Lesley Payne interviews Richard Duncan. In 1996, he politely informed his wife, Madison DeShay-Duncan, about growing up in a predominantly African American neighborhood of Des Moines located around Center Street. After additional research about the area, Madison was inspired to found Community Legacy Matters Incorporated. The focus is to research and develop creative and innovative educational resources that preserve, promote and educate the public on the history of Iowa’s culturally significant but historically underrepresented communities. One of those educational resources is a documentary titled “The Center Street Story: An Urban Renewal Retrospective.” Richard Duncan is the narrator and Center Street Historian for the project. Through the voices of former business owners and residents, the documentary tells of the rise and fall of the historic “Center Street” community & African American business district that existed for more than five decades prior to being destroyed as a result of the 1950s Oakridge Urban Renewal Project.
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