The Lee Street Oral History Project records nine narrators’ memories of African Americans in Boise and other Idaho towns during the early and mid-twentieth century. While the African American population surged in 1925-6, the number of black people had declined by 1940. With the beginning of World War II and the construction of Gowen Field, the number of African Americans in the Boise area increased once more and ultimately led to an increase in the black population in the area. Interview topics include service and housing discrimination against African Americans, the types of jobs available to them, experiences with immigrants and minorities, World War II, illegal activities in Boise, and entertainment and social activities among African Americans.

While several narrators who grew up in the Boise area reported no major problems getting goods and services, others did notice significant discrimination. Along with refused services in restaurants and stores, available housing was restricted to landlords willing to rent to African Americans. As a result, the black population was concentrated in certain areas, including Lee Street (though several interviewees also thought African Americans were scattered across town because of their service jobs). Overall, there appears to have been ongoing subtle racism that limited upward mobility in terms of jobs and housing for African Americans. There were always a few people who sought to integrate blacks. For example, one narrator recalled inadvertently getting a store clerk fired who neglected to serve her.

Jobs held by African American men included railroad and farm work, barbershops and shoe shining, washing cars, and hotel and restaurant positions. Women typically performed domestic service work such as cooking and catering, cleaning, and laundry. While there was sufficient work at all times, the pay was fairly minimal. Some narrators seemed content with their situation, but others were concerned and got involved the civil rights movement to combat racism that continued well into the 1970s.

Several narrators spoke of their relationship to other minorities, including the Chinese, Japanese, Native Americans, Basques, and Yugoslavs. In some cases, Oriental restaurants such as the Japanese were open to blacks. Blacks and Asians could intermarry where blacks and whites could not. The Asian minorities also suffered discrimination in receiving services, particularly during World War II. Thus the Chinese, like the African Americans, were buried in separate cemeteries.

The surge in African American soldiers during World War II caused more discrimination to flare up. Several restaurants instituted new service rules that prohibited blacks from dining there. Housed separately in the Boise Barracks, African American soldiers were also barred from most entertainments, though there was some recreation specifically for blacks, such as the Grand Army of the Republic socials.

Downtown Boise’s Pioneer Street and Lover’s Lane was an area known for illegal activities such as gambling and prostitution throughout the 1940s and 1950s. Several narrators remembered a “lady of the evening” known as Big Mama. There were also so-called Washington jigs, where prostitutes were transported to Boise for the weekend when soldiers had leave. Bootlegging was widespread during Idaho’s dry years, particularly among Czech and Austrian immigrants. One narrator’s father also had a bootleg joint.

Many narrators spoke of growing up in large, close-knit families and communities. Boise schools were integrated, and children typically played together regardless of race. Some African American families organized home entertainments such as receptions and card parties. Church-goers often reported caring for the less fortunate, helping the transient population, and singing at the penitentiary. These activities could involve both black and white people.

The narrators interviewed for this project presented very diverse experiences of African American life in Boise. Depending on the time period they remembered and their background, they discussed different topics and had varying, even contradictory perceptions.