"[When my children grew up and finished high school] they went elsewhere—because there was nothing in Carroll County for black kids." Irene Brown

"My main job was a microbiologist for the state of MD." Bill Dixion

"After high school, I went to work in the State Hospital.  I started as a food service worker, and I moved up to head cook, and I finally moved up to a baker, so when I retired from there I was a Baker II at the hospital." -William Hudson

"I worked at Henrington Hospital, and then at Springfield.  You didn’t have many choices of employment in this county.  You either had to go to Springfield Hospital, which had ot be the biggest employer here in Carroll County…and then I studied Licensed Practical Nursing, which I stayed in for some forty-odd years.  There’s always good money in the health-care careers." -Sally Green

"After graduating I went to Frederick and worked at the sewing factory for two years., then I got married and had children.  They went to Robert Moton, too—not the one on the hill (Church Street), they went here.  They could not believe the things that we had to do…" -Irene Brown

"Graduation was when we put on our little white dresses, shoes, and got your hair done and all that and graduated into high school.  And then we went from eighth to eleventh grade, and then we graduated.  But the school was not big enough ot have our graduation, so we had to go down to the old opera house on Main Street and that’s where we graduated from." -Irene Brown

"We were fortunate enough to have robes [for graduation], but we had to make our white dresses in order to graduate." -Irene Brown

"Obama’s election was a vision.  I think everyone assumes that one day it is going to happen—that somebody is qualified enough, and the stupid prejudices that we live with every day are gotten rid of, it can happen…If you pulled the skin off of every one of us, you couldn’t tell the difference." Bill Dixion

"You know everybody has things that they like to remember in those quiet moments, and things you’d like to tell your kids about, especially my grandkids, because they don’t have any idea about what we experienced, and when you tell it to them [they say], “oh granddad, Dad, that never happened.”  It did happen, and I don’t think anybody, any black person, should not understand what we had to go through.  We’re not bringing up the past—I mean, people ask you, 'Why are you bringing up the past—it’s over' But if you don’t change the present, you are doomed to the past, and it can happen."  -Bill Dixion

"I started out at Henrington in food services, at the hospital, and then transferred to Springfield, and I ended my career as an administrator." -Gary Hudson

"I tell my children about Robert Moton how we used to go to school in bad weather, not getting off at the first little snowflake, like you do…and physical education—my granddaughter doesn’t like physical ed.  She says they don’t have time to take a shower, but now there isn’t time to take a shower.  I was kind of shocked that they don’t teach that, in this modern world…" -Gary Hudson

"My children are surprised by the stories we tell them especially the grandchildren.  They’re fascinated by the survival in all this." -Sally Greene

"I guess that I’ve been successful in my own way, as far as leadership goes.  I was elected as president of a large labor union, and from there I went on to become International vice president of a labor union with some one-and a half million members.  Along with that, it took me across the United States and some other countries.  In the community, we’ve been able to do some leadership roles in the churches…I guess, having graduated from Robert Moton, it really gave you some roots, as to the needs of people in our communities, and the learning that I got here was a good road to travel to achieve what I have." -William Hudson

"[After graduation] I received the Valedictorian Scholarship, Senatorial.  I went to Morgan State College, where I majored in Music Ed until I realized that I didn’t want to teach.  I started to pick up electives with social studies and psychology.  I ended up being a social worker with the Baltimore City Department of Social Services for 35 years." -Kitty Wright