Oral history interview with Saundra Davis, May 12, 1998
Subtitle: interview K-278, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007)
Contributors: Grundy, Pamela, interviewer; Southern Oral History Program; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Documenting the American South (Project); University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library
Edition: Electronic ed.
Publisher: University Library, UNC-Chapel Hill
Published: 2006
Place of publication: [Chapel Hill, N.C.]
Language: eng
Subjects: Interviews; African Americans; Attitudes; Race relations; School integration; West Charlotte High School (Charlotte, N.C.); Second Ward High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Other titles: Interview K-278, Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007); Interview with Saundra Davis, May 12, 1998; Oral histories of the American South.
Description: Saundra Davis, an African American woman who attended segregated schools, is a big believer in West Charlotte High School. In this wide-ranging interview, she shares her support for the school and her opinions on busing, diversity, and the somewhat limited success of integration. Using her children's experiences as examples, she speaks of her concerns that the promises of integration have not been realized, in part because white teachers are not committed to teaching black students and in part because the government is unwilling to devote resources to black communities. A believer in busing to create diversity, Davis nonetheless thinks that integration was doomed to failure because it was forced. Her story unfolds through anecdotes about her past life and her family's current life, and although she worries about the current state of schools, she is an unwavering supporter of West Charlotte High School.
Notes: Title from menu page (viewed on June 21, 2007).

Interview participants: Saundra Davis, interviewee; Pamela Grundy, interviewer.

Duration: 01:13:04.

This electronic edition is part of the UNC-CH digital library, Documenting the American South.  It is a part of the collection Oral histories of the American South.

Text encoded by Natalia Smith.  Sound recordings digitized by Aaron Smithers.

Text (HTML and XML/TEI source file) and audio (MP3); 2 files: 85.1 kilobytes, 133 megabytes.

Original version: Southern Oral History Program Collection, (#4007), Series K, Southern Communities, interview K-278, Manuscripts Department, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Transcribed by L. Altizer. Original transcript: 33 p.

Funding from the Institute for Museum and Library Services supported the electronic publication of this interview.

Mode of access: World Wide Web.

System requirements:  Web browser with Javascript enabled and multimedia player.