Student Project on Second Ward

UNC Charlotte graduate students conducted the interviews in this collection in 2004 and 2007 as the centerpiece of a class on "Oral History and Memory" directed by professor Karen Flint. They titled their project and website the "Brooklyn Oral History Project," reflecting the popular local name for Second Ward in uptown Charlotte. Brooklyn, a thriving African American neighborhood from the early to mid-twentieth century, became Charlotte's first urban renewal project. City planners largely demolished Brooklyn's neighborhoods and businesses during the 1960s to make way for a new government center and city park.

The oral history project sought to document Brooklyn's history, including social, cultural and economic aspects of the neighborhood; how Charlotte residents were affected by its destruction; perceptions of why the district was targeted; the process of negotiation between city officials and community members over compensation for loss of property; and how various stakeholders understood the projected outcomes of the neighborhood's demise. The majority of interviews represent people who lived in or were closely involved with life in Brooklyn, although project members also sought the voices of policymakers involved in the urban renewal process.

Olaf Abraham oral history interview, 2007 April 11
Olaf Abraham recalls his memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, and of urban renewal. He describes daily life as a youth during the 1940s and 1950s, including attending Second Ward High School, working as Queen City Pharmacy, churches, and playing sports with friends. Mr. Abraham and his family moved from Brooklyn to Southside when urban renewal began in the neighborhood, and shares his memories of the project including workers moving houses by mule to make way for Independence Boulevard, the lack of transparency from city officials about urban renewal, the state of housing in Brooklyn, and why he thinks Brooklyn was the first neighborhood to be targeted for demolition.
Kelly Alexander Jr. oral history interview 2, 2007 April 7
Margaret Alexander oral history interview 3, 2007 April 2
Charlotte, North Carolina native Margaret Alexander discusses her fifteen years of memories of living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, also known as Second Ward, before her family was forced to move due to urban renewal. She discusses her husband Kelly Alexander Sr., who was elected president of the North Carolina State Conference of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1948, and the family's significant involvement with civil rights activism. She also talks about the bombing of her family's home and the homes of three other civil rights leaders in Charlotte in 1965. Other topics include businesses, clubs, and organizations in Brooklyn, her family's use of the Brevard Street Library, and urban renewal.
James Black oral history interview 2, 2007 March 27
James Black shares his memories of growing up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, and his lifelong involvement with the United House of Prayer for All People. Mr. Black expresses his admiration for the role that the House of Prayer had in the community during the 1950s and 1960s and remembers aspects of the church, such as businesses that operated out of the church, Bishop Sweet Daddy Grace, details of the services, and its annual parade. In addition, Mr. Black remembers fondly the high expectations that were set for him by his parents and family, and recalls the role of the community in rearing a child. He also talks about his career as a golfer and golf instructor, and positive and negative aspects of urban renewal.
Christine R. Bowser oral history interview, 2007 April 13
Christine Bowser discusses her memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. She describes her role as program director of the segregated Phyllis Wheatley YWCA in Brooklyn, classes and programs that it offered, and how it was a gathering space for community clubs and organizations until its closure in 1964. Other topics include attending Second Ward High School, businesses, churches, housing, and residents in Brooklyn including Kelly Alexander Sr. and his family. Ms. Bowser, a resident of the First Ward neighborhood, did not have to move during Charlotte's urban renewal program during the 1960s and 1970s, but shares her memories of the reasons behind urban renewal and the lessons learned from it.
Calvin L. Brown oral history interview, 2004 April 27
Calvin Brown shares his memories of living in Charlotte, North Carolina during a time when segregation was being challenged by civil rights groups. He moved to Charlotte in 1961 after completing law school, and discusses representing clients, particularly churches, who had their properties taken by the City of Charlotte during urban renewal. Mr. Brown describes the uphill battle faced by black attorneys arguing for clients in segregated courtrooms, where often the defendant was black and the police officer was white. He also describes the active Charlotte branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), including organizational leadership, and how they prioritized fighting against discrimination, voter rights, and advocating for integration in the early to mid-1960s.
Donald G. Bryant oral history interview, 2004 March 24
Charles Clyburn oral history interview, 2004 April 5
Native Charlottean Charles Clyburn shares his memories of spending time in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. Topics include attending Second Ward High school, the Queen City Classic football rivalry, neighborhood baseball games, businesses, the United House of Prayer for All People, and the relationship between the police and Brooklyn residents. He describes the impact of urban renewal on businesses and Brooklyn's residents, and how some residents were misled about the project and whether they would be able to return.
