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Oral Histories

 Reginald D. Smith, II - On his parents career in education

 R. D. Smith - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

 R. D and Euzelle Smith

This interview is part of a group of interviews conducted by Susan Simone exploring the lives and struggle of various members of the Northside community: a historically black and primarily residential neighborhood located immediately northwest of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - Introductions (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On his military service (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On the 933rd anti-aircraft unit (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On building his house (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On the sitting room (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On his nickname at Lincoln High (clip)

 R.D. Smith and Euzelle Smith - Explaining his nickname (clip)

 R.D. Smith - On how he learned about carpentry and construction (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On paying for housing (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On their careers prior to marriage (clip)

R.D. Smith (RDS): I refused the promotion. I said I want to go home. To my wife. We’d been married for … how long we’d been married for? Euzelle Smith (ES): Well, we married in ‘43, and you came out in, came out of service in ‘46. RDS: I know, I know. But we’d been married for what, about two…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On the history of Northside Elementary (clip)

Alexander Stephens (AS): You said, where exactly was the Orange County Training School in relation to here? Euzelle Smith (ES): It’s right up on the hill there, what is now Northside. That school was Orange County Training School when we came here, and then in the – well, I guess I came here in ‘43…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On her first year in Chapel Hill (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On Pottersfield (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On living outside of city limits (clip)

Euzelle Smith (ES): This area was— was not in the city limits. We had no paved streets, no city services, the nearest traffic light was at the corner of McDade and Church. No fire protection, no garbage pickup, no city services at all. And it was long after that when, I remember when, one summer, we…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On roads and traffic (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - Their grandson Sean (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On their neighbours (clip)

Alex Biggers (AB): Are you guys close with a lot of your neighbors? Euzelle Smith (ES): Hm? AB: Are you guys close with a lot of your neighbors? ES: No, no, not many. Most of them are tenants. Alexander Stephens (AS): What is your relationship with them? Is it a lot of students now? ES: Yeah a lot…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On the neighbourhood when they moved in (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On the neighbourhood now (clip)

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On Smith Middle School (clip)

Euzelle Smith (ES): Smith Middle School, and this is an aerial view of the school here. This is Sewell Elementary School and Smith Middle School and that path right there goes up to Chapel Hill High School. And over here, right in this area here, the university has built a building they call the UNC…

 R.D. and Euzelle Smith - On their house and family photos (clip)