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Dwania Kyles and Diane Bezucha

From the Collection: Pain and Promise: Remembering the Fight for School Integration


In this recording, Diane Bezucha interviews Dwania Kyles, a member of the Memphis 13, the first group of Black students to integrate Memphis public schools. Dwania remembers her parents returning to the South from Chicago to become more involved in the struggle for Civil Rights. In telling her story of school integration, Dwania opens up about deeply traumatic experiences facing down angry white crowds, hostile teachers, and cruel peers.

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