequently.

When asked about superstitions, she tells a story of her father turning a car around in the middle of a trip because they saw a black cat cross the road. When Mrs. Ledbetter was growing up, most of her friends were White and she did not face much racism during school or have any problems with other students. She talks about racism in theaters, a practice that she believes to have ended during the Second World War due to picketing of Intermountain Theaters. She also talks about being prohibited from using swimming pools. In addition to this commonly noted racism, she recalls that stores would not allow African Americans to try on clothing before they bought it.

Mrs. Ledbetter had seven children, five of whom were alive at the time of the interview. Her son experienced discrimination in his schooling, and was not treated fairly in the context of disagreements. She believes that Salt Lake City would be a better place for African Americans to live if they owned more businesses in the city. She believes that African American women seek love from White men because their own men do not treat them well and abandon them to raise children on their own. In her second interview, Mrs. Ledbetter goes into more detail about her singing career, which she pursued under the name of Nina Hobbs. She thinks that she was one of the first African American entertainers in the state. She mentions that right now is one of the greatest times for African Americans to be alive in terms of education, although she believes more African Americans need to be counselors and politicians as they are the only ones who truly understand the progress that needs to be made. She believes that a prevalent reason that people leave the state is the underlying current of racism here. She briefly discusses religion, stating that she is concerned that the younger generation doesn’t believe in God, because it is “getting close to the end of time”. She believes that it was not the church, however, but violence that was responsible for sparking progress for African Americans. Audio CDs A0038_B-16_01, A0038_B-19_01.

Dates

1972

Conditions Governing Access

Twenty-four hour advanced notice encouraged. Materials must be used on-site. Access to parts of this collection may be restricted under provisions of state or federal law.