There Went The Neighborhood - Audio Interview: Mary Hinton-Branner

Sat, 08/10/2024 - 5:37pm

Mary Hinton-Branner attended Jones School in the 1950s, from kindergarten through sixth grade. She remembers going to the Dunbar Community Center and playing in the neighborhood with her eleven siblings. She recalls how the rise in public housing led to the gentrification of “The Old Neighborhood.”

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

There Went The Neighborhood - Audio Interview: Patricia Manley

Sat, 08/10/2024 - 2:08am

Patricia Manley attended Jones School in the 1950s, and she recalls her teacher Harry Mial as an important role model. In high school, she was discouraged from applying to college or joining the cheerleading squad, but she persevered and became a teacher and coach at Huron High School.

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

There Went The Neighborhood - Studio Interview: Russell Calvert

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 2:01pm

Russell Calvert attended Jones School from kindergarten through sixth grade in the post-WWII era. He recalls the strong influence of Black business owners like his father, Burgess Calvert, and Charlie Baker. He tells the story of “The Old Neighborhood” before it became known as Kerrytown.

This interview was filmed during the making of the documentary film There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School, produced by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio. More interviews are available in the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive.

There Went The Neighborhood - Studio Interview: Audrey Lucas

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 1:56pm

Audrey Lucas was a student at Jones School during the 1940s, from third to ninth grade. She recalls having white teachers and classmates of many ethnicities, primarily Black Americans and Greek Americans. At this time many Ann Arbor businesses were not welcoming to Black people.

This interview was filmed during the making of the documentary film There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School, produced by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio. More interviews are available in the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive.

There Went The Neighborhood - Studio Interview: Omer Jean (Dixon) Winborn

Wed, 08/07/2024 - 1:51pm

Omer Jean (Dixon) Winborn attended Jones School from kindergarten to sixth grade, from 1955 to 1962. She recalls having many strong Black role models, including her parents William and Minnie Dixon, the Jones School custodian Mr. Perry, her pastor Rev. Carpenter, and U-M professor Albert H. Wheeler.

This interview was filmed during the making of the documentary film There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School, produced by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio. More interviews are available in the There Went The Neighborhood Interview Archive.

There Went The Neighborhood: Old Neighborhood Walking Tour

Tue, 07/23/2024 - 6:20pm

This filmed walking tour was created during production of There Went The Neighborhood: The Closing of Jones School by the Ann Arbor District Library and 7 Cylinders Studio (7CS). Led by three former Jones School students–Roger Brown, Cheryl (Jewett) O’Neal, and Omer Jean (Dixon) Winborn–the tour describes changes that have taken place in the neighborhood surrounding the school over the past several decades. Key stops in order of appearance include the former Jones School, Ann Street Black Business District, Dunbar Center, Bethel AME Church, Wheeler Park, and Second Baptist Church.

The route (although filmed in a different order) was inspired by the Living Oral History Project’s Walking Tour of a Historically Black Neighborhood in Ann Arbor, which was created in partnership between the African American Cultural and Historical Museum of Washtenaw County (AACHM) and the Ann Arbor District Library. Check out that tour to view these locations in person alongside historical photographs and interview excerpts!
 

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There Went The Neighborhood - Audio Interview: Donald Simons

Fri, 03/10/2023 - 3:17pm

Donald Simons grew up on Fuller Street and attended Jones School as an elementary student in the 1950s. He recalls being encouraged by his sixth grade teacher Harry Mial and coach Andy Anderson. Mr. Simons went on to teach physical education.

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