Interviewer(s): Debbie Harwell

Project: University of Houston

Rev. Dickson graduated from Yates High School in 1958. He was born and raised in the Third Ward and discusses his experiences growing up in the area and the role Yates and its teachers and principal played in the community. He offers a description of how the decline in community spirit and cohesiveness that occurred with the opening of the new Yates High School building and the removal of the principal in favor of one from the school's Fifth Ward rival. He details his post-graduate experiences at Texas Southern University, and his career in education as a coach and administrator, offering valuable comparisons across the fifty-year period.