/internal/media/dispatcher/72817/fullRev. William A. Holmes Oral History11/21/2008[Rev. William A. Holmes, Stephen Fagin]Rev. William A. HolmesBorn digital (.m2ts file)Videotaped oral history interview with Reverend William A. Holmes. As minister of Northaven Methodist Church in Dallas, Holmes gave a powerful and controversial sermon on Sunday, November 24, 1963, in which he mentioned that some local schoolchildren cheered upon learning of President Kennedy's death. Portions of the sermon were later broadcast nationally on CBS, bringing international attention to both Holmes and the city of Dallas. The story of the cheering schoolchildren was told to Holmes by a local teacher who witnessed the event, and was only a small part of Holmes' Sunday sermon. That story, however, prompted international outrage and an investigation by the Dallas Independent School District. Holmes and his family received death threats and were forced into hiding for a week. Detractors argued that students, unaware of the assassination, were instead cheering about an early release from school. In the aftermath, however, other Dallas area teachers corroborated the story as shared by Holmes. One point of controversy involves the source of the original story about the cheering schoolchildren. KRLD-TV news director Eddie Barker, believing that Holmes was referring to University Park Elementary which Barker's children attended, ran a story to dispute Holmes' claim one hour after the CBS broadcast of the sermon excerpts. In 2008, however, Holmes revealed at a public program at The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealey Plaza that his confidential source was Ms. Carol Tagg, a fourth grade teacher at Everett Lee DeGolyer Elementary School in Dallas.Oral Historieshttps://emuseum.jfk.org/objects/26531/rdf