Nadine Ford, who has had a career in waste management, is a native Charlottean who was raised in the Druid Hills neighborhood during the civil rights era. She describes her schooling experience during desegregation busing, and the transformation of Charlotte from a small city to a sprawling metropolis after IBM expanded its operations to Charlotte in the mid 1970s. Ms. Ford states that most people do not appreciate the history of Druid Hills and the influential figures that lived in the neighborhood, including school principals and city council members. Ms. Ford expresses her belief that gentrification has diminished the culture of the neighborhood.