Tayler Green

HONR 2750-H01
Dr. Robert Arnold
3 November 2014
Mid-term Reflection
Entering the community service class, I was not sure what to expect, especially upon
discovering that the community service project was going to be research based. I did not know
anything particularly about historical designations, I had never heard of Washington Heights, and
when given the decision to choose a research group, I went with what seemed most familiar in
the archival group. Now, somehow past the middle of the semester and quickly approaching the
end, the apprehension of planning an event and researching Washington Heights seems to grow.
My group began research rather simply with Internet searches, and the Washington
Heights website ended up being the ultimate power source of information. Upon talking with
other groups, we realized that the author of all the rich history on the website was Tom Hanchett,
a historian at the Levine Museum of the New South in Charlotte. The focus of his research is in
Charlotte, and he researched and published a book about neighborhoods in Charlotte, one of
those specifically being Washington Heights. As the archival group, we have been unable to find
more information than what Hanchett has found, and in turn have become a bit confused as to
what more historical information Ms. Marshall desires. The childrens section of the Washington
Heights website is where the Hanchett published all his research, although my group noted that
the presentation and density of the information is in no way kidfriendly, and this lead us into
considering how the youth of the neighborhood might be receiving their history.
Green 2
This project certainly revealed to me the uncertainty and flexibility needed to conduct
research on a community service project, especially when working with the neighborhood. There
is a definite communication struggle, which in turn creates a power predicament, such as a lack
of interest or time on the neighborhoods behalf results in the students being unable to move
forward. While I do agree it is beneficial and necessary to make sure that the class is developing
a project that agrees with the neighborhoods agenda, there will likely come a point where what
is realistic must come into play on our part. I think the class really wants to put together some
kind of event, and present the research found, but the offsetting and discouraging news that the
original historical designation probably will not work out has thrown us into a temporary
loophole.
By the end of the semester, I hope to have an understanding of how the research has
evolved either positively or negatively. I am starting to accept that it is perfectly acceptable for
research to reach many dead ends, but also that it is through the dead ends that we push ourselves
to find new information and leads. When the oral history group shared that Tom Hanchett
claimed the North West School of the Arts basically had no relationship with Washington
Heights (a bit of a predicament when it is where we were considering holding a small event), we
were able to switch gears and look into a historically designated club, Club Excelsior. I wonder
when after talking to Ms. Marshall, if the Club Excelsior would be an available location to hold
an event since they do have some apparent social and political history in the 1940s. If not, it also
opens the door to deliberating if building a better relationship between the North West School of
the Arts and Washington Heights would be a positive course for developing a community
identity in the neighborhood.
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As for the agenda in the remainder of the semester, hearing from Ms. Marshall and Dr.
Sorenson after relating what information was found about the unlikeliness of the original project
will at least give the class a better idea of where to go next. I imagine that once the project
solidifies a focus, perhaps on reaching out to the community and creating awareness for
historical identity within the neighborhood, the research will also be easier to conduct and more
event planning can fall into place. I discussed in my first reflection essay my hopes that the
Washington Heights community will be informed, anticipating, and enthusiastic about
celebrating their history and earning recognition within the greater Charlotte area I am excited
to learn and work with a community in Charlotte that I otherwise likely would have never heard
about or encountered, as well as for working with CHARP. I believe these goals can still be
reached once the class has a better focus and can get everything going.