Interview with Sharon King

M. Rayah Levy

Sharon King

2019-06-07

Bethlehem Area Public Library

Sharon King shares that her mother, Vivian Butts, was the first Black female police officer at the Bethlehem Police Department for twenty-five years and retired as a Sergeant. Her father, Raymond Butts was a construction worker and worked briefly at Bethlehem Steel. Mrs. King recalls her father having a garden with fruits and vegetables, and looking back, she sees it as a privilege to eat fresh food from the vines and trees. After she graduated from Liberty High School and went off to Norfolk State University, she did not return because jobs were difficult to get, and culture was lacking.

CC BY-NC 4.0