March 20, 1973
In the office of Curt Locklear, proprietor of a hardware store in Pembroke, North Carolina. Mr. Locklear is a Lumbee, 49 years old and married to the former Catherine Locklear. They have five boys and four girls, nine children. Mr. Locklear was educated at Pembroke grade schools and high schools. He has a college degree from Pembroke State College.
 

Lew Barton: Some of our people talk about having an inferiority complex. But do you think we’re getting away from this?

Curt Locklear: When, When, When, When, we broke with this thing of pride, we broke the inferiority complex. However, uh I think it’s pretty hard to drain all of that inferiority complex out of a person system. When you were born with it, when you were reared with it, it’s pretty hard to drain every drop of it out, you know.

Barton: Uh Huh.

Locklear: But uh, we’ve got enough out now to stand our own.

Barton: Ah, we’ve uh, we’ve had this sort of pushed down our throats I guess that uh, we’re a an inferior people.

Locklear: Why certainly, you …. Did you ever thought for one minute that the white man wasn’t better than you? If you did, when did you start thinking that?

Barton: (Laughs) Well its uh, I guess I’m exception to the rule in that.

Locklear: I mean being, being completely honest with yourself. When did you start think that uh you was good as white man?

Barton: Well

Locklear: Have you always thought you was good as a white man?

Barton: No, not really, I, I guess you’re right.

Locklear: (Laughs) I haven’t.

Barton: I can remember going to Red Springs to theatre, when they had us sit up in the balcony. And the blacks were on the other side, and they had it partitioned off. I didn’t think much about it myself, because you did get cheaper rates upstairs, and I was very poor. I would sit up there and uh, if I felt devilish enough I could drop a few peanut shells down on the (laughs)

Locklear: Why not?

Barton: I didn’t do that really, but, ah, I imagine some of that was done. Uh, as far as our people are in appearance, uh, I remember that they used to have a little boy who stood at the door, an Indian boy. And he would, he would, let them know, he knew the Indians from the white people. And so he, uh, you know, he stood there and he made this distinction sometimes. When a boy wanted to show off a little bit and sit downstairs with his girlfriend, he might tip this little Indian boy, and he’d let him go. (laughs)

Locklear: Yeah, I never experienced that, all I experienced with the theatre. When I went in, I saw where those superior people were sitting. And I knew that wasn’t for me Lew. Course I headed on upstairs, you know, where I’s supposed to go.

Barton: You didn’t think about it a second time, did you? Didn’t bother you at all.

Locklear: Sure it bothered me, a little, yeah. But, I knew I wasn’t supposed to be in there because that was white folks.

Barton: Uh huh. Well the laws of the land were geared in that direction, were they not? Seating arrangements on buses, ah, uh, were a matter of law. Segregation in schools, a matter of law, and so forth, but the laws have been stricken down now. And we’re getting, do you think we’re getting to be more comfortable with the situation as it is now?

Locklear: Oh definitely. Yeah. I don’t how much heart of change we’ve had in this county. You know what I mean. But, mercy changes the heart about this situation. But, uh, we’ve come a long way, we’ve come a long way that we shouldn’t had to come in the first place, of course, you know.

Barton: We uh, After being told that we were inferior, then suddenly we came up with, uh, some knowledge of our history. I’ve heard and expression, ah, prejudice for the Lumbee Indian ends at the county line. Do you, do you go along with that?

Locklear: Well, this is uh, uh, I, that’s a good expression, I think. It’s uh, comes in two cents of being true, cause, you know, when we left here and went in the army. We just simply didn’t think about this stuff anymore. We were equal with everyone else.

Barton: Right.

Locklear: But then, just as soon as I come back to Robeson County, and sit down on a chair in Maxton after nine days of being discharged, because I’d forgotten a little about the situation, and was refused to have my hair cut, I started to thinking about it again then. Course this is only nine days after discharge, you know.

Barton: Right. Well they let you know you were back home, quick.

Locklear: Right. Nine days out. Yes, sir.

Barton: Well I, I’m certainly glad all that’s changed thanks to our black brothers, and ah, who had a part in Civil Rights movements.

Locklear: White brothers too.

Barton: I want to ask you one question about the sticky problem, of ah, double-voting. (laughs) Ah, some sort of compromise has been reached or, aimed at, recently, an increase in the number of members on the Robeson County board. Do you think this is satisfactory or do you think we’ve improved any, or are we just, uh, sort of justifying, ah, perpetuating the same situation.

Locklear: I think we’re perpetuating the same situation. I think if somebody want to say that’s something, they can go ahead and say it’s something, but I think it’s a very, very small something, and I don’t think it’s enough to settle for. And of course, matter of fact, I don’t think it will be settled for.
 
Barton: Do you think this is a violation of the principle of one man, one vote?

Locklear: Well, definitely I’ve been in favor of this double-voting being discontinued for years, because, uh, it’s obvious it’s set up to keep the school situation like they want it. Like the white people want it, which they been, it’s been very easy for them to do. Like uh, my running for the board of education was running for the experience, not to win, but for the experience. And all of Lumberton, Lumberton alone, beat me, you know.

Barton: Uh huh. You recognized when you ran that you had no chance of winning.

Locklear: Oh, definitely. But it was a good experience, It uh, it uh it raised some you know, some little openings for me. You couldn’t win, like I say Lumberton alone beat me.