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Oral history with Mr. Richard Boyd and Mrs. Earline Boyd
This oral history is provided through a cooperative project of University of Southern Mississippi Libraries and USM's Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage.
Funding provided by a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute for Museum and Library Services
The transcript is presented here for reference purposes only. Interviews in this collection are protected by copyright. PERMISSION TO PUBLISH MUST BE REQUESTED from the Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. Please call ( 601) 266- 4574 for more information.
Biography
Mr. Richard Boyd was born on July 21, 1916, at Hattiesburg, Mississippi, to Nelson Boyd and Carrie Wells Boyd. One of seven children, he grew up in Hattiesburg and graduated from Eureka High School in 1935. Mr. Boyd worked in the Civilian Conservation Corps for one year, then returned to Hattiesburg. After working briefly for Hattiesburg Compress and Meridian Fertilizer Company, he obtained employment with Hercules, Inc., a chemical plant specializing in timber by- products.
Mr. Boyd's successful career at Hercules spanned thirty- six years. He began as a yard laborer in 1941 and later moved to the plant laboratory as a sample collector. In 1954 he became a lab supervisor, and in 1962 he was promoted to relief operator, the first black man at Hercules to work as an operator. In 1969 he advanced to the personnel department, where he worked as Assistant Industrial Relations Manager until he retired in 1977.
Mr. Boyd is a Mason and is a member and officer of the Forrest County branch of the NAACP. He is a lifelong member of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Hattiesburg, where he presently serves on the administrative board, on the finance committee and as chairperson of the board of trustees. He also serves as a substitute church school teacher.
Mr. Boyd and his wife, Earline, are the parents of a son, Richard Jr. of Chicago, Illinois, and a daughter, Gloria Bivins of Camden, New Jersey. They have three grandchildren and three great- grandchildren. Mr. Boyd enjoys gardening, walking, volunteering for church and community service, and watching news reports and sporting events on television.
Table of Contents
Mr. Richard Boyd
I. Family Background and Education
II. Working in a CCC Camp, 1935- 36
III. Working for Hercules, Inc., Hattiesburg, Mississippi
A. Advancement at Hercules, 1941- 1969 mus- coh. boydr. doc Page 1 of 29
Object Description
| Title | Oral history with Mr. Richard Boyd and Mrs. Earline Boyd |
| Description | Oral history.; Two interviews conducted on August 29, 1991 with Mr. Richard Boyd and on September 29, 1992 with Mrs. Earline Boyd. Mr. Boyd was born on July 21, 1916 in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. He graduated from Eureka High School in 1935. After working in the Civilian Conservation Corps for one year, Mr. Boyd then returned to Hattiesburg. He worked for Hattiesburg Compress and Meridian Fertilizer Company briefly before obtaining a job with Hercules, Inc., a chemical plant specializing in timber by-products. Mr. Boyd began work at Hercules, Inc. as a yard laborer in 1941 and by 1962 he became the first African-American at Hercules to work as an operator. He spent his last years at Hercules, Inc., working in the personnel department until he retired in 1977. Mr. Boyd is a Mason, a member and officer of the Forrest County branch of the NAACP, and a lifelong member of the St. Paul United Methodist Church. |
| Date of interview | 1991 August 29 (1st interview); 1992 September 29 (2nd interview) |
| Interviewer | Bolton, Charles C. |
| Coverage (time period) | 1916-1992 (primarily 1950s and 1960s) |
| Resource type | Text |
| Format | Digital reproduction of a 29-page document. |
| Language | English |
| Publisher |
University of Southern Mississippi. Center for Oral History and Cultural Heritage. University of Southern Mississippi Libraries. (electronic version) |
| Contributors | Electronic version made available through a National Leadership Grant for Libraries from the Institute for Museum and Library Services. |
| Notes | This item is part of the Civil Rights in Mississippi Digital Archive. |
| Rights | Copyright protected. Use of materials from this collection beyond the exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S. Copyright Law may violate federal law. Permission to publish or reproduce is required. |
| Contributing institution | Mississippi Oral History Program of the University of Southern Mississippi. |
| Digital repository | University of Southern Mississippi Digital Collections. |
| Digital collection | Oral History. |
| File size | 319.716 KB |
| File extension | |
| Identifier | mus-coh.boydr |
| File name | mus-coh.boydr.pdf |
