Davis, Price, 1920-

Coleman, Antwon

Charlotte, North Carolina

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

2006-11-18

1 audio file (56:55) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Price F. Davis was a 87-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at the Second Ward Alumni House in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Lincolnton, North Carolina in 1920. He was educated at Second Ward High School and was employed as a truck driver.

Price Davis recounts his early life in segregated Charlotte, North Carolina. He shares his memories of living in the predominantly white township of Providence in Mecklenburg County as well as his experiences of growing up in Cherry, one of Charlotte’s African American neighborhoods. Mr. Davis discusses the profound influence of racial discrimination and segregation in his life and on his community. In particular, he explains how racism influenced local government and the police department in Charlotte, specifically noting the way politicians perpetuated negative racial stereotypes and the brute force used by white police officers against African Americans. Despite segregation, Mr. Davis describes how he believes that Second Ward High School provided a quality education for African Americans during his youth in the 1930s and 1940s. He explains that education provided a means of economic and social uplift for African Americans and that it played a crucial role in bringing about a gradual change in race relations in the community by diminishing widespread cultural insensitivity and ignorance.

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

Truck drivers

Davis, Price, 1920-

Second Ward High School (Charlotte, N.C.)

African Americans--Education
African Americans--Social conditions
Police brutality
Segregation
Segregation in education

North Carolina--Charlotte
North Carolina--Charlotte--Cherry
North Carolina--Charlotte--Providence

Interviews
Oral histories

1920-2010

Student project on the Charlotte African American community

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

The materials included on this web site are freely available for private study, scholarship or non-commercial research under the fair use provisions of the U.S. Copyright Law (Title 17, United States Code). Any use beyond the provisions of fair use, including but not limited to commercial or scholarly publication, broadcast, redistribution or mounting on another web site always require prior written permission and may also be subject to additional restrictions and fees. UNC Charlotte does not hold literary rights to all materials in its collections and the researcher is responsible for securing those rights when needed. Copyright information for specific collections is available upon request.

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

Price F. 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 F. Davis oral history interview 2, March 19, 2004, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://goldmine.uncc.edu/islandora/object/uncc%3A2176); 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)

OH-DA0475