Saunders, Margaret Johnson, 1933-

Garner, Lisa

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2006-11-28

1 audio file (1:04:25) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Marty Saunders was a 73-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte in 1933. She graduated from West Charlotte High School and Johnson C. Smith University, and was employed as a teacher.

Charlotte native Marty Saunders talks about her life, family, and career as a teacher. She recounts growing up in the Biddleville neighborhood, and how her family emphasized the importance of education. Mrs. Saunders describes attending West Charlotte High School, where her father was a teacher, and Johnson C. Smith University, before working as a teacher at segregated Charlotte elementary and middle schools in the 1950s. After integration, she taught at the formerly all-white J.M. Alexander Junior High School. Mrs. Saunders discusses at length her experiences at the newly integrated school, including stories of racial tension among teachers, parents, and students. She characterizes the majority of white students at her school as being from working-class families and the black students were from professional families, and noted that students from different racial backgrounds often got along better than the teachers. Mrs. Saunders recalls holding meetings at her home where the black teachers discussed their experiences with racism in the school. The group then brought their complaints to administration, which led to the school instituting workshops to improve race relations and cultural awareness. As the interview concludes, Mrs. Saunders shares her thoughts on topics, including negative changes in society by the time of interview and urban renewal in Charlotte's African American communities.

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

Volume fluctuates.

Teachers

Saunders, Margaret Johnson, 1933-

West Charlotte High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Johnson C. Smith University
J. M. Alexander Junior High School (Charlotte, N.C.)

African American neighborhoods
Middle class African Americans
Segregation in education
School integration
Racism in education
Race relations
Urban renewal
Social values
Teachers

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Biddleville

Interviews
Oral histories

1930-2010

Student project on the Charlotte African American community

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

Marty Johnson Saunders oral history interview 2, 2006 December 7, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A22)

OH-SA0495