Small But Significant : The Optimist Park Community
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- James L. Atkinson oral history interview, 2015 October 22
- James Atkinson was a 61-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at the Fifteenth Street Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1954. He was educated at Garinger High School and Central Piedmont Community College, and was employed in the military and as a manager at iQor Inc., James Atkinson discusses his life and his family's long term involvement with the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, including his role as an adviser to the Optimist Park Community Association. He describes the challenges of growing up in a single-parent household, and the many moves he and his siblings made in both South Carolina and Charlotte until his mother settled in the adjacent Belmont neighborhood around 1970. Mr. Atkinson stresses his belief that education is a channel for upward mobility, and although he notes the difficulties of attending school during integration, he credits his teachers at Garinger High School for pushing him to attain a professional career. Mr. Atkinson also notes the significance of his involvement in the Model Cities Program as a child, which instilled in him a love of learning. Reflecting on the gentrification of Optimist Park, Mr. Atkinson discusses the effect of generational poverty on the ability of inner-urban neighborhoods to continue to thrive in the face of development. He explains that many of his neighbors are intimidated by the rapid changes they are observing, but are often unaware of the threat that development poses to community cohesion.
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- Gwendolyn Burris oral history interview, 2016 March 16
- Gwendolyn Burris was a 61-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1954. She completed the ninth grade, and was educated at Seversville Elementary School, Irwin Avenue Junior High School, McClintock Junior High School, and West Mecklenburg High School. She was employed in housekeeping, food delivery, and as a nurses' aid in Charlotte hospitals and nursing homes., Gwendolyn Burris is a Charlotte native who moved to the Optimist Park community in 1987. She shares her memories of growing up in downtown Charlotte and details some of the challenges her family faced, including school integration in the early 1970s. Mrs. Burris also discusses her outlook on recent changes arising from urban growth and gentrification in the Optimist Park neighborhood and the negative impact that these changes could have on current residents.
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- Wade Hampton Ferguson oral history interview, 2016 March 16
- Wade H. Ferguson III was a 53-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in the Fifteenth Street Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1962. He was educated at North Carolina Central University, UNC Charlotte, and the Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary, and was employed with Mecklenburg County Government and Bank of America, and as a bishop in the Fifteenth Street Church of God., Bishop Wade Ferguson discusses his relationship to the neighborhood of Optimist Park in Charlotte, North Carolina, where he has been the full time minister of the Fifteenth Street Church of God since 2006. Providing background to his role as minister, Bishop Ferguson describes his childhood growing up and attending school in several neighborhoods of Charlotte. He recalls working in Charlotte, first in local government and then for Bank of America until he felt called to the ministry. Although he has not lived in Optimist Park, Bishop Ferguson recalls his early familiarity with the neighborhood, which began when he drove his uncle to the area's liquor houses as a teenager. He describes the evolution of the community, from its mill town roots through struggles with urban poverty and problems with alcoholism, drugs, and crime, despite the solid families who have lived in the area. He notes that a significant issue of the present is a lack of food security, and he describes efforts to fix the problem, including a neighborhood farmers market and the restaurant-styled community dinners prepared by the Church of God to bring the community together. Bishop Ferguson states that his goal for the future is to encourage community cohesion and intergenerational cooperation. He sees this as particularly important in the light of recent gentrification, which has resulted from the building of light rail and new apartment complexes geared towards attracting a different socioeconomic demographic to the area.
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- Victoria Gaither oral history interview, 2016 March 23
- Victoria Gaither was a 57-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Optimist Park, Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Abbeville, South Carolina in 1959. She was educated at Myers Park High School and Central Piedmont Community College and was employed as a bus driver for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and as a homemaker., Victoria Gaither, who has lived in the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina since 1990, discusses her life history and her experience of living in Optimist Park. She notes that her immediate neighbors form a cohesive group because they share the common bond of living in Habitat for Humanity houses that were all built at the same time. Ms. Gaither acknowledges that the community is changing as larger houses are constructed and as the light rail expands out of downtown Charlotte. She describes this change as being positive for Optimist Park, but she expresses her belief that additional programs are needed to maintain cohesiveness within the neighborhood and to better serve children. Ms. Gaither also discusses the importance of her church, Soul Saving Ministries, where she serves as secretary.
