Lucy Simms Remembered
Oral History Collection
This collection comprises oral history interviews with former neighbors and students of Lucy Frances Simms. Lucy F. Simms was born enslaved in 1855 or 1859 and died in 1934. After graduating from Hampton Institute in 1874, she came to the Shenandoah Valley and began her teaching career in 1877 in Zenda, where she taught children at Long’s Chapel. In 1882, the Effinger Street School opened in Harrisonburg as the school for African American children in Rockingham County, and Simms taught there for 56 years.
Many of the interviews include stories about Lucy F. Simms, both as an educator, and as an important figure within the African American community in Harrisonburg. One interview with Ellen Walker (SdArch 20-2) details Walker’s purchase and renovation of Simms’ former home in 1997. Other interviews detail the interviewee’s experiences with de-segregation and other racial tensions in Harrisonburg at the time. The Background Materials (SdArch 20-1) page includes photos of Simms with her colleagues and students. Each succeeding page includes the audio files and transcripts for individual interviews.
All interviews take place between the months of November and December in the year 2000 at the home of each respective interviewee. All interviews were conducted and transcribed by Wondwossen Getachew. The audio to each interview may occasionally become inaudible due to the quality of the original cassette tapes. Transcriptions do not always match the audio due to missing or disorganized material in the original transcripts.
This WordPress site was created in 2018 as a project by Special Collections to increase access to oral history interviews in our holdings through online publication, when possible, given appropriate permissions from interview participants. Special Collections graduate assistant Karisa Harris-Cleary created this website during the spring semester of 2018, using existing transcripts and description, in collaboration with Kirsten Mlodynia and Kevin Hegg of JMU Libraries Digital Projects. Elements of this website may change as records are revised as part of ongoing re-description efforts.
Background Materials (SdArch 20-1)
Background materials include a background paper by Wondwossen Getachew, with a brief biography of Lucy Simms, African American educator from Harrisonburg, Va. Included and digitized here are photos of Lucy Simms and her students, with one particular image dated in...
Interview with Ellen Walker (SdArch 20-2)
Records the reminiscences of Ellen Walker, who purchased and renovated Lucy Simms' Harrisonburg house in 1997. Describes her childhood and school experiences in Charlottesville, VA., in the 1950s and 1960s, during the transition from segregation to integration....
Interview with Carlotta Harris (SdArch 20-3)
Records the reminiscences of Carlotta Newman Harris, who was a neighbor and student of Lucy Simms in the early 20th century. Recounts her early family life and her experiences as a student in Simms' first grade class at the Effinger Street School in Harrisonburg,...
Interview with Edgar Johnson (SdArch 20-4)
Records the reminiscences of Edgar Johnson, Wilhelmina Johnson, and Louise Winston, three former students of Lucy Simms at the Effinger Street School. Describes Simms' teaching style and her standing in the community. Includes a brief physical description of the...
Interview with Elon Rhodes (SdArch 20-5)
Records the reminiscences of Elon Rhodes, a lifelong resident of Harrisonburg, VA. Recounts his early family life and his experiences as a student in Lucy Simms' first grade class at the Effinger Street School (ca. 1928), and his subsequent high school graduation...