Interview with Donna Hatchett conducted by Sharon Sekhon on July 27 and 29, 2020. This interview was done for "Shouting from the Margins: Black Leadership in Orange County, 1960 - 1979."
Donna Hatchett provides amazing details on the life of her husband Jim Hatchett, who passed away in 2010. James Hatchett was born in Bryant, Texas, in 1940 and the family moved to Oakland, California, when he was a young child. Hatchett was a gifted athlete at Oakland Community College and had a game against the Fullerton Junior College (FJC) team, the Hornets. After seeing him play, Alex Omelev, FJC's basketball coach, who was in the process of moving to Orange County State College (now CSUF), recruited him. Omelev offered him a scholarship to attend Orange County State College once he completed his A.A. at Oakland City College.
Tags: African American; Civil Rights; Discrimination; Activism; California; Athletics; Interviews 1960s; 1970s; Oakland; Bay Area; Orange County; Fullerton; Santa Ana Interracial Relationships; Basketball; CSU Fullerton; Police; Police Programs; Gangs; Black Americans; Dona Hatchett; Jim Hatchett