If you don’t know much about South Shore‘s history, you might be surprised to learn that a neighborhood native like Jeff Heilbrunn had never been inside the walls of the old South Shore Country Club until last week. That’s because for seven decades, the club was closed to both African-Americans and Jews.
Today, the golf course, tennis courses, and other facilities at the rechristened South Shore Cultural Center are a part of the city’s park system and open to the public. Early in our tour through South Shore, Jeff and I took a quick trip through the center’s entrance and around its main drive so that he could have a closer look at the center’s old clubhouse.
Near the end of the video, Jeff talks about the little “ghetto” he once called home — a four-block by four-block area now known as “Terror Town.” You’ll see and hear more about those streets in videos later this week.