A story by Biddeford Cultural & Heritage Center Voices of Biddeford project from 1950s to 2020
Voices of Biddeford interview with Quinton “Skip” Wilson on June 25, 2020
Quinton "Skip" Wilson's father was born in Bermuda and his mother was a Narragansett Indian. Although Skip was born in Rhode Island, his family moved to the Biddeford area when his father became an employee at the GE plant in South Portland. An honor student and standout athlete in several sports, Skip attributes his positive experience to the extensive community involvement of his parents as well as the support of his friends. He reflected on some of the very personal challenges associated with being from a different ethnic background. Skip attended Boston College and lived in that area for many years, where he had a career in management at UPS. Personal circumstances led him to move to New York instead of returning to Biddeford.
In this interview, Skip shared the challenges his family had finding housing and then attending to school, as the only people of color in the community, and how his family overcame that; "It’s so funny how once the stigma was broken, it was like a dam opened up. We were so involved in everything that the whole race thing literally just went 'poof' and disappeared."; sports highlights from little league to high school athletics, including a standout performance as a freshman on the varsity football team; the positive impact of having numerous close friends and admired teachers and coaches; the truth about whether he was totally accepted, and the profound effect it had on his personal life.
Recorded on June 25, 2020
View a transcript of this interview, more pictures, and additional information.
For more stories from the "Voices for Biddeford" project, visit Voices of Biddeford.
Skip Wilson and Junior classmates at Biddeford High School
Skip (#22) "On his way" from newspaper article of Biddeford vs. Haverhill Mass exhibition game on 9-11-1976
Senior Yearbook
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