Interview, Marguerite Jacobs

Marguerite Jacobs was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. After graduating from Toledo public schools, she attended Toledo University for one year before moving to Detroit to work in a factory as part of the industrial effort to support World War II. After the war, Jacobs became a Registered Nurse and in 1958, she moved to Rochester, New York, where she worked for the Civil Service Department and as a health services coordinator. A community activist, Jacobs has been involved with the League of Women Voters, the YWCA, the NYS Public Health Association, the Urban League, Memorial AME Zion Church, and the National Chapter of Black Social Workers, among others.

In this interview, Jacobs describes Rochester’s small black community in 1958 and the changes she has witnessed within it. She discusses the lack of adequate housing, the need for continual civil rights activism, and the importance of voting to achieve meaningful social change.