Interview with Phyllis Thompson Hyatt and Elsie White Springs - OH 666

Phyllis Thompson Hyatt, Elsie White Springs, Emmett Scott High School, Civil Rights, Friendship College

OAI: oai:digitalcommons.winthrop.edu:oralhistoryprogram-1553

This interview was conducted by Dr. George Garrison with Phyllis Thompson Hyatt, and Elsie White Springs for his history project on Emmett Scott High School. The school was the segregated high school for African Americans in Rock Hill, South Carolina. It was named for Emmett Scott, a former aid to Booker T. Washington and President Woodrow Wilson. Emmett Scott High School was opened in 1920 and later closed in 1970 with the full integration of the Rock Hill School District. Mrs. Hyatt and Mrs. Springs are alumni of Emmett Scott High School and graduated in 1960. They also attended Friendship College and were part of the sit-in movement in Rock Hill. They discuss their experiences at Emmett Scott and Rock Hill as a whole. They detail their experiences during the sit-ins as well as the surrounding circumstances that lead to the movement. Mrs. Springs and Mrs. Hyatt were protesting along with the Friendship Nine and discuss the events that led to the Nine going to jail.

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