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Civil Rights in Chapel Hill, Photographs by Jim Wallace

Jim Wallace was one of several photographers on the ground during the civil rights struggle in Chapel Hill from 1961-1964, a movement led by local Black youth who attended the segregated Lincoln High School.  A student at UNC at Chapel Hill, Jim was a photojournalist for the student newspaper, The Daily Tar Heel, which he describes as—at the time--particularly invested in calling out the injustice of segregation policies that prevented the as yet small number of Black students at UNC from walking across Franklin St. and sitting down to eat.  Jim gained unprecedented access to the struggle.  As you can see in these images, he was able to shoot from within the garage of the jail, from the second story of the building that housed the jail, and from inside police barricades.  He credits this, on the one hand, to the Chief of the Police, William Blake, who was an avid reader of Gandhi and who Jim believed wanted an accurate picture of what was happening in Chapel Hill.  On the other hand, Jim was a link between the Black leaders who sought media coverage (except for the DTH, little was forthcoming) and the police, who knew Jim knew where the next sit-in would be and followed him there.  (See James Wallace, “Photojournalism and Its Role in Shaping and Preserving Local History,” Keynote for the MCJC Civil Rights in Chapel Hill Weekend, November 2012, and Hutchins Lecture, Center for the Study of the American South, https://vimeo.com/54381225).

How did the Jackson Center obtain these images?  They were gifted to us by Jim in the process of developing his important book, Courage in the Moment:  The Civil Rights Struggle 1961-1964 (2012), which features a selection of his photographs with text by Paul Dickson, former UNC student body president.  The book itself has a story.  As Jim was preparing for retirement from his 25-year role as Director/Curator of Imaging and Photographic Services at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington D.C., he revealed to his friend Lonnie Bunch, Director of the new National Museum of African American History, that he had a trove of images from his days covering the freedom movement in Chapel Hill.  Mr. Bunch describes his encounter with Jim’s collection in the Foreword to Courage in the Moment: 

"I had seen many of Jim’s photographs so I thought I knew much of his portfolio.  I must admit that when he brought many of the images that comprise Courage in the Moment into my office, I was stunned.  As Jim discussed each photograph I became more excited not only by the extraordinary visual quality of the images but also by their content.  Before the meeting had ended I knew that many of these images needed to become part of the permanent collection of the museum.  Fortunately for me, Jim agreed."

Bunch also encouraged Jim to pursue book publication.  But Jim had a problem.  While he could identify many of the police officers and white students in the photographs, he couldn’t do the same for most of the Black organizers and local participants.  In 2010, he connected with the Jackson Center, which then held 2 open houses in the basement fellowship hall of St. Joseph C.M.E., at which civil rights leaders, and their families, children, and neighbors began to sift through the 100 or more photographs that covered several folding tables, putting names to faces.  And then, as Jim recounts, “a very interesting thing happened”: 

People--younger generations . . . who weren’t here or were too young to be part of the civil rights movement, were looking at my photographs on these card tables at St. Joseph’s and saying “I had always heard about this but I had never really seen it.”  And then they would turn to some of the older parishioners who were there—because many of the marches started at St. Joseph’s—and they would go up to them and they would say “What did you do during the struggle?”

Answers to this question are relayed in the oral testimony of activists who grew up in historically Black Northside neighborhoods available on this site, particularly in the Chapel Hill Civil Rights Oral History Collection. 

Jim’s photographs are important for many reasons, not the least of which is their power to spur critical conversation across generations.  With rare intimacy, they reflect a movement uniquely led by teenagers who drew on principles of non-violent organizing and alliance to persist in courageous, escalating protest.  They also reveal the intransigence of white supremacy in a town renowned as a liberal beacon within the South.

All photographs are included here with the direct permission of Jim Wallace. 

 

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 Ruby Farrington (right) and Arthur B. Simons (left) lead a sit-in that paralyzes Franklin Street on February 8, 1964.

Ruby Farrington (right) and Arthur B. Simons (left) lead a sit-in that paralyzes Franklin Street on February 8, 1964.   Ruby and Arthur moved together to Boston, where they were married in 1965; (marriage was still illegal in NC at the time).

 Sit-in at Carlton's Rock Pile

Protesters sit-in Carlton’s Rock Pile, a whites-only convenience store.   At another sit-in there on December 1, 1963, the owner doused a protester with ammonia.

 Young student marchers point accusingly at segregated businesses in Chapel Hill.

Young student marchers, both black and white, point accusingly at segregated businesses in Chapel Hill.

 Renowned, national activist, James Farmer, speaks at a civil rights gathering at First Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, NC.

In preparation for a Freedom March from Durham to Chapel Hill, demonstrators attended a rally at Chapel Hill's First Baptist Church to hear civil rights leader James Farmer speak. Rev. J. R. Manley, pastor at First Baptist for sixty-six years, sits in the background.

