Beckwith, Carson H., 1909-2009

Hunter, Erin

Beckwith, Ivestia Heggie
Graham, Victoria Beckwith

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2006-12-01

1 audio file (1:09:42) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (22 pages)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Carson Beckwith was a 97-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Dover, North Carolina in 1909. He was educated at the North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University) and Molar Beauty College in New York, and was employed as a cosmetologist and the founder and director of Bands Beauty College in Charlotte.

In this interview, Carson Beckwith recounts his life and career as a cosmetologist in Charlotte, North Carolina. Mr. Beckwith discusses his upbringing in rural Craven County, North Carolina, his experiences while attending school at the North Carolina College of Negroes (now North Carolina Central University), and his move to Charlotte in 1939 with his wife. He highlights his journey to New York City in the 1930s to learn cosmetology, and discusses how he opened the first cosmetology school for African Americans in the Charlotte region during the 1940s, Bands Beauty College. Mr. Beckwith states that he also founded the Charlotte Negro Chamber of Commerce with a fellow cosmetologist, Ned Davis. In addition, Mr. Beckwith discusses the civil rights movement in Charlotte and shares reflections on the city's African American community, particularly in his neighborhood, McCrory Heights.

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

Businesspeople
Beauty operators
Teachers

Beckwith, Carson, 1909-2009

Bands Beauty College

Beauty operators
Civil rights
Beauty culture--Study and teaching
Beauty culture
Beauty shops
African American businesspeople

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Biddleville
North Carolina--Charlotte--Second Ward
North Carolina--Charlotte--McCrorey Heights
North Carolina--Charlotte--Brooklyn
North Carolina--Craven County

Interviews
Oral histories

1920-1990

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

OH-BE0493

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:255