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EGERTON: Forty-nine years ago come this September, according to that picture out there in the room here at the Civil Rights Room at the Public Library, the two of you walked hand in hand into a public school and began a process that is now part of Nashville history, and Southern history, and American history.
EGERTON: Were you scared?
IRIDELL GROVES: No. (laughs) I wasn’t afraid. I guess, you know, when you’re young sometimes, you – really, I didn’t think it was going to be like it was. I didn’t think the people were going to be there like they were, but it was – people were just everywhere. Just everywhere.
EGERTON: When you came around the corner and you saw all those white people out there in the street, did you feel like turning around?
IRIDELL GROVES: No, no. I just kept – we just kept walking.
EGERTON: What did you say to Erroll?
ERROLL GROVES: (laughs)
IRIDELL GROVES: We – we goin’ on up in here. We goin’ to school. We goin’ on up in here. Because this is
EGERTON: Do you have any recollection of that Erroll?
ERROLL GROVES: Somewhat. (pause) When I seen all that was happenin’ you know, I think back, and I really couldn’t understand
EGERTON: Yeah.
ERROLL GROVES: what was goin’ on.
EGERTON: Sure.
ERROLL GROVES: And all the kids that lived in the neighborhood that attended that school, you know – I had white friends that we played together, you know,
EGERTON: In the neighborhood.
IRIDELL GROVES: Mm-hm.
ERROLL GROVES: and they attended that school, so – it was more or less like, you know, I’m – you know, they’re my friends, so, you know, we’re going to school together. So that was – I didn’t think anything of it. I guess I may have – it may have frightened me when I seen, you know, what was actually happening.
EGERTON: Right. And were your – were those kids that you knew, were they friendly to you when you came?
ERROLL GROVES: Yeah.
EGERTON: And on through the year. I mean, you didn’t have any trouble with any of them?
ERROLL GROVES: Not with the kids, you know. It was – I guess it was more or less what their parents were telling them. Because I guess, you know, that I – You could see, you know, their attitudes change when you actually attended school with them, as far as – you know, it was a different attitude when you were out playing with each other.
But, you know, attending school – you could see it, but I think back on that and say, you know, that was probably their parents’ influence on them, not that – because, I mean, you know, we, as young children, we didn’t see any prejudice. It was just that we was going to school together. Because we had played together and came – came up, grew up together in the neighborhood, so – EGERTON: Did you – do you remember your teacher, your first grade teacher?
ERROLL GROVES: Miss Fox.
IRIDELL GROVES: (laughs)
ERROLL GROVES: Miss Fox.
EGERTON: And do you remember, too, remembering her pretty well?
IRIDELL GROVES: Yes, yes.
EGERTON: Was she –
IRIDELL GROVES: Yes, she was – yes, she was nice.
EGERTON: She was nice. Yeah.
IRIDELL GROVES: Yes, she really was.