Barbara Davis Crawford oral history interview, 2004 March 27
Barbara Crawford shares her memories of living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. She describes some of the homes that she lived in growing up, and a house fire that destroyed her family's possessions and left her in the hospital with severe burns. During that time, she attended the sixth grade at Myers Street School, and recounts how a compassionate teacher acted as a father figure toward her. She reminisces about some of the churches, businesses, schools, and residents of Second Ward, including Grier Funeral Home, and her lifelong involvement with Greater Bethel AME Church. Ms. Crawford details her experiences attending Myers Street Elementary and Second Ward High School, including playing basketball, being one of the only two drum majorettes in her class, and her close relationships with teachers. She also discusses her advocacy for the preservation of the heritage of the Brooklyn neighborhood and her efforts to keep the original Second Ward High School gym in place and turn it into a cultural center.
Price Davis oral history interview 2, 2004 March 19
Colvin Morgan Edwards oral history interview 1, 2007 March 15
Colvin Morgan Edwards was a 68-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1938. He graduated from Johnson C. Smith University and from Pennsylvania State University and was employed as a consultant and a real estate broker., Colvin Morgan Edwards shares his memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. While Mr. Edwards did not live in Brooklyn, he discusses his time spent there attending school and visiting friends. He describes attending West Charlotte High School and its rivalry with Second Ward High School, culminating each year in the Queen City Classic football game. He also talks about his experiences as a musician, the popular Excelsior Club, his involvement in the civil rights movement in Charlotte, and attending Johnson C. Smith University. Mr. Edwards concludes by discussing the effect urban renewal had on housing and the lessons politicians should learn from urban renewal.
Thereasea Elder oral history interview 3, 2004 March 7
Thereasea Elder shares her memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, as well as the Greenville neighborhood where she grew up. She talks about the United House of Prayer for All People and its role in the African American community in Charlotte and attending Second Ward High School. She discusses in detail race relations in Charlotte, including the integration of health care facilities and services, how white families viewed the House of Prayer parade, the Ku Klux Klan, and police-community relations. Ms. Elder recounts details of her career as a nurse, particularly integration of health care facilities in Charlotte. She also spoke of the African-American experience post-urban renewal.
Vermelle Diamond Ely, Price Davis, Wright Hunter, Calvin Davis, and Naomi Davis oral history interview, 2004 March 25
Rosena H. Gaines oral history interview, 2004 March 25
Rosena H. Gaines describes her early life in Charlotte's Brooklyn neighborhood, and her experiences as both a student and a teacher at Second Ward High School. As a student at Second Ward, Mrs. Gaines recalls an active and involved student body participating in student organizations, sporting events, and after-school activities. She then recounts the close-knit relationships she formed with students and their parents after returning to Second Ward High School as a teacher. Mrs. Gaines also recalls her experiences mentoring and motivating troubled youth. Specifically, she discusses her use of unconventional methods to reform unruly student behaviors as well as her efforts to encourage her students to be ambitious and to set high academic goals. She also describes the sense of love and community spirit throughout Brooklyn and how that was lost when the neighborhood was demolished during the 1960s as a part of Charlotte's urban renewal program. In particular, she discusses the Brooklyn community's ambivalent reaction to urban renewal. Mrs. Gaines recounts how some community members did not want to block economic progress, while many other people opposed urban renewal but felt that their opinions had no effect on the outcome.
William U. Harris oral history interview, 2004 May 4
William Harris shares his memories of growing up in the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. He discusses his career as a principal at Myers Street Elementary School and Biddleville Elementary School, and his brief stint with the Educational Testing Service in New Jersey. Other topics include businesses in Brooklyn, attending Brooklyn Presbyterian Church, and his impression of Brooklyn's residents. He talks at length about Charlotte's urban renewal project during the 1960s, which he believes was an excuse by Charlotte's city leaders for dismantling African American communities and disenfranchising individuals. He also praises former residents of Brooklyn for their resilience and for keeping the spirit of the neighborhood alive.
Vernon M. Herron oral history interview, 2007 March 13
Dr. Vernon Herron shares his memories of growing up near the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. Mr. Herron describes his education attending Myers Street Elementary and Second Ward High School, where he was the student body president, and learning about Shaw University in church, where he later earned a degree. He discusses churches in Charlotte, including Ebenezer Baptist Church, of which he was a member, and the United House of Prayer for All People and its charismatic leader, Bishop Daddy Grace. Other topics include the NAACP in Charlotte, the Alexander family and other community leaders, and Brooklyn's rat and vermin problem.
