Not everyone in Charlotte knows about Brookhill Village. The low-income neighborhood was built in 1950 in what's now South End, and it's been the home of generations of African American families.
Debbie Williams was among them. She grew up in the neighborhood and rented her first apartment there. In 2019, she created a resource center for the neighborhood, with laptops, job referrals and even a weekly free lunch for neighbors.
She had help from a woman she met named Lisa Howell, who lived in Plaza Midwood — a whiter, wealthier part of town.
At StoryCorps, they talked about how their working relationship at Brookhill Village developed into friendship.
The StoryCorps Mobile Tour is made possible by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Support for StoryCorps' Charlotte visit was provided by Johnson & Wales University.
