Retired Professor to Discuss New Book

TAHLEQUAH, Okla. — When Northeastern State University emeritus professor of psychology Dr. Harold Aldridge Jr. was eight years old he broke his arm.

His father, a Black World War II veteran, took him to the then Muskogee General Hospital seeking treatment but they were turned away because of their race.

Aldridge shared this and other personal experiences about life during segregation in the 1950s and early 1960s in the all-black town of Taft, Oklahoma with NSU students and faculty in 1997 as part of a commemoration event for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

The next day, Aldridge said a coworker approached him about his presentation. She appreciated what he had to say but stated she didn’t remember having those experiences where she grew up in Little Dixie, located in southeastern Oklahoma.

Aldridge said that conversation inspired him to seek out and document the experiences of Black educators in Oklahoma during segregation and desegregation for future generations. This effort culminated with him self-publishing “What if the Past was Lost Forever? Then Who Would Pass on What?: Segregation and Desegregation in the Oklahoma Public Schools” this year.

Aldridge said that interaction with his coworker made him realize that many of the stories and experiences of his parents, who were both school teachers, and their peers as Black educators in Oklahoma during segregation and desegregation were at risk of being forgotten.

For 25 years, Aldridge reached out to gather first-hand testimonies from Black administrators, teachers and coaches to showcase Black experiences in Oklahoma during segregation and desegregation to showcase their stories.

“The painful and poignant memories of these Black leaders in education are windows into our potential for personal development and reveal opportunities for human understanding,” Aldridge said. “Those people were important for me to be where I am today and that’s what I would like for people to look at and see how they too can gain something from this information.”

Aldridge will discuss his new book and personal experiences with segregation and desegregation on Nov. 10 at NSU. Following the presentation, there will be a book signing event sponsored by Too Fond of Books.

Sponsors for the book discussion are the NSU Center for Women's Studies and the departments of history, communication and media studies and American studies. 

Dr. Suzanne Farmer, associate professor of history and director of the Center for Women's Studies at NSU, said while there are accounts of life during that era Aldridge’s book is unique in that it brings together primary, historical narratives that have otherwise not been shared.  

As a historian, Farmer said she views Aldridge’s book as one of the most valuable historical resources she has come across in a long time. She added Aldridge himself has a powerful personal story being one of the first Black teachers at a newly desegregated Tulsa Memorial High School and one of the first Black professors at Northeastern State University. She is proud to host Aldridge so he can share these experiences with NSU students and the wider Tahlequah community.

“I just really think that he could be an inspiration to our students,” Farmer said. “They can see what a huge difference he’s making in the historical record by publishing this book, which I cannot say enough good things about. I’m just over the moon that we now have these sources.”

What’s Next
Aldridge will speak at NSU on Thursday, Nov. 10 at 3:30 p.m. in the University Center Room 203. For more information, email Farmer at farmer07@nsuok.edu. The event is free and open to the public.