Esmont Oral History Project

Interview of A. Louise Rush on May 5, 2002 by Mieka Brand

A. Louise Rush, who was born in Howardsville, has lived in Esmont for the majority of her life. In the interview Ms. Rush portrays scenes from her everyday life as a young woman growing up in 'the country.' She shares the experience of being educated in an all-black two-room school house; describes a few of the games she and her friends used to play, outlines some of the many tasks tucked into the inconspicuous term 'housework.' (including recipes for ashcake and crackling), and discusses various aspects of healthcare and medical treatment available to her and her community at the time. When faced with conditions that demanded medical attention (disease or childbirth, for example), Ms. Rush remembers her family navigating between traditional healing practices and a segregated biomedical healthcare system. Among the rich recollections included in this interview, Ms. Rush shares her memories of Christmas before the era of store-bought ornaments, and of social life in Charlottesville. Towards the end of the interview she and her husband, William Rush, discuss some of the social and legal transformations African Americans have experienced over the years, and reflect on the meanings of these changes for themselves and for Americans as a whole.

Listen to the Interview - Part 1 (46 minutes long):     28.8K     56.6K     Other
Listen to the Interview - Part 2 (55 minutes long):     28.8K     56.6K     Other

Read the transcription of the interview

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Esmont Oral History Project: Building Digital Communities, Race and Place: African American Community History, Albemarle County, Virginia. Prepared by the Virginia Center for Digital History, Charlottesville, VA, 2001-2002

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