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Title
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Vernard Thompson oral history interview, 2006 December 2
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Interviewee
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Thompson, Vernard, 1948-
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Interviewer
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Sneed, William Severino
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Place of Publication
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Charlotte, North Carolina
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Publisher
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J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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Date of Interview
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2006-12-02
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Physical Description
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1 audio file (1:13:20) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (70 pages : PDF)
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Object Type
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sound recording-nonmusical
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Genre
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spoken word
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Language
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eng
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Interviewee Biography
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Vernard Thompson was a 58-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at Founder’s Hall in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1948. He was educated at Second Ward High School and Central Piedmont Community College, and worked as a mail carrier with the U.S. Postal Service for the Bank of America building.
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Abstract
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Vernard Thompson recounts his early life growing up in Charlotte's Third Ward neighborhood and life in the city's African American community during segregation. He discusses his childhood, his experiences attending segregated schools during the 1950s and 1960s, and the role sports played in his community. In particular, he describes the popular annual Queen City Classic football game played between Second Ward and West Charlotte High Schools and his own involvement in summer baseball leagues. Mr. Thompson describes the effects segregation had on his neighborhood and the disparity between resources provided to Charlotte's white and black schools, as well as tension between the African American community and law enforcement. He also discusses his time in the military during the Vietnam War. Mr. Thompson concludes by reflecting on how the city and the African American community have both changed in the years following integration and urban renewal.
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Digital Object Notes
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MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master. Interview originally recorded on minidisc and digitized using a Digidesign 003 rack.
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Interviewee Occupations
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Postal service--Employees
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Subjects--Names
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Thompson, Vernard, 1948-
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Subjects--Organizations
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Second Ward High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Subjects--Topics
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Racism
Police-community relations
Segregation
African American neighborhoods
African American soldiers--Social conditions
Sports--Social aspects
Urban renewal
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Subjects--Geographic
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North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Third Ward
North Carolina--Charlotte--Second Ward
North Carolina--Charlotte--Brooklyn
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Subjects--Genre
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Interviews
Oral histories
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Coverage--Dates
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1940-2010
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Digital Collection Title
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Student project on the Charlotte African American community
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Digital Project Title
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Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city
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Rights
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The materials included on this web site are freely available for private study, scholarship or non-commercial research under the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code). Any use beyond the provisions of fair use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication, broadcast, redistribution or mounting on another web site always require prior written permission and may also be subject to additional restrictions and fees. UNC Charlotte does not hold literary rights to all materials in its collections and the researcher is responsible for securing those rights when needed. Copyright information for specific collections is available upon request.
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Grant Information
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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.
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Internet Media Type
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audio/mpeg
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Identifier
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OH-TH0498
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Handle URL
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http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:335