Price Davis oral history interview 3, 2006 November 18

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.