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Part of an interview with Beverly Mason, December 21, 2012. In this audio clip, Mason discusses the importance of church in her upbringing and in the African American community.
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Beverly Mason oral history interview, 2012 December 21. OH-01208. [Audio recording] Oral History Research Center, Special Collections and Archives, University Libraries, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Las Vegas, Nev
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I want to talk about that kind of community feeling, and the role of the church and what it means, that spirituality more than just Sunday morning, but what it meant. That was a normal part of life. You are very, very right—that was something that's ingrained in black people. I think because of the struggle and the suffering, going back to slavery, that singing the spirituals to keep yourself uplifted and motivated, and knowing that it could be better and that God was going to make it better, and that you've just got to hold on. That kind of was ingrained in the community even if we weren't all the same faith. My daughter, who is seventeen now, mentions people that don't believe at all now. That's amazing to me. I did not meet my first atheist until I got to college. I remember thinking that he had grown two heads. Don't get me wrong. This is America, and I believe that everybody has the right to believe—this is why we're here in this country. But I had never met anybody that said that, and it was almost like telling a little kid there was no Santa Claus. I remember in a respectful way just wanting to question him. Why and how did that happen? Did you always believe that way? Did your parents believe that? Were you taught that way? It was amazing to me. I think on every Sunday morning, we were all pulling out of our driveway to go to some house of worship, whether we went to the COGIC, because everybody went to Upper Room until there was more Church of God in Christ. Tell me what COGIC is. Church of God in Christ. Upper Room was the largest there. Whether they went to Second Baptist. Whether they went to Victory Baptist. Whether they went to African Methodist Church. Whether they were going to Saint James Catholic Church where the black people went. We all went to church. Everybody had some kind of Christian faith, and that was what we were taught to do. We were taught principles like that, on how to behave and how to respect adults. I think that's how people were connected that way. It's so different now. There are a lot of churches in West Las Vegas on every corner and different faiths. You can just take your pick. Sunday mornings, everybody comes back. Right. And still comes to that neighborhood. I do, too. I don't live there anymore, but I still come to church there and worship in the neighborhood. I feel very connected still, know the people and that. I think that was just a very important part of the era, too, that kept people encouraged and kept them hoping for better and to get better.