In this first interview, Elizabeth Weinstein recounts her childhood growing up in Derita (now a neighborhood in Charlotte) North Carolina and attending Rockwell Rosenwald School during the 1940s. Topics discussed include her family's background; her mother's experience as the first African American orthodontist technician in Charlotte; and school events and activities such as the annual May Day celebration, school plays and rhythm band. She shares personal anecdotes about her supportive teachers, illustrates the close communication between teachers and parents during her time in school, and explains how they inspired her to become an educator.