On Nov. 30, African American Heritage and Cultural (AAHC) Center President, Carol Bonner Becton, welcomed an intimate audience of friends and supporters to New Bern Civic Theatre’s Studio for a moving and thoughtful interview about New Bern’s St. Joseph’s Catholic School and Church. This event is part of the recently launched AAHC Oral History Library. This event was made possible by donors and supports and AAHC’s partnership with the New Bern Civic Theatre.
For over an hour, Mr. Frederick (Rick) Fisher spoke of this Catholic school’s importance to the African American community and his personal experiences at St. Joseph’s School and Church with New Bern historian Bernard George. New Bern Civic Theatre’s Studio provided an intimate setting for an audience of family, sponsors, and friends.
Rick shared stories of walking to St. Joseph’s with his siblings from their early grades through graduation. St. Joseph’s was the church where his family worshipped. He married his wife Shirley at St. Joseph’s, and, when his father passed, services were held at St. Joseph’s.
For Rick and his classmates, St. Joseph’s transformed their lives and provided inspiration for their future.
Of special note is the 1962 merger of St. Joseph’s and St. Paul’s school. The Diocese established St. Joseph’s Grammar and High School as its only high school for the area and the grammar grades were combined with those of St. Paul’s School in New Bern. This created the first integrated school in New Bern. Rick commented that his fellow classmates managed very well in an integrated environment, possibly better than the community, the Diocese and the country did!
This event at the New Bern Civic Theatre Studio was extraordinary. The setting was intimate. The topic was engaging – Rick and Bernard shared their personal stories with the guests through the Q&A that followed the interviewed.
Media Producer Ni Zhang guides AAHC in the production of the interviews, web designer Gayle Albertini expanded the capabilities of the AAHC website to include the Oral History Library, photographer Norman J. McCullough captures images for the website and program promotion, and New Bern artist Jill Eberle’s initial artwork depicted educator and New Bernian, Ann Herndon, who was interviewed to test the concept of the AAHC Oral History Library. She will be creating a piece presenting Rick Fisher who was interviewed on November 30th.
To see this and other interviews and stories, visit the AAHC Oral History Library website.
To submit video/audio interviews contact AAHC here.
By Carrie Gallagher