Interview with Fred Curls

Length
Part 1 - 0:51:17
Part 2 - 0:25:31
Date
Interviewer
Pruitt, Ella
Part 1
Audio file
Part 2
Audio file
Description

Interview with founding member of Freedom Inc. Fred Curls. He discusses his early life, attending Attucks Grade School and Lincoln High, working his way up from a porter job at Myron Green's restaurants, working in an Indian jewelry factory, and shifting to construction work and work at the Lake City munitions plant, as well as racism and discrimination he encountered in those settings. He describes his entry into the real estate business as a realtor and appraiser, the role of redlining and other restrictive real estate covenants and white flight to the suburbs, and the change in community fabric during a time of rapid change. He also describes his experience going back to school to become an appraiser, his role with the Missouri State Highway Commission appraising properties as part of Urban Renewal projects, including the South Midtown Freeway (later Bruce R. Watkins Drive) project.

Interviewee
Object Type
Street
Neighborhood
Country
Transcription
Digital Object Identifier
MVSC-BAMA-Curls-Fred
Disclaimer
This oral history recording is presented as a historical document of the recollections and opinions of persons living and/or working in Kansas City when the history was conducted. Minor edits have been made to remove pauses, interruptions and verbal tics, and the recording is otherwise verbatim as it was captured. These oral histories represent the thoughts and opinions of the original participants and do not reflect the views of the Kansas City Public Library or its partner organizations in this oral history project.
Use & Reproduction

This material is protected by copyright: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Acknowledgement
This project was funded in part by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the Missouri State Library.