Esphur and Harold Foster - On supporting Harold Foster during the civil rights movement (clip)
Interviewed by Hudson Vaughan on April 1, 2010
Hudson Vaughn (HV): Were you involved also in some of the marches, like Harold?
Esphur Foster (EF): No he was at the forefront. I did march, in one or two of them. We had to take an oath, not to be nonviolent and mother always taught us to support each other if we were doing right. So we thought Harold was doing right. Mother was very upset because she had built this house and we were the only Fosters in Chapel Hill, Black or white, and his name was all in the paper. So they knew that. But she was afraid she was gonna lose her job! But they never said anything to her and she never suffered any repercussions because the people in charge, well most of them were Jewish and they were from up the way. So she did not suffer any repercussions, and so Charley and I, we marched because we were supporting him but mother never did because we broke the law, to her that was breaking the law and you just did not do it. But when he got arrested and stuff she sure saw that he got food and clean clothes and stuff. We were in the background but he was the one that was upfront, he was the one that started it, he and all the guys from over here there’s a rock wall right down here.
HV: That’s where they planned the sit in.
EF: That’s it.
HV: So you were one of the key planners there?
EF: Yeah he was.
HV: I said you were on that rock wall planning the sit ins?
Harold Foster (HF): Oh yeah. [inaudble]
HV: Sorry? How we’ve been?
HF: Yeah
HV: Things are going well, you know it's a struggle.
HF: Oh alright. Well if it’s a struggle, I know you’re trying. Long as you’re struggling just keep at it, just keep at it.
HV: What helped you keep going?
HF: What? It was the, I had a lot of support…(audio trails off)
