Black United Front Oral History Project

Kathleen Saadat’s oral history shows that her path to community activism was about the intersections of the biographical, geographical, and historical. Her relationships with family and friends, the places she lived in at specifc times, and her identity all played a role in this journey. In her words, “My life was very complicated, so it’s not a straight line."

In the following three edited excerpts, Saadat discusses her experiences with racism, discrimination and segregation in the late 1940's-50's, and how they varied by geographical location. She also discusses how her father supported her voice and encouraged her to speak up for what she believed in.