Reflections on Perry "Tiger" Thompson from family friend Peacolia Barge
Title
Reflections on Perry "Tiger" Thompson from family friend Peacolia Barge
Description
Perry “Tiger” Thompson (b. 1908, d. Apr 26, 1973) – Part two of three interviews - the second interview about Mr. Thompson from the recollections of family friend Peacolia Barge from Bessemer. She recalls his working with the youth and encouraging them to join the armed forces. She remembers his run for Lieutenant Governor in 1968. She was making an effort to record these successes.
Creator
Peacolia Barge
Bob Friedman
Publisher
Birmingham Black Radio Museum
Date
November 5, 1993
Contributor
Mark Usry
Emily Bibb
Format
JPG
MP3
PDF
Language
English
Identifier
TigerThompsonOH-02
Interviewer
Bob Friedman
Interviewee
Peacolia Barge
Transcription
Transcript from audio snippet:
Peacolia Barge: I went over there to find that and I was surprised that they did not have any information on him on, in the computer concerning, uh, Negro History Week for the mere fact that he was the first Black to run for lieutenant governor even though he withdrew from it. It was an article in the Birmingham Newspaper. They had that article in there.
Bob Friedman: They did?
PB: Uh, yes its there.
BF: Under the archives?
PB: Uh, its under...its in the archives.
BF: Under what?
PB: No its not. It’s not downstairs in the archives department.
BF: In Southern Research?
PB: It’s in Southern Research.
BF: Uh huh
PB: On its main floor.
BF: And um...yeah.
PB: Its under, um, Campaigns in 1968.
Peacolia Barge: I went over there to find that and I was surprised that they did not have any information on him on, in the computer concerning, uh, Negro History Week for the mere fact that he was the first Black to run for lieutenant governor even though he withdrew from it. It was an article in the Birmingham Newspaper. They had that article in there.
Bob Friedman: They did?
PB: Uh, yes its there.
BF: Under the archives?
PB: Uh, its under...its in the archives.
BF: Under what?
PB: No its not. It’s not downstairs in the archives department.
BF: In Southern Research?
PB: It’s in Southern Research.
BF: Uh huh
PB: On its main floor.
BF: And um...yeah.
PB: Its under, um, Campaigns in 1968.
Duration
Full interview: 20 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Audio snippet: 2 minutes
Files
Collection
Citation
Peacolia Barge and Bob Friedman, “Reflections on Perry "Tiger" Thompson from family friend Peacolia Barge,” The Birmingham Black Radio Museum, accessed September 7, 2026, https://www.thebbrm.org/item/87.
Item Relations
| This Item | dcterms:relation | Item: Reflections on Perry "Tiger" Thompson from his daughter, Lydia Thompson (part 02) |
| Item: Reflections on Perry "Tiger" Thompson from his daughter, Lydia Thompson | dcterms:relation | This Item |
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Dr. Rhoda Barge Johnson
Mrs. Peacolia Barge is my mother. She passed away August 20, 2010. We did not know that she had done this particular interview. We found out about it quite by accident. She did many over the years, but few have been featured as this interview. Mom was the unofficial historian for our family and for the Bessemer community, which was predominantly African American. She made sure that information on prominent community members was available at the libraries in both Bessemer and Birmingham. She educated the librarians on how to find and document data from rarely used sources. Her husband, Foy Sr.; two sons, Robert and Foy Jr; and I were filled with joy to know that she is part of your museum.
Thankfully yours,
Rhoda Barge Johnson