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Phyllis Griffin interview transcript, December 21, 2004

20

NL: Henry Wallace?

PG: Yes. She campaigned for him. He was part of the Progressive Party, right?

NL: Right. He was from Iowa

PG: I know she knew many more, but I, it eludes me. Mary might be able to help you with some of the names, maybe. 

NL: Great. Um, well, this is probably a difficult question to answer in just a few sentences, but, how has your mother influenced you?

PG: Um, I'm a life long learner because of my mother. I understand the importance of racial and religious tolerance because of my mother and father. There's much more, um... I , I ask hard questions up to this day because of, um, my mom. I think that sums it up.. I think that sums it up. 

NL: Well, these next two questions are sort of interrealted, so I'll ask both of them, and if you want you can address one then the other, or you can address them as a pair. First question is, what would you like her legacy to be? And the second question, if students in Iowa could learn one thing about Edna Griffin, what would you want that to be?

PG: She believed in racial and religious tolerance, and that is gained through awareness, learning. And if you want to keep a country safe, the fastest way in which to do that is not through building armaments but building an economy and a social structure where no one goes hungry and injustice is kept at an absolute minimum.

NL: Um, I'm getting towards the end here. I did find some of the earlier quotations I as telling you about. Um, the Defense lawyer for, for Maurice Katz, Paul Stinson, said, quote " I honor her, Edna, as a female Moses leading her people out of the wilderness, a modern Joan of Arc. She is misguided and her methods are wrong," was what he said, um, in relation to her activism against Katz.

PG: This was the defense attorney?

NL: Mm hmmm

PG: Well if she was misguided, and her actions are wrong, um, I guess, I guess I don't understand that statement, because for me misguided means that she would, she would speak justice outside of the justice system, which could incorporate, could include, an act of violence. She was... she wanted to use the justice system. She wanted the justice system to wake up and see that it needed to enforce laws that were already on the books. So, in my mind I thought.. I think she did the right thing, a noble thing.

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20 NL: Henry Wallace? PG: Yes. She campaigned for him. He was part of the Progressive Party, right? NL: Right. He was from Iowa PG: I know she knew many more, but I, it eludes me. Mary might be able to help you with some of the names, maybe. NL: Great. Um, well, this is probably a difficult question to answer in just a few sentences, but, how has your mother influenced you? PG: Um, I'm a life long learner because of my mother. I understand the importance of racial and religious tolerance because of my mother and father. There's much more, um... I , I ask hard questions up to this day because of, um, my mom. I think that sums it up.. I think that sums it up. NL: Well, these next two questions are sort of interrealted, so I'll ask both of them, and if you want you can address one then the other, or you can address them as a pair. First question is, what would you like her legacy to be? And the second question, if students in Iowa could learn one thing about Edna Griffin, what would you want that to be? PG: She believed in racial and religious tolerance, and that is gained through awareness, learning. And if you want to keep a country safe, the fastest way in which to do that is not through building armaments but building an economy and a social structure where no one goes hungry and injustice is kept at an absolute minimum. NL: Um, I'm getting towards the end here. I did find some of the earlier quotations I as telling you about. Um, the Defense lawyer for, for Maurice Katz, Paul Stinson, said, quote " I honor her, Edna, as a female Moses leading her people out of the wilderness, a modern Joan of Arc. She is misguided and her methods are wrong," was what he said, um, in relation to her activism against Katz. PG: This was the defense attorney? NL: Mm hmmm PG: Well if she was misguided, and her actions are wrong, um, I guess, I guess I don't understand that statement, because for me misguided means that she would, she would speak justice outside of the justice system, which could incorporate, could include, an act of violence. She was... she wanted to use the justice system. She wanted the justice system to wake up and see that it needed to enforce laws that were already on the books. So, in my mind I thought.. I think she did the right thing, a noble thing.