Bettye Golden Holloway oral history interview, 2007 April 26
Bettye Golden Holloway shares her memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood, also known as Second Ward, during the 1930s through 1950s in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mrs. Holloway cites the close-knit community spirit of Brooklyn as its greatest strength as she remembers growing up in the neighborhood. Topics include attending Second Ward High School; extracurricular activities; the rivalry between West Charlotte High School and Second Ward High School, which culminated annually in the Queen City Classic football game; businesses and housing in Brooklyn; and the Brevard Street Library. Mrs. Holloway also shares her thoughts on the destruction of the Brooklyn neighborhood during urban renewal, how it personally affected her, and its negative impact on the African American community in Charlotte.
John L. Holloway oral history interview, 2007 August 27
John L. Holloway recounts his almost forty years as a high school band director and jazz musician in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Holloway describes moving from Durham, North Carolina to Charlotte in 1950 after completing his education to teach at West Charlotte High School, which was segregated at the time. Topics discussed include teaching students in marching band; introducing students to jazz; the establishment of his band, Johnny Holloway and the Hi-Tones; and performing at the Excelsior Club. Mr. Holloway describes integration at West Charlotte High School during the late 1960s and 1970s and the positive impact that it had on other schools and school bands in Charlotte.
Charles Jones oral history interview 2, 2007 April 25
Walter "Buck" Kennedy oral history interview, 2004 March 26
Walter "Buck" Kennedy shares his memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. Mr. Kennedy describes growing up in the Cherry neighborhood and attending Second Ward High School. He discusses in detail his relationship with Friendship Missionary Baptist Church, including joining the children's choir, his role as a junior deacon, the Baptist Training Union, and moving to the west side of Charlotte when the church moved there after urban renewal tore down the Brooklyn community. He also discusses businesses in Brooklyn, his involvement in the music ministry in his church, and the first radio broadcast from Friendship Baptist Church through popular Charlotte station WGIV.
Frances H. Leach oral history interview, 2004 April 2
Frances H. Leach shares her memories of Charlotte, North Carolina's African American communities. She talks about the Cherry neighborhood where she grew up during the 1930s and 1940s and the thriving African American Brooklyn community, also known as Second Ward. She compares differences between Cherry and Brooklyn and recounts businesses, schools, and residents. She discusses in detail the House of Prayer for All People, including her membership in the church, the church's role in reducing the crime rate in Brooklyn with the Grace Soldiers, and the church's relocation to Beatties Ford Road during urban renewal.
Doretha Leak oral history interview, 2004 May 3
Doretha Leak recalls living during the mid-twentieth century in the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. The first part of the interview was not recorded; much of the interview that was captured focuses on African American churches in Charlotte. She shares the history of and her personal experiences with Ebenezer Baptist Church, including her baptism at the age of eight, the church burning down in 1949, and leaving the church in 1952 after she got married. She also talks about the United House of Prayer for All People and the role that it played in her community, and her current church at the time of interview, Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. Other topics include daily life and local businesses in Brooklyn, including shoe shops, laundry services, ice houses, funeral homes, and movie theaters.
Lem Long oral history interview, 2007 March 15
Lem Long discusses growing up in Mint Hill, just east of Charlotte, North Carolina, and visiting the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, also known as Second Ward. Topics include founding his own funeral business, Long and Son Mortuary Services, his membership with the AME Zion Rock Hill Church, urban renewal during the 1960s and 1970s and the relocation of churches, the United House of Prayer for All People and its role in the African American community in Charlotte, and differences between his rural neighborhood in Mint Hill and the more urban Brooklyn community.
John A. McCarroll oral history interview, 2004 March 17
John McCarroll shares his memories of living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, and his long career working for Grier Funeral Service. Mr. McCarroll describes moving to Charlotte from South Carolina as a teenager, starting work in the funeral industry, and serving African American clients throughout Charlotte's neighborhoods. Mr. McCarroll also discusses other businesses, schools, and churches in Brooklyn and other black neighborhoods in Charlotte. Mr. McCarroll describes and shares his views on urban renewal in Charlotte during the 1960s, including its impact on Grier Funeral Home and the poor quality of housing and commercial buildings prior to urban renewal.
