Oral History with Rueben Turner (R'81)

Oral History with Rueben Turner (R'81)

In this oral history interview, Rueben Turner (R’81) sat down with Johnnette Johnson (’20) and Jisu Song ('22) on June 19, 2019, in Boatwright Memorial Library. Over the course of the one hour interview, Turner spoke about his time as a football player and member of Kappa Alpha Psi at VCU. A Hampton native, Reed reflects on his time at the university juggling his academic, athletic, and extracurricular commitments. He shares what it was like to pledge a fraternity at VCU and what it meant to bring the fraternity to the University of Richmond’s campus. He also highlights his connection to URBAN, the University of Richmond Black Alumni Network.



Rueben was born and raised in Hampton, Virginia and attended Bethel High School. He attended the University of Richmond from 1977-1981 on a football scholarship. He was voted as a captain of the football team his senior year and received all East Coast Athletic Conference (ECAC) honors for his play. He graduated from the University of Richmond with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Sociology. He later obtained his MBA from Queens University of Charlotte, North Carolina. His professional affiliations include membership with the Institute for Supply Management. He has a lifetime certification with the institute for Supply Management as a certified Purchasing Manager (C.P.M.). He retired from Altria after 34 years and is enjoying his retirement traveling and spending time with his family. He is a current Board member of the Mega Mentors of Chesterfield, County where he volunteers his time mentoring and teaching life skills to middle and high school students. He is married and has two daughters and three grandchildren. He is a member of First Baptist Church-Centralia and serves on the Deacon Board. 

This oral history is available for academic purposes--including but not limited to research by students, faculty, and staff--by permission from the interviewee (Rueben Turner). The interviewee maintains the copyright, and must be contacted via the Race & Racism Project (urraceproject@gmail.com) for permissions for use outside of academic purposes.

English

TurnerRueben_Johnson-Song_Public_20190619.mp3

Richmond (Va.)

Rueben Turner

Boatwright Memorial Library Seminar Room 1
University of Richmond
261 Richmond Way, Richmond, VA 23173

01:02:33

June 19, 2019