Life Histories

This interview starts with the occupational history for Marian Cheek Jackson. She worked in policy service, data processing, and underwriting for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company for 22 years. North Carolina Mutual is the largest and oldest black insurance company in the country. In…

Ms. Pat Jackson gives an overview of her involvement in the organizations within St.Joseph’s CME, starting from when she was a child. This is followed by a discussion of thevarious power dynamic that occur between women in the church, and how to overcome anychallenges that can arise from these…

In this interview, Jarrett Dawson, a Chapel Hill local discusses his experiences with work, family, and church. Although originally from North Carolina, Dawson talks briefly about how his family moved to Patterson New Jersey for a time, and the experience of taking trips between North Carolina and…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Pat Jackson was born and raised in Chapel Hill North Carolina. She is a current member of St. Joseph Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill. She serves as a stewardess and motherly figure within the site…

This interview touches on childhood stories from Makla Thompson. Makla talks about her mother, grandmother, and the importance of family. She reflects on growing up in Carrboro, where her grandmother was active in the community as a kind woman, caring for those who could not care for themselves. She…

In this interview, Marian Cheek Jackson describes the origins of St. Joseph's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church and her start as church historian. Jackson discusses the role of her father, Kennon Cheek, and Russell Edwards in establishing the church, the impact of the Quaker church school and St.…

"You have to keep going." - Marian Cheek Jackson Mrs. Marian Cheek Jackson begins with a description of prominent Black businesses that used to exist in the African American community, (including Mason's grocery store); St. Joseph's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church's role in civil rights…

Marian Cheek Jackson has resided in Chapel Hill for her entire life. Much of the life she knows has involved her staying in, participating in, and protecting Northside. The Marian Cheek Jackson Center was named after her because of the vision she had to document the history that lies in the…

“I really think with children, it didn’t matter. It was the adults that were having problems.” (In reference to integration) - Katherine "Mama Kat" Council Ms. Council, fondly known as Mama Kat, grew up on a farm in Chapel Hill down Jones Ferry Road and has lived in various places in the area her…

In Molly Norwood’s interview of Katherine “Mama Kat” Council, Council begins by describing what life was like when she was growing up in Chapel Hill. She describes how open and geographically spread out the neighborhood was, how she was constantly playing with the other children in the neighborhood,…

Gwen Atwater came to Chapel Hill, her husband’s hometown, after he got out of the military. Following a brief stint in customer service and time working in the school district’s administrative offices, she took a job teaching at Frank Porter Graham Elementary School in 1973. She became an FPG…

In this interview, the second of two 2017 interviews conducted by Andrea Wuerth, David Caldwell, Jr., discusses his experiences in the newly-integrated Chapel Hill High School. He remembers the difficult early years, describing his accidental role in the riots that took place in Fall 1971, his…

In this interview, Katherine “Mama Kat” Council talks about home and family. She discusses her parents, including her father’s death and her mother’s garden, and she describes where she grew up in rural Chapel Hill. Growing up was very different when Mama Kat was a child; she went to work and…

Thomas James “Bubba” Norwood was born in Durham in 1942 and grew up in Northside and Carrboro. At seventeen, he went on tour with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue and went on to play with bands including The Monkees and Albert King, before ultimately returning home to Carrboro. He reflects on growing…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Reverend Willis Farrington, a leader of St. Joseph CME Church, was born in Chapel Hill and spent the entirety of his childhood running the streets of Northside and the Roberson Street Community Center. Reverend…

Annie Burnett Hargett is a Northside “legacy seller.” She was born in Chatham County, where the family owned a large piece of land but moved to Chapel Hill to find work at the university. She remembers growing up poor, but lacking nothing. She talks about black businesses, Northside school and…

In this interview, Sally Pendergraft (soon turning 99 years old) discusses her family growing up in Durham and Chapel Hill. Her daughter, Christie who spent many years living in Georgia joins her to help her remember details about her life. The conversation covers the founding of the Church of God…

In this interview, long-time local Chapel Hill resident Carolyn Briggs discusses her experiences growing up in Chapel Hill. While her family moved a couple of times during her childhood, Carolyn developed strong relationships with her family, friends, and mentors. Carolyn discusses the challenges of…

In this interview, Ronnie Bynum discusses his family history, including the career of his grandmother as a midwife and the changes she witnessed on Airport Road, which is now MLK Boulevard. He talks about how much he learned from his grandmother, and how easily it is for the fabric of an extended…

This interview is in association with the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Senator Valerie Foushee, born May 7th 1956 is a lifelong member of the First Baptist Church. She began attending First Baptist at the age of two when her grandmother would bring her and her siblings to…

In this interview, David Caldwell, Jr., begins by discussing past generations of Caldwells that came from Chatham County and lived first on Merritt Mill Road, then Durham, then Northside. His family moved to Rogers Road in 1963 when land became available to African-Americans. A major topic is the…

In this interview, Cleo Caldwell, 53, discusses growing up in the Northside neighborhood surrounded by extended family and, in particular, her cousins who became policemen and civil rights activists. Cleo’s mother and sisters were known for their musical talents—her mother played piano and her…

Louis Wijnberg was born in Holland in 1922. The interview begins with an overview of his extended family, all Jewish, and what happened to them during the Nazi occupation. A few were able to escape capture due to spectacular acts of bravery including going in to hiding and escaping via ship to…