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Doug Clark

"My dad would go to work in the morning. Go to the South building to work before the post office. And then he would leave there and go straight to the Carolina Inn. And he probably wouldn’t come home till nine or ten o’clock." - Doug Clark, Sr.

Elizabeth Carter

Hilliard Caldwell

“I think had it not been for our leadership and our slow approach to things, I suspect Chapel Hill would’ve had some scenes that were very common in Birmingham- the fire hoses, the police retaliating against the movement.” - Hilliard Caldwell

Edwin Caldwell, Sr.

Edwin Caldwell, Jr.

Willie Bradshaw

Shirley Bradshaw

Anita Booth

Ruth Booth

Ms. Ruth Booth was born and raised in Chatham County on a 100 acre private farm owned by her grandfather. At the age of 17 she was tired of picking cotton and corn and decided to leave Chatham and move to Chapel Hill. Ms. Booth was a former member of Hamlet Chapel. When she moved to Chapel Hill she…

Charles Booth

Mr. Charles Booth was born in Chapel Hill and lived here all his life (79 years). His parents lived in Orange County but passed away when he was very young. Mr. Booth's aunt Fannie took him in when he was a little boy and he has lived in the same house ever since. He married Ruth and now they live…

Fred Battle

A pillar of the community, Fred Battle, known by many as "Butch" or "Toro," grew up in Northside and played on the state champion Lincoln High football team. Heavily involved in the local civil rights movement, he went on to direct the Hargraves Community Center, serve on the Chapel Hill Town…

Alice Battle

"There wasn't any question about whether you were going to school or not. There wasn't any question about whether you were going to excel in school. There wasn't any question about whether you were going to college. It was just where are you going to go to college? Where can we afford for you to go…

James Atwater

James Atwater grew up on Church St. as one of five siblings. Before working for the hospital at the University of North Carolina, his mother was an insurance agent for North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company in Durham, the oldest and largest African American life insurance company in the…

 Katherine "Mama Kat" Council

 Carolyn Briggs - On her childhood and growing up during the Civil Rights Movement

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…

 Sallie Pendergraft - On her education, faith, the Church of God, and Holmes Child Care

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…

Annie Hargett

Annie Hargett lived in Northside throughout her youth. She attended Northside Elementary and was part of one of the first classes to attend Lincoln High (class of 1957). Her parents moved from Chatham County to Northside in Chapel Hill, first to Craig Street, then to N. Graham. She left Northside…

 Annie Hargett - On her career, father, and growing up in Chapel Hill

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…

 Willis Farrington - On growing up in Northside, his ministry, and changes in Chapel Hill

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…

 Paul Caldwell - On his career and the Northside neighborhood

I had six brothers in all, we had no sisters, and me being the youngest of the six I really had to do a lot of fending for myself coming up because your older brothers can pick on you. But I had one advantage, I could run the fastest, so if I did something I could take off..." - Paul Caldwell Paul…

 Civil Rights Story Circle - On their experiences in Chapel Hill in the 1960s

Freedom fighters Euyvonne Cotton, James Foushee, William Carter, Linda Brown, Keith Edwards, and Marion Phillips gathered upstairs at St. Joseph C.M.E. to talk about their experiences as young people in the freedom movement in Chapel Hill 1960-1964. Spurred by the recent publication of Courage in…

 Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood - On growing up in Carrboro and playing music in bands

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…

Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood

"I rehearsed one day and was gone the next...I didn’t have a chance to tell anyone. And my first gig was in Nashville, Tennessee. I actually turned,...eighteen on the road." - Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood Bubba Norwood was born in Northside where he picked up drumming at an early age. He began his…

 Katherine Council - On home, family, and changes in Chapel Hill

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…