Oral history interview with Charles B. Maxey [Sound Recording 03]

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SR4001_T02S1

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Oral history interview with Charles B. Maxey [Sound Recording 03]

Date(s)

  • 1994-02-25 (Creation)

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Audiocassette; 00:28:08

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Biographical history

Charles Britton Maxey was born in St. Augustine, Texas, in 1917. His parents separated when he was young, and he moved with his mother to Longview, Texas. He earned a bachelor of arts degree from Texas College in Tyler, Texas. In 1939, he and Johnnie Obina Samples were married; they later had five children. After briefly seeking employment as a teacher in Utah, he relocated to Portland, Oregon, in 1943, where he found work in the shipyards during World War II. Johnnie Maxey followed soon after. After the war, Charles Maxey got his certification as a barber and owned barbershops in North Portland. After his first two shops and his home were seized by the state of Oregon for the construction of Interstate 5, he opened a barbershop and grocery store in North Portland, which the family operated for many decades. He was also active in the Oregon Republican Party. He died in 2001.

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Tape 2, Side 1. This oral history interview with Charles B. Maxey was conducted by Jim Strassmaier at Maxey’s home in Portland, Oregon, from February 25 to November 18, 1994. Johnnie Obina Maxey was also present and occasionally contributed to the interview. The interview was conducted in six sessions. In the first interview session, conducted on February 25, 1994, Maxey discusses his family background and early life in St. Augustine and in Longview, Texas, including his education, growing up in a predominantly black neighborhood, and learning to navigate a racist world. He speaks at length about the importance of reading black authors in high school. He then discusses trying to find decent-paying work in Texas, Colorado, and Utah after graduating from college, and describes how he ultimately decided to settle in Portland, Oregon, in 1943. He talks about working in the shipyards in Portland during World War II and describes his frustration with being denied promotions and other job opportunities due to his youth and race. He then talks about beginning his career as a barber. He also reflects on his college experience at Texas College in Tyler, Texas, and talks about meeting Johnnie O. Maxey and his unrealized plans to go to law school. He discusses his political beliefs and involvement with the Republican Party in Oregon; talks about his first impressions of Portland; and describes how life in Oregon for black people differed from the South.

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Copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society. Use is allowed according to the following statement: Creative Commons - BY-NC-SA, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/.

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  • eng

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