Ross, James L., 1934-

Howard, Debbie

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2005-03-22

1 audio file (1:32:08) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (52 pages)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

James L. Ross was a 71-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1934. He was educated at Second Ward High School and the University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and was employed as a consultant.

James Ross, a native of Mecklenburg County, discusses his experiences with racial segregation and civil rights activism in Charlotte, North Carolina. Growing up in rural Grier Heights, Mr. Ross attended Billingsville Rosenwald Elementary School and Clear Creek High School before being transferred to the urban Second Ward High School as a result of city expansion. Education was segregated at the time in North Carolina, and only black students attended these three schools. Mr. Ross discusses his experiences serving in the United States Air Force in Texas, where he worked alongside whites for the first time, and his subsequent career in job development and consulting in Charlotte. Mr. Ross also relates his involvement with the Charlotte Bureau of Employment Training Placement, whose goal was to integrate the Charlotte workforce. In addition, he describes his work with Charlotte mayor Stanford Brookshire and Charlotte police chief John Ingersoll during the 1960s and 1970s to help improve communication and relationships between white and black residents of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, which included sensitivity training for white police officers. In particular, Mr. Ross stresses the important role that negotiations, humor, and peaceful protests played in bringing about a positive change in race relations in Charlotte during the 1960s-1980s.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master file. Interview originally recorded on analog audio cassette and digitized using Digidesign 003 rack.

Consultants

Ross, James L., 1934-
Brookshire, Stanford R., 1905-1990
Ingersoll, John E.

United States. Air Force
Second Ward High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Charlotte (N.C.). Police Department
Billingsville Elementary School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Clear Creek High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Carver College (Charlotte, N.C.)
Johnson C. Smith University
Charlotte Bureau of Employment Training and Placement (Charlotte, N.C.)

African American neighborhoods
African Americans--Segregation
Segregation in education
Race discrimination
Discrimination in employment
Race relations
Community organization
Group relations training
Civil rights movements

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Myers Park
North Carolina--Charlotte--Grier Heights
Texas--Waco

Interviews
Oral histories

1940-2010

The era before Brown v. Board of Education

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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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.

audio/mpeg

James L. Ross oral history interview 1, 2004 March 10, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte; James L. Ross oral history interview 2, 2004 March 17, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Community Relations Committee records, 1960-1990, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (http://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/mss%3Acmcrcr); Mayor's Committee on Race Relationships papers, 1960-1965, Robinson-Spangler Carolina Room, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library (http://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/mss%3Acmcrrr)

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