Interview with Thelma Emmons

In this interview, Thelma Emmons talks about her mother, Suberta Coleman, a member of the Alabama Women's Hall of Fame. Coleman was one of the first Alabamians to graduate from Fisk University, the first full-time African-American supervisor in a mining village and the first black Alabamian to study with Jane Addams in the Hull House in Chicago. Coleman was also a school teacher and principal for the Muscoda Camp schools. She describes her mother's work and the changes she made in the mining camp, such as teaching parents about nutrition and establishing a canning club. Emmons also served as a social worker in the camp; for her training, she was sent to Chicago to work with Jane Addams. Emmons also describes the company schools. She explains that these were excellent schools; money was taken out of each employee's check to support the school. They were able to pay teachers well so they often got the best teachers. Emmons was educated in the Muscoda School and went on to teach there. She also discusses living through The Depression. She recalls sewing classes provided by the Red Cross, and her mother also taught a butler class for people who wanted to improve themselves. Emmons eventually went on to teach in the Bessemer area until 1970