Title

Interview with Bee Jay Caldwell, 2016 September 8

Description

Oral history interview with Betty BJ Caldwell, conducted by Jan Blodgett on Thursday September 8, 2016 at the Torrence-Lytle Community Center in Huntersville, NC.

Betty Caldwell shares a colorful recollection of memories from her childhood and adult life, focusing on her experience living in the Pottstown neighborhood of Huntersville. She describes her experience attending a Rosenwald school and the days of the Huntersville Colored School, which became Torrence-Lytle High School in 1953/54. Her words describe much of the social life in Pottstown, with memories of picnics, sports, pictures, food, and the role of the AME Zion Church. Caldwell comments about the commercial aspect of the town and a few black-owned businesses. As she continues to talk about her life, she mentions community organizing, issues of civil rights and discrimination, and discusses racial integration especially related to education and educational labor spaces. Notably, she mentions being the author of the book “Historic Pottstown Families in Stories and Pictures,” and finishes the interview with important comments about the current state of Huntersville and ongoing gentrification.

Date

2016 September 8

Format

mp3

pdf

Identifier

OHI-0222

Language

eng

Publisher

Davidson College

Source

Davidson Stories: Community-Based oral history and interview collection, 1976- 2017

Subject

Oral history

History of Mecklenburg County

Type

Sound

Text

interviewer

Jan Blodgett

interviewee

Betty BJ Caldwell

Location

Torrence-Lytle Community Center, Huntersville, NC.

Transcription

Transcript of interview with Bee Jay Caldwell

Duration

1:06:39