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Oral History Program Interview: Bobby Glen Russell
Born in 1929, in Arkansas, Russell came to California in 1937, stopping in Arvin. His family stayed in Sunset labor camp where he learned the camps existed to control migrants. Russell describes union activities in the fields, especially the Cotton strike where many were arrested. He portrays different types of "tramps" who followed certain crops. Government programs like the AAA destroyed food that could feed starving people, and the Welfare office arbitrarily helped the migrants. Russell claims the Grapes of Wrath did not portray the horrific extremes people lived through and that "Okie" is a derogatory word.
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Russell107.pdf Public
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107_combined.mp3 Public
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