 Supporters of a Chapel Hill public accommodations ordinance pack the First Baptist Church.

The Chapel Hill Freedom Committee organized a thirteen-mile Freedom March on January 12, 1964, from Durham to Chapel Hill to support passage of a pending public accomodations ordinance in Chapel Hill that would forbid discrimination because of race (bill 4-2).The tall man standing second from the…

 Demonstrators gather on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol.

Demonstrators gather on the steps of the North Carolina State Capitol. The photo is taken at the conference to discuss the "Negro Protest Movement".Virginia Walker is in the back row, behind and to the right of the man wearing sunglasses.

 Harold Foster, one of the leaders of the Chapel Hill Freedom Movement

Harold Foster attended the conference organized by North Carolina Governor Terry Sanford in Raleigh on July 3, 1963, to discuss the "Negro Protest Movement." It marked the first time a Southern governor met with black leaders during the protests against segregation.

 A march organized by the Chapel Hill Freedom Movement

A march organized by the Chapel Hill Freedom Movement on Franklin Street, Chapel Hill's main thoroughfare. Protesters stopped to point out segregated establishments.Hilliard Caldwell is in the center of the picture looking behind himself, wearing a driving cap and light colored photo. He is easily…

 Chapel Hill policemen carry Johnnie Perry to a police car

Chapel Hill policemen Coy Durham (left) and Amos Horn (right) carry Johnnie Perry to a police car. Perry was participating in a sit-in protesting segregation at Brady's Restaurant.

 Marchers protesting segregated facilities.

Marchers protesting segregated facilities stop in front of Clarence's Bar and Grill, while owner Clarence Grey and patrons of the restaurant gather at the front door to watch.

 Charmine Baldwin carrying an American flag

Carrying an American flag, Charmine Baldwin leads marchers who are demanding integration via the passage of a Chapel Hill public accommodations law.

 Mrs. Betty Jones marches in a protest on Independence Day

A march on Independence Day, July 4, 1964, through downtown Chapel Hill.Mrs. Betty Jones, who was heavily involved in the movement, is pictured behind an American flag. She was a member of First Baptist, and was a flower lady near the old location of Bank of America by the Varsity Theatre.

 Quinton Baker leads a practice protest march

In 1963, CORE leader Floyd McKissick asked Quinton Baker, one of his most trusted organizers, to go to Chapel Hill and teach effective nonviolence tactics to local activists. Here Baker leads a practice protest march.Quinton Baker, wearing black slacks and a light polo, leads a march training in the…

 Young student marchers, both Black and white, point accusingly at segregated businesses in Chapel Hill.

W. Leon Cotton is the young boy wearing a sweater vest, pointing his right hand. Linda McCauley Atwater is on the far right, wearing a striped skirt and short sleeve blouse pointing with her right hand.

 Picketers at the University Motel, just outside Chapel Hill

 Ruby Farrington carried by Chapel Hill Police

Chapel Hill Police Detective Lindy Pendergrass carries Ruby Farrington to the police van following her arrest at a sit-in on Franklin Street. Police Chief William Blake stands at far left with his back to the camera.

 Chapel Hill Police officer David Caldwell

Chapel Hill Police officer David Caldwell (left) protects a young boy taking photos. Officer Earl Allen to carry a demonstrator to a police car.

 John Fykes sings as police drag him from a sit-in

John Fykes sings as police drag him from the Merchants Association building sit-in. Demonstrators often sang freedom songs such as "We Shall Overcome" during their protests and arrests.

 Euyvonne Cotton carried by Chapel Hill Police

Chapel Hill police officers Graham Creel(left) and David Caldwell(right) carry Euyvonne Cotton to a police car following her arrest for sitting-in at the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Merchants Association.

 Demonstrators at a sit-in

Chapel Hill Police Chief William Blake, with Officer Graham Creel(in helmet), warns the demonstrators to leave or they will be arrested. They were all arrested.

 Sit-in participants block the door to Brady's Restaurant

Sit-in participants, singing and waving to the camera, block the door to Brady's Restaurant at the dinner hour.John Fykes is in the center front, wearing a dark suit and glasses. Clementine Self is sitting in the front row to the right wearing a light colored shirt under a dark jacket, with her…

 Durham-Chapel Hill Walk for Freedom

Marchers walk in freezing rain from Durham to Chapel Hill on January 12, 1964, in support of a pending local public accommodations ordinance.

 Marches walk in the Durham-Chapel Hill Walk for Freedom

Marchers walk in freezing rain from Durham to Chapel Hill on January 12, 1964, in support of a pending local public accommodations ordinance.

 The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen debate the proposed public accommodations ordinance

The Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen, led by Mayor Sandy McClamrock (in center, with white hair), debate the proposed public accommodations ordinance. Despite the march, the vote failed.
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