Goldie Byrd Ruffin is from an old California family, dating back to 1849 with connections to many important and historic African American political organizations such as the Men of Tomorrow and the East Bay Democratic Club. Her family resided in West Oakland before World War II and witnessed the influx of new migration that accompanied wartime opportunities in the Bay Area. As a young girl, she went to school at Prescott Elementary in West Oakland and was a student in the classroom of Ida L. Jackson, first African American teacher in the Oakland public schools. She attended University High School in Oakland, which later became Merritt Junior College, and then went on to San Francisco State, and UCLA. She and all of her sisters became nurses; she went on to retire from Richmond Unified School District as a school nurse, a topic which is discussed in this interview. Her interview sheds light on the transition from pre-War to post-War Oakland from the perspective of a native of Oakland. It also presents a complicated picture of class identity and mobility for African Americans during this time frame.