- Hello, how are you?

I was born in '61.

McGeachy is my last name, Princess is my first.

I would like to just talk about my struggle and my survival.

I've been coming to Broad Street for a minute but I have a son and I've been making it through the struggle.

I have a son.

He's 28 now, but it's all I could find.

♪ When I'm down and feeling blue ♪ ♪ Can I close my eyes so I can be with you ♪ ♪ And baby belong to me ♪ ♪ Baby be strong, you'll see ♪ ♪ We're helping you through ♪ ♪ Helping you ♪ ♪ Need you ♪ A barn where they had tobacco and everything, but this is North Carolina and Raleigh like.

♪ Down where the Tar Hill city ♪ ♪ Do you know about the tar hill people ♪ My people were from there.

My dad is in Raleigh.

When I was nine years old and I started going to North Carolina and they used to have the outhouse.

You know, I grew up where they were trying to succeed.

My grandmother had the first Cadillac in the area back then in 1940.

♪ Do you wanna ride in my Cadillac ♪ ♪ Do it from 1940 ♪ (laughs) Well I would go down there because I would be able to be around the kids and my cousins.

And I learned how to put tobacco in and you know, the corn and the peas and all that good stuff.

And the pot belly stoves.

And it was always supper, not dinner.

This is me.

This is me when I was like 19 years old.

It was ♪ A warm summers night ♪ ♪ In North Carolina ♪ ♪ The birds weren't flying, ♪ ♪ But I had to hang on ♪ (chuckles) ♪ Do you see me ♪ ♪ Ask them what it will be ♪ ♪ Tell me gently ♪ ♪ I need no catastrophes ♪ This is a picture of my aunt and my mother.

They're two sisters.

They were born in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

She has two daughters.

Mommy had one, only me.

Her personality was very great.

She started off in Darby, PA. Me being her only child, my dad was never there.

She was always soft spoken and kind and everybody loved to see Willamina come.

She loved to eat watermelon.

And they would always fix watermelon for her.

She was never negative.

She was always positive.

Hush, hush, hush, that's enough talking.

You'll talk forever.

You come on now, you'll talk forever.

I don't know, we we did a lot of, not a lot of traveling but we were traveling back down North Carolina together.

The church that my mother and them went to when they were growing up is still there.

Church service would be so long.

It would just be, you know, you'd have to stay 'til like four o'clock and ride down a dirt road.

And my mother had a dog named Midnight and the dog would run down the road to the church, come home.

When she started worrying, she started getting like migraines and I knew she was changing, you know, but she'd still be able to talk with me, you know.

♪ I need you to remember what I told you not to forget ♪ (chuckles) ♪ And I'll always love you mama ♪ ♪ You're my favorite one ♪ That's all I got.

(upbeat instrumental music)