Sarah McClellan, 2016

File — Box: 3, Folder: 8

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

Sarah McClellan was born in Alabama. She grew up in Alabama and Florida during the 1950s and 1960s. McClellan describes growing up in segregated areas, her experiences of racism, and her memories of and involvement in the Civil Rights Movement. For example, in Jacksonville, Florida, she took part in a sit-in at a Woolworth’s counter. After school, McClellan began a career as a teacher. Her sister and brother-in-law encouraged her to move to Utah because of the job opportunities there at the time. She moved to Ogden, Utah, and started working as a teacher at the Intermountain Indian School in Brigham City. She describes the school and its students, and talks about experiencing culture shock as an African American in a majority white community. McClellan then became the Equal Employment Opportunity director for the IRS. She talks about handling employee issues related to HIV/AIDS, as well as problems that came about after an employee had a sex change. McClellan has worked with Planned Parenthood for decades, sitting on the board several times. After retiring, McClellan started working with a minister to educate the African American community in Ogden about HIV/AIDS. Eventually she started running the Northern Utah Coalition, a group that provides education and services related to HIV/AIDS in northern Utah. She talks about the types of outreach and the kinds of services the organization provides, as well as the demographics of the organization’s clients.
Interviewed by Elizabeth Clement.

Dates

2016

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.