Interview with Mabel Latimer [electronic resource] 2005 April 18 / interviewer: Lynn Reed ; transcriber: Michele Greer.

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Latimer, Mabel, 1934-. Interview with Mabel Latimer [electronic resource] 2005 April 18 / interviewer: Lynn Reed ; transcriber: Michele Greer.

Interview with Mabel Latimer [electronic resource] 2005 April 18 / interviewer: Lynn Reed ; transcriber: Michele Greer.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/646156906

Ms Latimer remembers being in high school before she, and many of her peers realized that segregation of the schools also meant second-hand textbooks and equipment. She believes that the teachers made up for what was lacking in other areas. They were determined to give students a good education. Ms Latimer recalls liking and respecting her teachers, good parent-teacher relations, and strong community involvement. She tells how the basketball team came to be transported to games in the back of a landscaping truck. Another story she reveals is a sandwich-switching incident between her and her friends. At the time of this interview, Ms Latimer is an active volunteer at her alma mater, West Charlotte High School. Most students accept her and are polite. Ms Latimer expresses her concern for the other group of students, those who are loud, rude, and use bad language. When parents of these students are asked to go to school, Ms Latimer has noticed that it is usually a single mother with the same manners as the student. Ms Latimer says she has been asked, "What is the passion?" It is helping students. She details the bad influences in schools: drugs, teenage pregnancy; and single teacher pregnancy. Ms Latimer puts much of the blame on teachers who, she believes, should be teaching respect by example. She describes West Charlotte as having a large number of low income, high risk students who need a better environment and experienced teachers before they can succeed. In concluding the interview, Ms Latimer recalls many African Americans used Brown vs. the Board of Education as a wake-up call. Differences in how they were treated became more obvious and important. She remembers that integration did not go smoothly, but she still sees it as a positive thing. She is confident about West Charlotte High School, which she describes as having a strong community bond. It is the students' responsibility to become serious about their studies in order to be successful.

University of North Carolina, Charlotte, J. Murrey Atkins Library