Back Street: A Neighborhood in a Bowl

“I can only imagine what my parents had to go through for that land.” Gwendolyn Brown grew up in Back Street, a long-time African American community in Trenton, NC. When you enter the neighborhood, you pull off of ‘Backstreet Road’, go down a gravel hill, and enter what Brown calls ‘a bowl.’ She is familiar with the topography, because with every storm, her neighborhood floods. Due to flooding, Brown is one of only two families left in what was once a vibrant, historical neighborhood.

Flood Zone is a special investigation reporting on flooding in Coastal Carolina communities. The podcast is a project of Shoresides and Working Narratives.

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