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- Arneichia Green oral history interview, 2016 April 20
- Arneichia Green was a 50-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place at her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte in 1965. She attended East Mecklenburg High School and was employed as a bus driver for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools., Arneichia Green discusses the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she has lived since 1997. She stresses her appreciation for the opportunity to move into a Habitat home through the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project, which provided her with a place to raise her children. She describes her involvement in her neighborhood church, Antioch Baptist Church. She downplays the impact of drug trafficking in the community, emphasizing rather the neighborliness of residents. She stresses her concern with changes in the community as new residents have moved into bigger homes and apartments. She reflects that these residents are less social than neighbors who have lived in the neighborhood longer, who she describes as being like family.
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- Henry Heath oral history interview, 2015 October 17
- Henry Heath was a 73-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in the Fifteenth Street Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina in 1942. He was educated at West Charlotte High School and Johnson C. Smith University; and was employed as a chemist with Hoechst Celanese in Greenville and Rock Hill, South Carolina, and in Charlotte., Henry Heath, a native of Charlotte, North Carolina, describes his life and his involvement in the Optimist Park community since 1987. Mr. Heath details his childhood growing up close to Beatties Ford Road, including his education at segregated local schools and collegiate education at Johnson C. Smith University. Mr. Heath discusses his passion for music and participation in the local jazz scene as a trumpet player and composer as well as his service to the Optimist Park community through tutoring boy scouts and supporting programs to alleviate poverty at his church, the Fifteenth Street Church of God. Mr. Heath also describes his involvement in local civil rights struggles during the 1960s as a student under the leadership of civil rights activist Charles Jones, stressing the difficulty of maintaining a non-violent stance in the face of provocation during the sit-In movement in Charlotte. Throughout the interview, Mr. Heath emphasizes the need to be humble, a quality he learned from his father growing up during the pre-civil rights era. He also stresses his religious beliefs, underlining the significance of service over personal gain. He reflects on the Optimist Park community, noting the strides taken by the community to combat crime and improve the neighborhood. He also expresses his concern that developers are making inroads into the community without regard to the existing neighbors., Mary Heath oral history interview, October 17, 2015, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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- Mary Heath oral history interview, 2015 October 17
- Mary Heath was a 62-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in the Fifteenth Street Church of God, Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte in 1953. She was educated at J. H. Gunn Elementary School, Albemarle Road Junior High School, Independence High School, and Central Piedmont Community College. She was employed as head of housekeeping at the Federal Reserve Bank and on the housekeeping staff at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte., Mary Heath, a Charlotte native, describes her life and experiences as a longtime resident of Optimist Park. Mrs. Heath discusses growing up in the Hickory Grove area of Charlotte and how desegregation impacted her education. She describes how she came to live in Optimist Park and how her children"s involvement in the Boy Scouts of America and Habitat for Humanity impacted that decision. She recalls the camaraderie that resulted from building her own and others" Habitat houses, and discusses her community involvement as secretary for the Optimist Park Community Association and as a member of the Fifteenth Street Church of God. Mrs. Heath reflects on significant changes within her community including rapid growth, increased diversity, and a reduction in drug and alcohol use. While she sees these changes as beneficial to the neighborhood, she is also cautious about the future of the community and how it will be impacted by pressures of new development and domination by the adjacent North Davidson arts district ., Henry Heath oral history interview, October 17, 2015, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
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- Cynthia Horton oral history interview, 2016 March 16
- Cynthia Horton was a 61-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Wilmington, North Carolina in 1955. She was educated at John T. Hoggard High School in Wilmington, and was employed as head cook for Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, and as a sewing machine operator at Century Mills and Moritz Manufacturing., Cynthia Horton, a new member of the Optimist Park neighborhood, reflects on her childhood in Wilmington, North Carolina and notes regret that her decision to marry early prevented her from going to college. She discusses her impression that the Optimist Park neighborhood is gentrifying and predicts that current residents will not be able to continue to live in the area. Ms. Horton talks about her work at University Meadows Elementary School as a head cook, and her passion for working with children. She also describes the work she has done through her church, New St. John's Baptist Church, and discusses the quality of life in Optimist Park, noting the area's many older residents. Ms. Horton remarks on significant positive change in Charlotte, including the construction of new parks, schools, and neighborhoods.
