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Thelma C. Davidson Adair interview, 2008.
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- speakerI am was a new bride
- speakerwith my husband in 1942.
- speakerWe had just built a little home in South Carolina.
- speakerWe're very excited
- speakerand wanted to continue our education not because
- speakerit was the appropriate time but because it was World War 2
- speakerand we could not. Get the gas ration card
- speakerneeded from my husband to continue his missionary work.
- speakerAnd so here in New York having made a decision to stay
- speakera little young bride a little baby
- speakerand a woman knocking on my door introducing herself asMrs.
- speakerOakley Maxwell our neighbor her husband pastored
- speakera church a few blocks from our church Mount Morris Presbyterian.
- speakerShe was asking me to come to the World Day of Prayer
- speakercelebration in the community.
- speakerVery wise woman who recognize that not one
- speakertime a day our place would meet the needs of the diverse
- speakergroup that were a part of the Harlem community
- speakerand she said.
- speakerThe baby Maxwell he'll cry he's six
- speakermonths old. That's all right. There are more grandmothers there than you have at home.
- speakerAnd she was right. She was new that some of us could come in the
- speakerafternoon. Some could come to a Saturday morning lunch
- speakerand other professionals on Friday night.
- speakerAnd I was privileged to be able to be a part
- speakerof this in collusive diversed
- speakermany part celebration of World Day of Prayer.
- speakerOne of the most of the World Day
- speakerof Prayer and movement at that time was responding
- speakerto the needs of people who had been impacted
- speakerby the war
- speakerand the two theaters of the world.
- speakerYou can't remember but I do.
- speakerThere was a request by the mothers of Europe for diapers
- speakerwhite cotton or surprise item.
- speakerSoldiers needed to be dressed bandaids made
- speakerand yet babies needed diapers
- speakerand the request went out across the movement.
- speakerGrandmothers just take one diaper from your grandbaby
- speakerand send it in to the national office.
- speakerAnd we had thousands of diapers to share
- speakerwith the children with the babies of Europe.
- speakerIt's important for us as we look back to be aware
- speakerof why changes were made
- speakerand why certain responses were chosen.
- speakerIt was extremely important for women to be recognized
- speakernot only as the women of churchwomen United which was
- speakerUniting Church women are part of the council
- speakerbut women who needed to have their voice.
- speakerWe did not need to be a part of
- speakeranother group to define our goals to structure the
- speakerexpenditure of our funds to make possible
- speakerthe applications that we desired.
- speakerWomen could stand on their own two feet.
- speakerAnd so the movement away from a part
- speakerof the National Movement of the total church was
- speakerwell thought out.
- speakerAnd so Church Women United gave women the
- speakeropportunity to create their goals
- speakerand objectives to formulate a status to interact
- speakerand to collaborate with women's groups across across
- speakerthe islands of the Pacific.
- speakerThe women of Puerto Rico in our own way without
- speakermany of the structures or layers of formal churches.
- speakerI hope we will look at the the the
- speakervalues that come church women you
- speakernine day at the gold
- speakerpen
- speakerwith the cross
- speakerand Balash and the center.
- speakerMany of the Rays going out was the gift
- speakerof Cleri Harvey a national president of churchwomen
- speakerunited a very spiritual woman a woman to have had
- speakermany years of working
- speakerwith the YWCA
- speakerand she was the first woman of color to be the national president.
- speakerIt was her vision. The circle was important that reflected
- speakerthe world. All of us
- speakerand the cross would be the uniting of our
- speakerspiritual history
- speakerand resources of our faith.
- speakerAnd it was a reflection
- speakerof the Negro spiritual
- speakerwith our face to the rising sun.
- speakerAnd this is the rays of the sun moving out
- speakerand up what.
- speakerShe sought to claim the pen
- speakerwith the symbols the lettersC.W.
- speakerAnd it was.
- speakerA result of many conversations.
- speakerWhere should that be placed in the original version.
- speakerIt was to the side so that you would not take away from the centrality
- speakerof the spiritual. But it later was placed
- speakerin the center because in the center of our lives was
- speakeracross walls the church was the world.
- speakerAnd so the round globe the cross
- speakerand CW mail together to make this a statement
- speakeragain of who we are.
