There Went The Neighborhood - Audio Interview: Paula Miller

Sat, 08/10/2024 - 2:18am

Paula Miller, the youngest of the Dixon siblings, attended Jones School in first and second grade. When Jones School closed in 1965, she was bused to Pittsfield Elementary School, where she felt alienated from her fellow classmates. She went on to attend Spelman College and became a teacher.

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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