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Teachers, Artisans, and Entrepreneurs: Black Work in a Southern Town

Welcome to Teachers, Artisans, and Entrepreneurs: Black Work in a Southern Town. Join us in a virtual exhibit that takes you through different locations in Chapel Hill to learn about the ingenuity necessary to creating and sustaining a thriving economy for Black Chapel Hill/Carrboro.

For generations, the Black population in southern Orange County has been part of a vast labor network. Their labor has supported and cared for community members near and far. Formal and informal labor helped neighbors create an independent economy that helped them fight against white supremacy. Black workers are changemakers. Together, they have brought an enormous amount of creativity and care to their work, building a community of abundance.

Thank you to Clementine Self and Reverend Albert Williams for sharing their knowledge and providing critical feedback, and to Kimber Heinz and Scaffold Exhibits & Consulting.

The Marian Cheek Jackson Center received an American Rescue Plan Humanities Grant from North Carolina Humanities, www.nchumanities.org. Funding for this grant was provided by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) as part of the American Rescue Plan Act economic stabilization plan.

Along with NC Humanities, this exhibit was made possible by generous grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Mellon Foundation.

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In this Exhibit

Crowd gathers to prepare for a march in front of St. Joseph C.M.E. Church at the corner of Rosemary and Roberson.

Faith and Labor

Protesters often gathered on the lawn of St. Joseph Christian Methodist Episcopal Church before marching down Franklin Street. St. Joseph CME church was one of the main staging grounds for protestors preparing for demonstrations.

Copyright held by Jim Wallace. Contact From the Rock Wall for more information about permissions.
Orange County Training School

Educating a Community: The Work of Black Teachers and Educators

In 1916, the Orange County Training School formed, consolidating the Hackney School and a primary school for African American children. In 1948, it was renamed Lincoln High School and in following decades the school was repurposed as Northside Elementary and as office spaces for Chapel Hill Carrboro City Schools. Today, the site is home to the new Northside Elementary, opened in 2013.

Taking Care of a Community: Black Domestic and Custodial Workers
Parrish Brothers, owners of one of the oldest African-American owned farms in Orange County

Feeding a Community: Black Farmers, Cooks, and Food Workers

David and Melvin Parrish own one of the oldest Black-owned farms in Orange County.
Waters Films Showing Black Residents in Chapel Hill in 1939 (Reel 1)

Building a Black Economy: Black Entrepreneurs in Southern Orange County

To see more Black-owned businesses, watch the H. Lee Waters films of Black Chapel Hill and Carrboro in 1939.
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