Where We’ve Been is a project set up to bring forward the rich history of African American communities in Charlotte North Carolina and across the United States. We will also explore the effects of gentrification on these communities and how they are preparing for the future.
Phil H
Creator/Host/Producer
Raised in the Upstate of South Carolina his whole life, Phil first visited Charlotte, North Carolina in 2006. He immediately became fascinated with the city. A history junkie, he would spend the next few years reading up and listening to podcasts about the rich history of Charlotte and the struggles of its African American residents .
In the early 2010s, Phil took up the opportunity to attend Johnson C. Smith University in the historic West-end. During this time he began to see first-hand the history he had only read and heard about. And he began to notice the underside of the city; the disregard of this history by way of bulldozers and new construction. After graduating, Phil searched for the right way to present the story of Charlotte’s many African American communities to the world. "Where We've Been" is that way of helping others know the story.
Jessica D
Editing/Web Design/Photography
Jessica D. was born and raised in Charleston, South Carolina, and moved to the Charlotte area in 2004. After graduating from UNC Charlotte in 2016, she settled in the Rockwell Park - Hemphill Heights neighborhood of Charlotte. Jessica began noticing the interesting parallels between the changing face of North Tryon street after the opening of the CATS Blue Line extension and the ongoing effects of gentrification in her home town and decided to act.
A writing and photography enthusiast with a yearning to discover new places in her adopted home city, she seeks to learn the neighborhood histories before they become casualties in Charlotte’s apartment boom.
