Oral History Interview with Audrey Procter Holte

Audrey Procter Holte, an African American woman born around 1913, discusses growing up in Anacostia. She talks about how most children in her neighborhood attended school at Garfield School and Birney School, before crossing the river to finish high school at either Dunbar High School or Armstrong High School since there was no high school for African Americans in Anacostia at the time. She describes recreational activities, such as swimming in Eagle Harbor and at places on Chesapeake Bay, school dances at Dunbar High School, and church picnics at Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Holte provides information about the three main churches people attended: Bethlehem Baptist Church, St. Johns Methodist Church, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help. Holte talks about how the neighborhood was segregated, but all residents used the same library and shopped on the same streets; about different neighborhood landmarks, such as the German Orphan Asylum, St. Elizabeth's Hospital, and Jack Morse Cemetery; and about the difficulty of landing a teaching job in Washington D.C. as an African American woman. Audrey Proctor Holte was interviewed by John Bradshaw on December 28, 1970. Digital audio files include white noise and static; interviewee can be heard clearly for most parts.