Lois Carson (Undated)

In this interview, Lois Carson is the guest. She begins the recording by mentioning how she lived in San Bernardino for over fifty years and had been on the San Bernardino Valley College Board of Trustees for twenty-four years. In her youth, Carson explained how she attended twelve years of Catholic school and how a nun told her that her leadership skills were a gift from God. Soon after, Carson went to college at Wilbut Cross Univerisity, where she majored in English with a minor in history. After coming to California to land a job position at Norton Air Force Base, she noticed that segregation existed outside of the South. Carson then speaks about her being one of the founders of the National Council of Negro Women. In a 1935 YWCA meeting, Elanor Roosevelt encouraged the representatives to create their organization, which thus led to the National Council of Negro Women. The topic then turns to war, in which Carson remembers her father being in the military at the time Pearl Harbor occurred and that her husband fought in the Korean War. She also mentions how a nephew, who volunteered to go into the Vietnam War twice, was never the same upon his return. Carson then recollects her memory of her walking three miles in the morning on September 11, 2001, and arriving home to hear of the attacks and all of the politics afterward. She then remembers trying to push for Hilary Clinton into office but ultimately changing her mind for Barack Obama. After being asked to advise young adults, Carson speaks of the importance of volunteering and giving back to the community in addition to getting an education. The interview ends with Carson speaking on her roles and impact on San Bernardino Valley College, its Board of Trustees, and the college president Dr. Gloria Fisher.