Davis, Price, 1920-

Johnson, Ryan

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2004-03-19

1 audio file (1:12:44) : digital, MP3 + 1 interview log (5 pages : PDF)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Price Davis was a 83-year-old man at the time of interview. He was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina in 1920. He graduated from Second Ward High School and was employed as a truck driver with Hay-Mark Trucking in Brooklyn, New York.

Price Davis discusses his memories of living in the Cherry neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina and visiting the nearby Brooklyn neighborhood, also known as Second Ward. He shares fond memories of Brooklyn, including attending Second Ward High School and his relationships with neighborhood residents. Mr. Davis recounts his experiences with the Charlotte Police Department during segregation in the 1940s and 1950s, including frequent assaults by white police officers, and how he believes that community-police relations began to slowly improve with the hiring of the first black officers in Charlotte. He discusses James Ross, one of the first black police officers in Charlotte, and how he faced an uphill battle to gain respect among some in the black community. Mr. Davis also discusses his religious background, including attending Myers Tabernacle AME Zion Church, the AME Zion organization, his father\u2019s career as a preacher, and other influential preachers in the community.

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

Truck drivers

Davis, Price, 1920-
Ross, James, approximately 1904-1958

African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Second Ward High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Ku Klux Klan (1915- )
Charlotte (N.C.). Police Department

African American neighborhoods
Segregation
Segregation in education
African Americans--Civil rights
Police brutality
African American police
Race discrimination

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Brooklyn
North Carolina--Charlotte--Second Ward
North Carolina--Charlotte--Blue Heaven
North Carolina--Charlotte--Cherry

Interviews
Oral histories

1930-2010

Student project on Second Ward

Price Davis oral history interview 1, May 25, 2004, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A1876); Price Davis oral history interview 3, November 18, 2006, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://library.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A232); Vermelle Ely, Price Davis, Wright Hunter, Calvin Davis, and Naomi Davis oral history interview, March 25, 2005, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A2366); Vermelle Ely, Price Davis, and John Funches oral history interview, June 29, 2004, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A187)

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This material is protected by copyright. Copyright is held by the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

audio/mpeg

OH-DA0379