Life Histories

Rev. Albert Williams is the minister at Staunton Memorial CME Church in Pittsboro. He is a lifetime resident of the area and was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill. This interview was conducted as part of the Jackson Center’s local life history series. Topics include: childhood…

Patricia Jackson grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and has been a member of St. Joseph CME Church for over forty years.  She now works with Wake County Schools and is also a church secretary, a stewardess, and a community activist.  This interview was done as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center…

Throughout this interview, Mr. Revels discusses the most influential people in his life as being the Danziggers, his mother and father, and his grandmother. He touches on a lot of lessons he’s learned from each of these individuals throughout the interview, such as the importance of work and…

This interview provides an overview of Black communities in Chapel Hill during Mason's life. He notes the consequences of having segregated communities and outdated infrastructures. His employment was at UNC Chapel Hill and he was employed at an early age at several local restaurants. He talks about…

David Mason, Jr. a lifetime resident of Chapel Hill, is one of the leaders of the Lincoln High Alumni Association, an active member of St. Joseph CME, and a community historian. This interview, conducted as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History’s local Life Histories…

"Thirteen years old and I gave my hand over to God. I've been in church ever since. Of course when you go off to college, you kind of drift away, but you always come back. I loved it. It was a good experience for me. It has always been a good experience for me." - Betty Baldwin Geer This interview…

Cecilia Massey-Fike is an important member of her community in Chapel Hill, NC taking particular prominence among her family and her church, Saint Joseph’s Methodist Episcopal Church. During her life in Chapel Hill she has worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Chapel Hill Rehab, worked in…

Dennis Farrington spent the first part of his life in the Northside area of Chapel Hill before moving to a home off of NC Hwy 54, and he has deep roots in Chatham County, North Carolina. He attended Chapel Hill High School after it was newly integrated. He spent most of his working career at UNC…

Esphur Foster has lived on Cotton Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for 70 years.  In this interview, Foster discusses the powerful life of her mother, Hattie Mae Foster, as well as growing up in Chapel Hill during a pivotal time in history. She also describes much about life before, during, and…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series.  Emily Banks, a current member and leader of St. Joseph CME Church, was born in 1946 in New York and migrated south to North Carolina in 1970.  She has spent the last few decades in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  She…

This interview provides an overview of the place and birth of Mama Kat. Her house burnt down in 1962. She notes the change in neighbors versus before. She had children graduating from college. Her 3 kids were in college at the same time. The last baby was born with down syndrome. She recounts the…

At the time of the interview, Alicia Gomez was a Jackson Scholar who attended city council and town meetings and worked on a video project. Gomez is originally from New York and moved to Chapel Hill in 2009. Gomez attended Pace charter school after getting off-track academically. She speaks about…

This interview begins with the background of Mark Royster. Royster grew up on his father’s farm in Granville County which is north of Durham County. His father’s farm was government subsidized. He was the youngest of twelve children. His sister is the eldest and would be 100 years old at the time of…

Brian Toomey majored in History and wanted to teach after graduation. He moved to Carrboro in 2010 from Massachusetts. He speaks in detail about the services of the health center he works at and the outreach work for the Northside Neighborhood. Toomey notes that one of the difficulties of reaching…

"...we called it Tin Top, because all the houses that were on top had [roofs] with tin on it." - Donny "Hollywood" Riggsbee This interview provides insight into the background of Donny “Hollywood” Riggsbee, a long-term Northside neighborhood resident. He shares his experiences living with 12…

Donny ‘Hollywood’ Riggsbee, resident of Chapel Hill, gives his biography during his time in in the town. He describes his youth, growing with 10 siblings, how his mother worked in a kitchen and how the kids worked while growing up. He talks about racial experiences in the form of his employer (Big…

At the time of the interview, Stephanie Barnes-Simms worked at Self-Help Credit Union. Simms grew up in Baltimore and has lived in NC twice. Her father is from Asheville, NC. Her mother is one of six children. Her maternal grandfather was from High Point, NC and her maternal grandmother lived in…

Ms. Atwater speaks about life growing up in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro area during World War II. She shares her experiences with her husband, Roy Atwater and her education at the rural Merritt School and Orange County Training School. She was familiar with food rations throughout the time and had…

“I tell you young people, stay up with your peers. Never lose track of them.” - Clayton Weaver Weaver was born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC on Cameron Avenue. His great-uncle bought their family home in 1929 for $3000. He went to school at Northside Elementary. Weaver provides background on who…

"When we have these race conversations there’s this sort of false view, you know, that it’s 'tit for tat,' it’s even steven, that if a Black man says, 'I want Black power,' and a white man says, 'I want white power,' that it’s the same thing. It is not." - Carlton Eversley This interview highlights…

In this impromptu interview done at Heavenly Groceries Food Ministry, Katherine “Mama Kat” Council tells us what it was like growing up right outside of Carrboro back in the 1930’s. She recalls how for a while her family had to use a wagon to get to Hamlet’s Chapel CME on Sundays. She also discusses…

In this interview, Mama Kat gives us her coveted pound cake recipe, which she knows from memory because she makes it so often.

In this interview Deloris Bynum recounts being in the 8th grade when black students were integrated into Chapel Hill High School. Bynum says that she loved to teach children. She worked as a Nurse’s Aide in Assisted Living homes and loved older people. Bynum was an usher for the St. Joseph’s CME…