The East Side of Charleston has a “reputation” in the minds of many native Charlestonians. If we could have lived over the past hundred years or so then that reputation would have evolved from one of coastal farmland, to grand mansions set just outside of the smells and pestilence of a Georgian city, to blocks of infill and “Charleston Singles ” set alongside planned formal parks, to “Freedman’s Cottages ” and duplex and quadplex dwellings for poorer families. Each era important in its history and each reflecting a community nonetheless.
In no time the East Side would change again, the result of hurricane damage, neglect, poor schools, and the influx of drugs, then most recently to that slow process of urban renewal and regeneration. Still in the minds of most older inhabitants of this city, the reputation is not good.
But is it right to classify an entire neighborhood because of the actions of the few? I’d like you to meet Mary. Mary has a corner store at the intersection of America and Amherst Streets. Located across the road from our new construction office, opposite the community center, and near two properties we are renovating and many we have completed. Mary has run her shop for the last 52 years. Her son, Joseph is involved with the local church, she has a large family that she obviously loves by the way they are described, “Ah’ve 8 granchilun and 8 great-granchilun.” I checked with Joseph, her son, and he was happy that I write this exactly as pronounced.
When I met Mary, she had just put one of her great-grandchildren down for an afternoon nap in the apartment above her flat. A hard working, God fearing, family-loving and warm hearted elderly lady. Born and lived her whole life on the East Side and never asked for help from anyone. So my reader, answer me, “how do you now view the area’s reputation? “
Epitaph – This blog has sat on my computer for the last two years as life got very busy and I forgot about publishing. Mary sadly passed a few years ago now, I have no doubt that there was a place in heaven waiting for her. Joseph (pictured above) still runs the corner shop and maintains his life as an active member of a vibrant East Side community.
Read about Joseph in an earlier post reflecting insights on the East Side shared by guest blogger Geoff Abbott, “Education is Key for Charleston’s East Side Community. “
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