Arthur Williams, 2007 March 30

File

Identifier: OH-WI0562

Staff Only

Arthur Williams oral history interview, 2007 March 30

Go to file

Scope and Contents

Arthur Williams shares his memories of growing up in the Brooklyn neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, also known as Second Ward. He discusses residents and small businesses in Brooklyn, including his uncle's barbershop, N.G. Edwards Barber, and the shoe shine business that he owned and operated as a boy during the Second World War. He talks in detail about the United House of Prayer for All People, including the founder of the church, Bishop Charles Manuel "Daddy" Grace, differences between the House of Prayer and Grace A.M.E. Zion, the church's impact on the Brooklyn community, and how other churches later copied the House of Prayer because of its success. He also briefly discusses urban renewal in Charlotte during the 1960s and 1970s and why the younger residents who had left Second Ward during that period did not want to return.

Dates

Creation: 2007 March 30

Conditions Governing Access

3 of the 57 interviews have been digitized and are available in the digital repository.

Biographical Note

Arthur Williams was a 75-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in his home in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1931. He graduated from Greenville High School and was employed as a master sergeant in the U.S. Army and owned and operated a shoeshine business.