Growing up in New London, Connecticut in the Mid-20th Century/Recollections of Lois Taylor’s ’31 time at Connecticut College: Oral History Interview with Jackie Massett

Authors

Jonathan Dayan, Connecticut College
Jackie Massett

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2025

Comments

Oral history conducted on April 4, 2025 as part of an honors paper in the Department of History. The paper may be found at https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/histhp/67/.

Parts 2 and 3 of this interview can be found at https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/srp/4/.

Abstract

In this oral history interview, Jackie Massett (b. 1946) recalls her family history, childhood experiences of New London in the mid-twentieth century, and extensive recollections of her aunt, Lois Gertrude Taylor ’31 (1909-2010), the first African American graduate of Connecticut College. Massett explains her paternal family’s migration to New England, situating her family within the local Black community, churches, fraternal organizations, and social clubs. Massett also discusses racial geography, class distinctions, and perceptions of safety and belonging in mid-twentieth-century New London. A central focus of the interview focuses around Massett’s recollections of her Aunt, Lois Taylor. Massett discusses Taylor’s attendance at Williams Memorial Institute (now the Williams School) and her enrollment at Connecticut College, her early career as a journalist for African American newspapers, her service as a member of the White House Press Corps during the Eisenhower Administration, and her later work as a U.S. Information Officer in Francophone Africa. She also discusses her Aunt’s lifelong commitment to learning, her continued relationship with Connecticut College, and her return to Southeastern Connecticut later in life.

Recommended Citation

Dayan, Jonathan and Massett, Jackie, "Growing up in New London, Connecticut in the Mid-20th Century/Recollections of Lois Taylor’s ’31 time at Connecticut College: Oral History Interview with Jackie Massett" (2025). Student Research and Publications. 3.
https://digitalcommons.conncoll.edu/srp/3