Calvin C. Goode: The Conscience of the Council

An Oral History Project Conducted by John Robert Lewis Fellow Tyler Haggerty

Project Description

Going into this project, I knew that I wanted to learn about former Phoenix City Councilman Calvin C. Goode, and paint a picture of his life and career, the Phoenix of his time, and tying it in with contemporary civil rights issues in Phoenix. I have often walked past the municipal building across from Phoenix City Hall that bears his name and left an imprint on me that associates his name with public service leadership. He was such a staple of leadership in the Phoenix metropolitan area over the course of his life, and my mom had worked with his grandson, Josh, to establish a youth leadership program in the Phoenix Union High School District. So, on December 13 of last year, my mom and I visited Josh’s office at MetroTech High School in Phoenix, and I asked him questions about his grandfather’s life and legacy. It was a lovely conversation, and it painted a picture of a humble, soft-spoken man with a passion for family and community.

Unfortunately, when doing an oral history project to learn about someone who is deceased second hand from their loved ones, “I don’t know” is a common answer. I knew that to paint a better picture of his life, I’d have to do my own research and do more interviewing to learn more about his career and the societal context that he lived in. As an alumnus of the George Washington Carver School, he was instrumental in the purchase of the building and its transformation into a museum. On June 23, 2025, with my sister accompanying me as videographer, we traveled to the museum to speak with the executive director, Dr. Matthew Whitaker, a historian and Phoenix native who taught for 15 years at Arizona State University. He is the author of Race Work: The Rise of Civil Rights in the Urban West, a book that details the untold stories of segregation and civil rights in the American Southwest, particularly Arizona. He is also a lifelong friend of the Goode family, a former teacher of Josh Goode, and the Councilman’s protégée who was handpicked by him to be on the museum board. This is a particularly enlightening and interesting conversation as I feel that the civil rights history of Arizona is not widely talked taught.