- speakerI first met you Thelma in 1980 when you were installed as national president
- speakerand I remember hearing you talk about causeways wonder if you have a couple of stories
- speakerabout those perhaps we should help people to realize that
- speakerthe causeway is a geographic
- speakerterm.
- speakerIt's the land mass that connects
- speakerseveral other land mass.
- speakerAnd so when we wanted to relate to say the
- speakerwomen of the far east of Japan Korea
- speakerPhilippines India Kozue
- speakerwas created that would join the women of
- speakerAmerica or the movement of America
- speakerwith women of the Far East.
- speakerAnd so there were calls always to
- speakerthe Caribbean Central and South America causeways to Africa.
- speakerBut one particular of the causeway that was taken to
- speakerthe Far East celebrating our
- speakerconcern for world peace
- speakerand one of the major
- speakerjoint meetings would be in Hiroshima on World Day
- speakerof Prayer.
- speakerWe would have an opportunity to visit to the
- speakersearing sight of devastation
- speakerthe outside walls of a Presbyterian
- speakerChurch the only part of any building
- speakerleft standing almost saying come on to me a symbol
- speakerof refuge a symbol of hope
- speakerand opportunity for the women of Korea
- speakerwith their grief and their awareness of the years of
- speakerenslavement. Freed through war joined
- speakerthrough faith.
- speakerIt was worth the planning
- speakerand the visitation of the friendships formed.
- speakerLet me just say that always as a part of a causeway.
- speakerThere were opportunities for women to visit the homes
- speakerand the programs of the host country
- speakerso that once we returned to our our homes
- speakerthere were many bonds that would continue through the writing of
- speakerletters the sharing of materials the return
- speakertrips and the Church Women United
- speakerhad been the causeway had been the bridge to bring together
- speakerwomen of various parts of the world.
- speakerWhat a wonderful story.
- speakerThe other thing we talked about a little is the human rights celebration
- speakerand as you know now churchwarden united since 2006 has written
- speakera human rights celebration that unites do at any time of
- speakerthe year. But you were the prime instigator
- speakerI believe in having a wonderful National Human Rights celebration
- speakerat theU.N. would you like to share a little bit about that.
- speakerYes we wanted an opportunity to recognize
- speakerso many women across the world.
- speakerNationally regionally in our states
- speakerand especially in our local units that were
- speakerable to make the world a better place to live.
- speakerThat had been able to respond
- speakerand offer with great sacrifice to achieve change
- speakeris to break some of the barriers
- speakerthat prevented women from
- speakerand and men and children all of us from having a fuller
- speakerlife.
- speakerThe hope was that yes one person might be
- speakerhonored at a national level
- speakerbut even more important for every unit
- speakerevery every entity small towns country village
- speakermajor cities to find the people in those areas
- speakerand to take this as a day.
- speakerIt doesn't need to be the same day
- speakeror the same hour in the same way
- speakerbut it is the occasion of saying thank you
- speakerand giving recognition to the sacrifices made
- speakerfor justice for all humans.
- speakerThe opportunities that I have had
- speakerto know women of the many denominations
- speakerand faith groups
- speakerbut without Church Women United.
- speakerI would no only Presbyterian women
- speakerbut the richness of my life because through
- speakerthe movement we were able to know women of twenty eight
- speakerdenominations Roman Catholic
- speakerand Greek Orthodox women to be able to say that
- speakeras I traveled in 125 countries of the world all continents
- speakerthat there were women
- speakerwith whom I could relate.
- speakerOut of the tenets of my faith
- speakerand with whom I could join hands to give praise
- speakerto create an opportunity for a response
- speakerfor changes.
- speakerThe land mines are destroyed the hands
- speakerand the feet of children
- speakerand would be the gift quote unquote
- speakerthat war mongers had left were children
- speakerand families could be a dress not as
- speakeran individual or as the Presbyterian
- speakerbut through the movement by all denominations.
- speakerSo the.
- speakerWidening of my world the
- speakercreation of the manner in which women could come together
- speakercould put aside the tiny bit Arend said the small
- speakerthings that tend to leech strenth from the whole
- speakerand focus upon things that matter a better life
- speakerfor children clean water
- speakersupport of groups around the world
- speakerthat are bringing together their gifts.
- speakerOne small give could make little difference
- speakerbut the joint gifts of thousands of millions of women
- speakerin a simple way created.
- speakerPaths of change.