John Murphy oral history interview, 2007 April 15
John Murphy shares his memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, and his career as a dentist in Charlotte. He describes his experience attending school in Brooklyn, including the importance of reading and access to books, teachers and their relationships with students and students' families, and classes taught. He discusses his parents' professions and his mother's involvement on the stewardess board at Little Rock AME Zion church. Mr. Murphy recounts his role in the founding of the Metrolina Health Center, later known as the C.W. Williams Community Health Center, in 1979 and his own church involvement after returning to Charlotte as an adult in 1973. He also talks about urban renewal and the destruction of the Second Ward community, which took place while Mr. Murphy was attending college in Washington, D.C.
Mae C. Orr oral history interview, 2007 April 5
Mae C. Orr shares her memories of growing up and living in the Greenville community in Charlotte, North Carolina as well as her experiences visiting the Charlotte neighborhood of Brooklyn, also known as Second Ward. She describes attending the segregated West Charlotte High School during the 1940s, then returning there to teach as an adult after integration. She discusses the rivalry between West Charlotte High School and Second Ward High School, including fights between students at the two schools, and differences between the westside neighborhoods of Greenville and Biddleville and Brooklyn. Ms. Orr recounts how her mother joined the United House of Prayer for All People while the rest of her family continued to attend Second Calvary Baptist Church. She remembers how some members of African American church in Charlotte were critical of the House of Prayer because members seemed to worship its leader, Bishop "Sweet Daddy" Grace. Ms. Orr describes at length James Ross, who was one of Charlotte's first African American police officers who was hired in the 1940s and Ms. Orr's neighbor. She characterizes Mr. Ross as nice to her, but violent and disliked by many in her community, and describes her recollection of his dismissal from the police force. She also talks about the quality of housing in Greenville and in Brooklyn, and how the city took out all housing during urban renewal in targeted neighborhoods, whether it was in good condition or disrepair.
Connie Patton oral history interview 2, 2007 April 02
Richard Petersheim oral history interview, 2004 April 19
Richard Petersheim discusses his work as a managing partner for the Charlotte, North Carolina office of LandDesign. In, 2001 LandDesign was selected by the City of Charlotte to design a new urban community that would encompass lands from the Second Ward neighborhood of Charlotte, also known as Brooklyn prior to its demolition through urban renewal in the 1960s-1970s. Mr. Petersheim describes planning efforts for the new community, which involves several city departments, historical groups and former residents of the Brooklyn. The plan, as Mr. Petersheim describes it, aims to rebuild a racially and economically diverse community that includes affordable housing options. He also mentions LandDesign's plans for the old Second Ward High School gym.
Mary Poe and Delores Giles oral history interview, 2007 April 5
Mary Poe and Delores Giles share their memories of growing up and living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. They talk about attending Second Ward High School, school sports and activities, and the supportive atmosphere provided by the teachers at the school. They also discuss what it was like to be a young woman in Brooklyn during the 1960s, including how opportunities in school differed for young men and women and how couples would travel to South Carolina to get married. Ms. Giles lived in the Blue Heaven section of Second Ward and describes how it differed from the rest of Second Ward. Ms. Poe also discusses the urban renewal project in Charlotte which dismantled Brooklyn during the 1970s, and how the city made promises to former residents that were left unfulfilled.
James K. Polk oral history interview 3, 2007 March 21
James Polk recounts fond memories of living in the Grier Heights neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina and visiting the nearby Brooklyn neighborhood, also known as Second Ward, with a focus on local businesses. He discusses working for his uncle at Grier Funeral Service, the company's history, and its significance in the African American community in Charlotte. Other topics include attending segregated schools and white and black entrepreneurs in Brooklyn. Mr. Polk concludes by discussing urban renewal and how it forced Grier Funeral Service to relocate to the west side of Charlotte.
James L. Ross oral history interview 1, 2004 March 10
Vernon Sawyer oral history interview, 2004 April 19
Vernon Sawyer recounts his experiences as the executive director of the Charlotte Redevelopment Commission, which was responsible for Charlotte, North Carolina's urban renewal program in the 1960s and 1970s. Mr. Sawyer talks in detail about urban renewal in Charlotte's Brooklyn neighborhood, including selecting Brooklyn first for urban renewal, poor housing conditions, Avery Hood, a social worker responsible for helping to relocate Brooklyn residents, and the advantage of having an African American relocation director, Edward Waddell. He also discusses working as a city and regional planner in Norfolk, Virginia prior to moving to Charlotte, integration in neighborhoods and offices, negative public sentiment towards urban renewal, and facing multiple lawsuits filed by the Legal Aid Society.