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- Cecelia Johnston oral history interview, 2015 October 22
- Cecelia Johnston was a 64-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Optimist Park, Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Lancaster, South Carolina in 1951. She was educated at Second Ward High School and Central Piedmont Community College, and was employed as a nurse at Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte North Carolina., Cecelia Johnston discusses her life and involvement in the Optimist Park community in Charlotte, North Carolina. Ms. Johnston is a longtime resident of the neighborhood and treasurer for the Optimist Park Community Association. She stresses the significance of Habitat for Humanity in the area, describing her experiences building homes during her required "sweat hours" as a prospective homeowner and meeting future neighbors in the process. Although Ms. Johnston recalls a time when there were problems with drug trafficking in the area, she notes that the perpetrators resided outside of the community and describes her proactive stance against this activity. As a retired nurse from Carolinas Medical Center, Ms. Johnston devotes much of her time to supporting the Second Ward High School National Alumni Foundation, volunteering with the medical team at St. Paul Missionary Baptist Church, and participating in disaster relief trainings for the Red Cross. Ms. Johnston welcomes change in Charlotte and sees the light rail project and its impact on her neighborhood as a positive development for Optimist Park. She does express some concern that improved connectivity could increase the opportunity for crime. Ms. Johnston recognizes the benefits of gentrification in the area, but she observes that newcomers to the neighborhood are often transitory, and she expresses her fear that the Optimist Park neighborhood will be subsumed by the growing neighboring North Davidson arts district .
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- George Little oral history interview, 2015 November 11
- George Little was a 23-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at Amélie's French Bakery and Café, North Davidson St.,Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1992. He was educated at Garinger High School, Wingate University and Central Piedmont Community College, and was employed as a bartender and an employee of the Myers Park Country Club., George Little shares his experiences growing up in the Optimist Park neighborhood of Charlotte, North Carolina, where his parents built their home with Habitat for Humanity. Having lived in the neighborhood for twenty-three years, he discusses being bused across town for school and graduating as salutatorian from Garinger High School. After playing football at Wingate University, Mr. Little transferred to Central Piedmont Community College and moved back to Optimist Park to help support his mother. He remarks on the changes to the neighborhood after his three year absence and notes the advantages that contemporary youth have, such as access to technology and transportation. Mr. Little also discusses the construction of the light rail and increasing diversity in the Optimist Park and how he ultimately feels these changes are improvements for the neighborhood. In the future, he hopes to take on a leadership role in the neighborhood and become a role model for the youth, and he challenges his peers to actively participate in their community.
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- Rosaland McCoy oral history interview, 2016 March 19
- Rosaland McCoy was a 54-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte. She was educated at Long Creek Elementary School and North Mecklenburg High School and was employed as a custodian with Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools., Rosaland McCoy reflects on her life growing up in Charlotte, North Carolina and the Optimist Park neighborhood where she has lived since 1989. She contrasts her own deprived childhood with the stable lives of her children and grandchildren. Ms. McCoy describes changes in the Optimist Park neighborhood due to gentrification, recent at the time of interview, which has brought newly developed apartment complexes and increased racial diversity. Although she believes the new housing stock is too expensive for many residents, she notes that the neighborhood is now safer with less crime as a result of increased police surveillance. Ms. McCoy also discusses the historical background of Optimist Park as a site for the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Work Project in 1987, when fourteen Habitat for Humanity houses were built. She notes that her own house was named for Habitat founder Millard Fuller.
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- Kristi McCray oral history interview, 2017 November 19
- Kristi McCray provides a detailed account of the Optimist Park community located in Charlotte, North Carolina and its growth in the 1980s. She recalls her experience as one of the first Habitat for Humanity home owners in the neighborhood, and the opportunities that the organization provided for her and other members of the community. Ms. McCray also discusses the impact of gentrification on the neighborhood and the challenges it has presented. In addition, she discusses busing and de facto segregation within the city, and her personal struggle with teen motherhood., Kristi McCray was a 60-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in Amelie’s Bakery in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Statesville, North Carolina in 1956. She was educated at Gardner Webb University and was employed as a nurse.
