There Went The Neighborhood - State Theatre Interview: David Malcolm

Thu, 08/01/2024 - 1:45pm

When: April 16, 2023

David Malcolm was interviewed after a preliminary screening of the documentary film There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School at the State Theatre on April 16, 2023. He speaks about his grandfather, Gilbert Pitts, who was a custodian at Jones School.

More interviews are available in the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive.

Transcript

• [00:00:05] DAVID MALCOLM: My name is David Malcolm. My connection to Jones school in the neighborhood is my grandfather, Gilbert Pitts. He was a custodian at Jones School. He was a volunteer in the community. He believed in helping out his community and taking care of all the kids in the neighborhood as much as he could and looking out for people. I still live in the community, which is now known as Water Hill. I'm one of the last few that's still remaining in the neighborhood. But all of this, goes full circle because my granddad worked at Jones. My mom went to Jones, and my daughter graduated from what is now Community, and that's why I'm here supporting you today. Jones School and Community has held a huge part of my heart in my lifetime. Also the neighborhood still holding on. We're going to keep on tracking through all of this gentrification and new beginnings.
• [00:01:09] DONALD HARRISON: And the part when he was in the film, did that bring up anything or were you glad that he was in there or was there anything missing from that?
• [00:01:17] DAVID MALCOLM: I actually shed a tear [LAUGHTER] because I was sitting next to Mr. Russell Calvert, who has been instrumental in my life, as well, and just to hear those things and hear the positive contributions that my granddad made to the lives of others, that's what we're here for. We're here for legacy. We're here for keeping their dreams and their hard work alive, and it was so nice to hear that I wasn't the only one that benefited from his stern lectures, and, just everything about him, amazes me.
• [00:01:56] DONALD HARRISON: I don't think it's in there and I think we need to put it in there more, but as far as you know, he was the only Black adult role model in the school, no teachers. We want to make sure that's conveyed in there. It's like, he was an important role model because he was it. He had so much responsibility for one person.
• [00:02:21] DAVID MALCOLM: He was like that until he died at 92. He looked out for the neighborhood, and he looked out for everybody that was around him, and just a great person in the community. He was well respected, and I'm honored to be his grandson.
• [00:02:37] DONALD HARRISON: Is there anything else you want to add that wasn't in the movie?
• [00:02:44] DAVID MALCOLM: I'm glad to be here with all of my elders here. I've watched a lot of these people growing up and to hear some of their stories, and I look forward to continuing the legacy that they have set for us and keeping our history alive.