William Samuel Dunlap oral history interview, 2006 December 1

Description

William Samuel Dunlap, commonly known as Sam, recounts his life in Charlotte's Brooklyn neighborhood, focusing on his success as a student-athlete at J.H. Gunn High School and his time as a student at Carver College. Mr. Dunlap describes joining non-violent protest with students from Johnson C. Smith University, which helped to integrate uptown Charlotte's businesses. He also discusses the police brutality and racial discrimination enforced by white police officers as well as the racial disparities in the criminal justice system. He criticizes Charlotte’s civil rights movement for being too moderate. Specifically, he states that the local movement took a passive stance on integration and failed to produce vocal and aggressive civil rights activists who dared to take on controversial issues. He does note, however, that Black Panther Party members took an active role in assisting poor black Charlotteans with food and were effective in preventing white police brutality. Mr. Dunlap also discusses how urban renewal displaced blacks and attempted to keep them out of the inner city by limiting their long-term affordable housing options.