Dorothy G. Shipman, Walter Kennedy, and Mary S. McGill oral history interview, 2004 March 11
In this group interview, Dorothy Shipman, Walter "Buck" Kennedy, and Mary S. McGill share their memories of the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, also known as Second Ward, as well as their experiences with Friendship Missionary Baptist Church. The interviewees discuss economic conditions in Brooklyn, businesses such as the Lincoln Theater, and how urban renewal in the 1960s prompted many of Brooklyn's residents to move to west Charlotte. All three interviewees joined Friendship Missionary Baptist Church between the late 1940s to early 1950s, and describe their involvement in church activities including the choir and the Baptist Training Union.
Milton Short oral history interview, 2004 March 22
H. Milton Short, Jr. recounts his six terms serving on Charlotte city council (1965-1979) in Charlotte, North Carolina and his involvement with the urban renewal program. He characterizes Charlotte's redevelopment program as very popular among Charlotte's citizens, including black residents of Brooklyn, also known as Second Ward, who were impacted the most by the program. This stands in contrast to most of the other interviews in this collection, many of which are conversations with former residents of Brooklyn. He describes the eminent domain process as compensating homeowners fairly for their property, and the urban renewal program in Charlotte as innovative and viewed as a model by other cities around the United States. Mr. Short explains that it was difficult to sell the land in Brooklyn because it had to go to public auction, so he worked to get the law changed to land could be sold more directly. Other topics include Mr. Short's family, the Great Depression, his experiences growing up in Atlanta, Georgia, and writing wills with the Air Corps during World War II.
Curtina P. Simmons oral history interview, 2004 April 13
Curtina Simmons shares her memories of living in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward, during the mid-twentieth century. Ms. Simmons moved to Second Ward as a child in the 1940s. She describes her education at Myers Street Elementary School and Second Ward High School, and how her teachers inspired her to become a professor at Johnson C. Smith University. She sheds light on details of the former Brooklyn community, including its origins, the role of funeral parlors as ambulatory service providers in the community, and its role as central hub for all African Americans in Charlotte and the surrounding region. Ms. Simmons also discusses how a small area in Brooklyn called Blue Heaven got its name, the United House of Prayer for All People's contribution to the Brooklyn community, and urban renewal.
Barbara C. Steele oral history interview, 2004 April 1
Barbara Steele recounts her childhood and life in Brooklyn, a historic African American neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, before it was torn down during urban renewal in the 1960s. She describes how close-knit and self-sufficient the community was. In particular, Mrs. Steele discusses the supportive atmosphere the teachers created at Second Ward High School, describing it as a second home. She also talks about the Queen City Classic, an annual football game between Second Ward and West Charlotte high schools that was a major social event for Charlotte's African American high school students and community. Mrs. Steele then discusses how urban renewal destroyed her neighborhood. She relates how residents fruitlessly spoke out against the project, and her family's failed legal battle with the city over adequate compensation for their homes.
James E. "Slack" Steele oral history interview, 2004 April 16
James "Slack" Steele shares his memories of growing up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. He discusses his experiences in an area of Brooklyn called Blue Heaven, attending Second Ward High School, businesses and churches, and urban renewal. He talks in detail about how urban renewal in Charlotte affected Brooklyn and other communities. He discusses the demolition of Second Ward High School and the Second Ward Alumni Association's reaction, and what lessons politicians could learn from Charlotte's urban renewal project.
Arthur Stinson oral history interview, 2007 April 23
Arthur L. Stinson recounts his experiences growing up in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. He discusses schools and businesses in Brooklyn, working as a teenager in the coal yard and wood yard, and the importance of the family unit in the Brooklyn community. He describes the emphasis on entrepreneurship that he experienced in Brooklyn during his youth at Second Ward High School and the United House of Prayer for All People, and describes Bishop Daddy Grace's role in shaping future entrepreneurs. Mr. Stinson also recalls his active participation in the Charlotte chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
Daisy Stroud oral history interview 3, 2007 April 12
John Thrower oral history interview, 2004 September 4
John Thrower discusses his experiences serving two terms on the Charlotte City Council in Charlotte, North Carolina during the 1960s and 1970s. He describes poor living conditions in the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina (also known as Second Ward) as being the primary motivation for his and the city of Charlotte's support of urban renewal. Topics include working with Vernon Sawyer and the Charlotte Redevelopment Commission and his impressions of Mayor Stanford Brookshire and fellow city councilmembers Bill Veeder and Donald G. Bryant. He also describes integrating black families into previously all-white neighborhoods during urban renewal.