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- Mazella McDowell oral history interview, 2015 October 31
- Mazella McDowell was a 65-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Charlotte in 1950. She was educated at Second Ward High School, and was employed as a printer at Central Piedmont Community College., Mazella McDowell describes her childhood in Huntersville, North Carolina and her move to Charlotte when she was thirteen. She lived in the Belmont and Optimist Park neighborhoods where she raised her children. She details her experience building her house in Optimist Park with Habitat for Humanity and the excitement generated when President Carter and Habitat founder Millard Fuller visited the neighborhood in 1987. Mrs. McDowell discusses her own high school experiences at segregated Second Ward High School, where she played trombone in the marching band and ran track. She contrasts this experience with that of her children who were bused a considerable distance to attend racially integrated schools. Having children at a young age, Mrs. McDowell was not able to pursue her ambition to join the army, but she did become a leader in her community, serving as president for a local Habitat association and more recently as vice president for the Optimist Park Community Association. She outlines her concerns for the neighborhood, noting in particular that its small size makes Optimist Park vulnerable to development pressures from the adjacent North Davidson neighborhood. Ms. McDowell also expresses her hope that community campaigning will lead to aesthetic improvements, limit apartment growth, and create a more cohesive neighborhood. However, she notes her frustration that there may be insufficient support within the community to make this change happen.
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- Harold Miller oral history interview, 2015 October 22
- Harold Miller was a 58-year-old man at the time of interview, which took place in the Fifteenth Street Church of God in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in Charlotte in 1957. He was educated at Garinger High School and was employed with the Charlotte Utilities Department, the Charlotte Fire Department, and the Charlotte Observer., Harold Miller discusses living in the Optimist Park neighborhood in Charlotte, North Carolina for twenty-seven years. He grew up with twelve siblings in Charlotte and compares his upbringing with the experiences of contemporary children. He describes obstacles to success that he sees young people in his community facing, including a lack of organized activities and a culture of disrespect and disregard for others. Mr. Miller discusses changes in Optimist Park during his time there, including new residents. He details ways that he believes the community could improve, such as providing activities for neighborhood youth and attracting new businesses. He shares his opinion that the light rail will have a positive impact on the community by providing easy access to the University area and other parts of Charlotte.
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- David Ruch oral history interview, 2017 November 20
- David Ruch served as a board adviser for the Optimist Park Community Association in 2017. Raised in South Bend, Indiana, Mr. Ruch details his experience in integrated public schools, his move to Charlotte in the early 2000s, and how his faith and desire to help others as a life coach shaped his experience as a member of the Optimist Park community. Mr. Ruch explains his desire for the community to uplift and invest in all members of the neighborhood, more specifically the homeless., David Ruch was a 64 year-old man at the time of interview, which took place at WeWork Stonewall Station in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was born in South Bend, Indiana in 1953. He was educated at Taylor University and Trinity Divinity School. He was employed as a counselor at Willow Creek Community Church, and was the owner of I Am Discovered LLC.
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- Pauline Simuel oral history interview, 2015 October 17
- Pauline Simuel was a 70-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in the Fifteenth Street Church of God, Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Kannapolis North Carolina in 1945. She was educated at Temaer School of Religion High School, Central Piedmont Community College, and UNC Charlotte; and she worked as a cleaner in homes and at UNC Charlotte., Pauline Simuel describes her life and her commitment to the Optimist Park community in Charlotte, North Carolina. She discusses her history with Habitat for Humanity, from building homes to moving into her own Habitat home in Optimist Park in 1986. She outlines her personal history growing up in a large family in Charlotte, the challenges of her job as a housekeeper and cleaner, and her tireless efforts to improve and strengthen her neighborhood. Ms. Simuel explains how initial efforts to start a Habitat Homeowners Association were met with opposition from the local community who already had a neighborhood association. She describes how a compromise was eventually reached with the creation of the Optimist Park Community Association. Ms. Simuel details her work as the president for both the Habitat association and the community association. This work allowed her to educate other neighborhoods about Habitat for Humanity programs, represent Optimist Park in local government, and promote change in the neighborhood. She discusses obstacles she has faced while working to improve her community, including fighting against polluting manufacturers, drug peddlers, and alcohol store owners. Although she has been frustrated by the lack of involvement from neighbors, she stresses the strong bonds in the community. She expresses concern that light rail and gentrification will threaten the future of Optimist Park and describes her feelings of betrayal from Charlotte's city government. She believes that the city government is working against the interest of Optimist Park residents by failing to respond to neighborhood requests to enforce traditional borders with adjacent neighborhoods of Belmont and NoDa , add new traffic lights at intersections, limit apartment construction, and prevent certain businesses, including a brewery, from locating in the area.