Ms. Daisy Stroud was born in Charlotte on October 12, 1921. She grew up on Seventh Street in First Ward and attended the Alexander Street School. Her mother was a teacher and her father worked in the insurance business. She went to Second Ward High School, graduating at the age of 15 in a class of 137 students. Mrs. Stroud has many fond memories of attending Second Ward High School, of the teachers, and of singing in the school’s choral group. She speaks about Brooklyn being an exciting place that was reminiscent of New York’s Harlem. After high school, Mrs. Stroud attended Fayetteville State College and became a teacher. She is the founder of the Daisy Spears and Gerson L. Stroud Foundation, a non-profit organization which provides scholarship funds to deserving students wishing to attend Johnson C. Smith University or Fayetteville State College. Read more…

Mr. Arthur L. Stinson was born in 1931 in Lancaster, SC. His family came to the Brooklyn community when he was in his youth. Mr. Stinson grew up in Brooklyn and attended the three major educational institutions that existed in the Brooklyn community: Myers Street Elementary School, Second Ward High School, and Carver College. At a young age, Mr. Stinson was involved in various entrepreneurial pursuits working in the coal yard and wood yard. He is a first hand witness in how the community, especially the schools, provided real world preparation for Brooklyn residents to become entrepreneurs. Mr. Stinson provides some insight on the economic climate of the Brooklyn community and how that impacted its existence.was born in 1931 in Lancaster, SC. His family came to the Brooklyn community when he was in his youth. Mr. Stinson grew up in Brooklyn and attended the three major educational institutions that existed in the Brooklyn community: Myers Street Elementary School, Second Ward High School, and Carver College. At a young age, Mr. Stinson was involved in various entrepreneurial pursuits working in the coal yard and wood yard. He is a first hand witness in how the community, especially the schools, provided real world preparation for Brooklyn residents to become entrepreneurs. Mr. Stinson provides some insight on the economic climate of the Brooklyn community and how that impacted its existence.Read more…

Mr. James Polk was born in Grier Heights (an African American community initially outside of but eventually incorporated into Charlotte, North Carolina; he lives there today. Since he did not live in Brooklyn, he brings a different perspective than most of the people interviewed to get information and meaning about Brooklyn. Mr. Polk had, however, worked in Brooklyn, and visited the community. Working at his uncle’s funeral home, Grier Funeral Home, he got a chance to know its residents from an intimate vantage point. As a man who worked in and visited Brooklyn, Mr. Polk saw its many black businesses and the pride the community took in the stores it patronized. Jim Polk saw urban renewal wipe out Brooklyn. Still, he insisted that urban renewal was good for the community, because some of its residents went from dilapidated housing to better housing. Mr. Polk thinks it is important to tell younger generations about their history, so they will have greater knowledge of their origins and will take pride in them.Read more…

Mr. Connie Patton was born in Charlotte, NC and lived most of his early years in the Brooklyn area of Charlotte, NC. As a young man he was a member of the ROTC, through Second Ward High school. He also participated in many social and sporting clubs, such as boxing and baseball. An active member of the church, he warmly remembers the impact that the House of Prayer had on the Brooklyn area, though he was not a member. Upon reaching enlistment age, Mr. Patton joined the United States Navy, where he served with distinction. Upon returning home he witnessed the process of Urban Renewal that the Brooklyn neighborhood underwent. Read more…

Mr. James Ross II is an active member of the Mecklenburg County Black Heritage Committee. Mr. Ross was raised in Grier Heights and spent the summers in and out of Brooklyn with his grandfather. He is an active supporter of the United House of Prayer for All Peoples. Mr. Ross considers himself an amateur historian and speaks extensively and with confidence about his memories. He has been active in the African-American community since his youth. One experience he had with Mayor Brookshire appears in Alex Coffin’s book Brookshire and Belk: Businessmen in City Hall. In his professional life he has been a Management Consultant.Read more…