MEMBERS OF THE FOURTH WARD ORAL HISTORY PROJECT
OCTAVIA RAINEY, ROSA RAND, & CLARA MEEKINS
Interview Info
Date of Interview: 4-13-24
Interview Location: NC State University
Narrator(s): (from left) Octavia Rainey, Rosa Rand, Clara Meekins
Interviewer(s): Lydia Elrod, Brody McCurdy
Background on Interview: Rainey, Rand, and Meekins discuss the formation of the 4th Ward Neighborhood Association, their hopes for the future of the neighborhood, and their memories of their community.
Explore Clips from this Interview
“When we started, it was just the two of us. And we struggled sometimes financially to pay for the flowers. But what we didn’t get, we took it out of our pockets. And I remember us saying it was an honor. We didn’t mind because this person meant so much to the community.”
Rosa Rand
The Start of the 4th Ward Neighborhood Association
Returning Home
“This is my street. This is the street that was a dirt road that I played on in the 50s and 60s. This is my home.”
Rosa Rand
Remembering Mount Hope Cemetery
“This was a very important African American cemetery in Raleigh. There’s so many buried out there. And I was able to rattle off seven and go right to their graves. And he’s like, y’all got a good little stake in this cemetery.”
Rosa Rand
The Mayor of Cannon Street
“My uncle was called the mayor of Cannon Street because he had a good job. And I can remember when the ice cream truck would come, he didn’t just line us up. He lined all the kids up on that block, and we would have a long line, and he would buy all of us ice cream.”
Rosa Rand
Neighborhood Characters
“I learned so much from that man. He would start drinking, and he would come on the porch. And it was almost like he was preaching to the air. And he talked in parables, and he would tell us things like, you better be yourself, or you’ll be by yourself.”
Rosa Rand
Inspiring Teachers
“She opened the door, and she said, ‘My little Rosa.’ And she said, ‘You were the sweetest little thing.’ She said, ‘You came to first grade like you were going to college.’ She said, ‘I knew you were going to teach one day.’”
Rosa Rand