Gamble, Janet S., 1940-

Wright, Christina

Crowder, Delores A., 1948-

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2004-01-12

1 audio file (56:50) : digital, MP3 + 1 transcript (60 pages : PDF)

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Janet Gamble was a 64-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1940. She graduated from Modern Barber College (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) and was employed as a barber. Delores Crowder was a 55-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place at the home of Janet Gamble in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1948. She completed an Associate degree in business administration and was employed as a credit union clerk, a payroll clerk, and an administrative assistant.

In this first of two interviews, Mecklenburg County natives Janet Gamble and Delores Crowder discuss their private family lives, the Derita neighborhood in Charlotte, and their elementary school experiences attending the all-black Rockwell Rosenwald School during the 1940s-1950s. Ms. Gamble and Ms. Crowder reflect on the teacher' classroom responsibilities and their typical school schedules. According to the women, one of the central responsibilities of the teacher was student discipline, which often included corporal punishment. They also describe favorite recess or play activities, including softball and jump rope. Ms. Crowder and Ms. Gamble then discuss their school's lack of educational and material resources. Both women remember the prevalent use of hand-me-down books and secondhand classroom desks, and an absence of contemporary amenities. The women recall their school' use of stoves for heat and lack of running water for the buildings. According to the interviewees, sinks and running water were added later when a local church offered financial support.

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

Barbers

Gamble, Janet S., 1940-
Crowder, Delores A., 1948-

Administrative assistants
Clerks
Bank employees

Rockwell Rosenwald School (Mecklenburg County, N.C.)
Torrence-Lytle High School (Huntersville, N.C.)

African American elementary schools
African American school children
Segregation in education
Rural schools
Corporal punishment of children
Student activities

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Derita
North Carolina--Mecklenburg County

1940-2010

The era before Brown v. Board of Education

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

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