Marian Cheek Jackson - On her occupational history, family history, and parents

This interview starts with the occupational history for Marian Cheek Jackson. She worked in policy service, data processing, and underwriting for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company for 22 years. North Carolina Mutual is the largest and oldest black insurance company in the country. In 1969, she went to work at the UNC Hospital as a secretary in the blood bank after working at NC Mutual. She worked at UNC Hospitals for 17 years until 1986. She worked in Granville Towers for almost 10 years (until 1997). She worked at a local funeral home while working part-time at UNC Hospital. The funeral home was originally called Bynum Weaver Funeral Home. Jackson recounts her family history beginning with her grandparents. Her paternal grandfather was a slave from Warren County, he was one of the people to lay the rock walls at UNC. His name was Ruben Cheek (a stonemason). Her maternal grandmother was a housewife and her paternal grandmother did laundry and other domestic services for professors at UNC. She didn’t know about her maternal grandfather. Her father was instrumental in community work and worked with others to find locations for Lincoln school and the community church. He also started the Janitors’ Association at UNC. Her mother worked for Dr. Coker for whom the Coker Arboretum is named. Dr. Coker’s wife’s father was a Venable. Her father worked in Venable Hall and her mother worked for Coker. She remembers going to Chapel of the Cross (her family was Episcopalian). She attended St. Augustine’s College in Raleigh. Ms. Jackson talks about some of the areas where African Americans lived and owned land.