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 Virginia Medean on St. Joseph and Church Activism (clip)

Ella Wise/Rachel Mossey (EW/RM): How have you seen Saint Joseph’s though – the role of Saint Joseph’s in this community? Virginia Medean (VM): They’ve always been a strong advocate for justice, social justice, and community means. They have a wonderful pastor now– EW/RM: Mhm. VM: –And [pause] I…

 Virginia Medean - On Racism and a Progressive Town (clip)

Virginia Medean: That place where I went to live for a few years in Halifax County was still as segregated as ever and was a very uncomfortable place to live. As a white person, it was very uncomfortable to be around other White people there because of their racism. They have learned not to say the…

 Virginia Medean on Healthcare and the St. Joseph's Food Ministry (clip)

Virginia Medean (VM): My husband, I said you know, he has serious healthcare needs, which will affect where he will be able to work. Ella Wise/Rachel Mossey (EW/RM): Mhm VM: And, so it’s sort of an enforced poverty, even though it was out of our control that it happened – and I have a lot of…

 Virginia Medean on Meeting Needs and Addressing Problems (clip)

Virginia Medean: I think community takes people talking to each other and just finding what your similar needs are. I’ve met lots of people because I have a car, and I say to people, “Anybody need a ride to the other side of town?” Ella Wise: What else makes a community? So we talked about walking…

 Virginia Medean

Virginia Medean provides a look into her experience of Northside as a white woman who is aware of both sides of town (Northside and Carrboro). She explains her concerns and her ideas of how the community could grow bigger and change. She also indulges in the present and how she spends her everyday…

Virginia Medean

Virginia Medean is a resident in the Northside community. Virginia enjoys making efforts to change her surroundings and the neighborhood. Virginia was raised in the Chapel Hill / Carrboro area and has experienced many effects of the civil rights movement and is working to restore her community.

 Mr. Jason Merrille, Back Alley Bikes

Back Alley Bikes, located on N. Graham St. at the time this photo was taken, is a community business leader. Jason treats customers like family and is known for working on every bike with the kind of attention and integrity he dedicates to his own. You can now visit Back Alley bikes on Merritt…

Effie Merritt

 Effie Merritt

This interview is part of an oral history project called Southern Communities: Listening for a Change: Mighty Tigers--Oral HIstories of Chapel Hill's Lincoln High School. The interviewes were conducted from 2000-2001, by Bob Gilgor, with former teachers, staff, and students from Chapel Hill, N.C.'s…

 Regina Merritt - On food bringing people together

In this oral history, Regina Merritt discusses what her life was like growing up on a farm. From the beginning of the interview, it is clear that her grandmother was the centerpiece of her family. She cooked for not only her own family members, but also for anyone in the community who needed food.…

Regina Merritt

 Regina Merritt and Mary Cole - On land ownership, integration, and racism

“My parents always taught us you know who you are, no matter what you say to me or what you call me, I know who I am. And that stayed with me for years. Because people are going to talk about you, you cannot stop people from talking. They can say what they want to say to you, but you know who you…

 Thomas Merritt - On his family history, the importance of land ownership, and life prior to and after integration

"Know what history really is. Know what history is all about. Dig deep." - Thomas Merritt In this interview, Mr. Merritt gives an overview of his family history in Chapel Hill and Carrboro by sharing memories of his childhood while discussing larger social shifts at work. Starting with a description…

Thomas Merritt

 Thomas Merritt - On his father (clip)

MCJC Staff: “So, could you tell us what [growing up on Church Street] was like - sisters, brothers?” Thomas Merritt: “Oh one sister older, one brother younger. We were pretty well off back then. My mother she worked for Danziger’s Old World gift shop. My father worked at different restaurants, and…

 Thomas Merritt - On fighting for civil rights (clip)

MCJC Staff: “At the same time, kids in town were fighting for civil rights?” Thomas Merritt: “Yes. They were fighting for civil rights because they wanted to go places and to be free to go places and do things. Dairy Queen [chuckle]. Down at the bottom of Franklin Street, in the dirt parking lot…

 Thomas Merritt - On the theft of his family land (clip)

MCJC Staff: “So what happened to the land?” Thomas Merritt: “Well, a lady came by and she had some papers and she tried to get my grandmother to sign them. So she forged her signature on them and she took the land. And I think she felt guilty. And my brother knew the whole story about what had…

 Ms. Ceci Miller & Ruby

Ceci enjoys sitting outside of the Hargraves Recreation Center (finally completed in 1941to accommodate the first all-black Navy Band) with her friends often. She had never been photographed with her dog, Ruby. She is the proud mother of Paris Miller, a teacher and community activist, and the…

Paris Miller

 Freddie Mae Mitchell

 Freddie Mae Mitchell - On her family and food

Ms. Freddie Mae Mitchell grew up on Graham Street, and as the oldest daughter in her family, she helped her parents by cooking for the rest of the family. Her cousins owned a farm, and her family would get food from them. When she got married she moved to Gomains Street, where she lived for ten…

Freddie Mae Mitchell

 Demonstrators arrested at Colonial Drug Sit-in

Demonstrators, including Walter Mitchell (center), are arrested during a night sit-in blocking the door to Colonial Drug.   Members of owner John Carswell’s family and a friend watch from the inside.

 Mr. Andrés Morales-Castillo

Exuding kindness and graciousness, Andrés is quick to smile and share a story. A deeply spiritual person, he possesses a strong belief in the power of neighbors helping each other through difficult times.