Harden, Susan B.

Moore, Casey Bumgarner

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2020-04-15

1 video (52:43) : video/mp4

moving image

spoken word

eng

Susan Harden was a 52-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Jacksonville, Florida in 1967. She was educated at Clemson University and UNC Charlotte, getting her PhD from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has worked as a UNC Charlotte Associate Professor of Education since 2011 and as a County Commissioner representing District 5 in Charlotte, North Carolina since 2018.

Susan Harden was a UNC Charlotte professor and Mecklenburg County Commissioner in April of 2019 when an active shooter took the lives of two students and injured four others on campus. Dr. Harden discusses how she responded to the shooting as both a faculty member and elected official. On the night of April 30th, 2019, Dr. Harden spoke with media outlets and with concerned parents and family members at the Emergency Center erected in the parking lot of the Town Center Plaza shopping mall on University City Boulevard. She remembers speaking to Reid Parlier's father prior to the release of the victim's names, discussing the Kennedy building where she herself taught, and what types of classes were held there. Dr. Harden had been a part of the organization Moms Demand Action and remembers a UNC Charlotte student group, Real Change Now, forming in the wake of the shooting. She spoke at the March For Our Lives press conference held at UNC Charlotte on Friday, May 3rd, a few days after the shooting, and continues to believe that elected officials did not do enough in response to the tragedy and have failed to pass measures to keep students safe. The University asked Dr. Harden to develop and teach curriculum for faculty surrounding best practices in "Teaching Through Tragedy" without triggering students. Dr. Harden considers this responsibility an honor and a positive contribution to UNC Charlotte during a tragic time.

MP4 access copy created on ingest from MP4 interview originally recorded on a zoom.us version 4.6.11.

Audio breaks up around the 18 minute mark as interviewee’s internet connection slows. Some pausing and silence between the 20-24 minute mark as interviewee attempts to find the name of the UNC Charlotte gun violence organization. Dog barking around the 47 minute mark.

Public officers
College teachers

Harden, Susan B.
Dubois, Philip L.

University of North Carolina at Charlotte
March For Our Lives (organization)
Real Change Now (Charlotte, N.C.)
Moms Demand Action (Organization)

School shootings
College students
Emergency management--Public opinion
Universities and colleges--Administration
Gun control
Homicide--Prevention
Compassion
Post-traumatic stress disorder
Campus violence
Universities and colleges--Security measures
Memorials
Public safety

North Carolina--Charlotte

Interviews
Oral histories

2010-2020

UNC Charlotte Oral History Interviews

Niner Nation Remembers Oral History Project

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video/mp4

NR-HA0021

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.13093/uncc:3100