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William Smith

"I’m not a book person […] I like to build things, and then brag about it." - William Smith

Ezra Barbee

"And at that particular time, my grandfather had a heart attack. He said, 'Well, look, son, I’m going to tell you this: Either you are going to finish this job, or you are going to go home.' So that was my fuel up under my whatever. You can go do it or go home. So, I got it." - Ezra Barbee Ezra…

Walt Riggsbee

"[Racism] never seemed to faze me. It fazed me more in the service than down here. Going overseas was bad." - Walt Riggsbee

Virginia Jones

Freda Andrews

Since she was a child, Freda Andrews knew that she wanted to pursue a career in education. Her experiences at Northside Elementary, alongside her involvement in the Southern Freedom Movement, influenced her desire to carve out spaces to teach Black history and inspire her students to feel empowered…

Rodney Taylor

Catharyne Butler

 Robert Campbell - Speaking about community, faith, and activism

Min. Robert Campbell is a well-known local activist who was raised by his grandparents in the Northside neighborhood. He attended Northside and Lincoln and was in the first desegregated graduating class at Chapel Hill High School (Class of ’67). He moved to Rogers Road in the 1970s where he has been…

 Walt Riggsbee - On his restaurant, military service, and Chapel Hill

We conducted this interview as a part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Oral History series. Bobby Riggsbee, commonly referred as Walt own his own restaurant named Walt’s Grill. Walt was born and raised in a segregated Chapel Hill and attended Lincoln High School located in the Northside…

 Virginia Jones - Speaking about her education, career, and family

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Ms. Virginia has grown up in Chapel Hill and lived here her entire life. She was born on Mitchell Lane. She is the 10th of 10 children. Her mother worked at UNC at Chase Hall and her father worked within landscaping.…

 Freda Andrews - On education, teaching, and the Freedom Movement

Freda Andrews is a daughter of the Northside. Notably, her primary and secondary school education transformed her life immeasurably. Her teachers, especially at Northside Elementary, created a classroom setting that directed individual attention to each student. Fostered by these nurturing teachers,…

 Rodney Taylor - On community involvement

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series.
Rodney Taylor Sr., a current member and trustee at Barbee’s Chapel Baptist Church, has had a lifelong passion for community involvement. Mr. Taylor was born on June 26, 1958 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His…

 Albert Washington - On his business, church, and growing up in Northside

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Oral History Trust. Albert (Bruce) Washington, III grew up in Chatham County with his mother and in Northside with his father and extended family. He was an only child, but grew up in the context of many cousins, aunts, and uncles who cared…

 William Smith - Speaking about his masonry career and business

William E. Smith, also known as Smitty, grew up in Durham with his parents and seven brothers. His strongest influence growing up was his grandfather, who he spent a great deal of time with – including helping out on his farm in Orange County. He graduated from Hillside High School, which he…

 Nathaniel Lee - On his childhood, bricklaying, and family

Nathaniel (Pee-Wee) Lee was a brick mason and laborer, and has worked and lived in the Chapel Hill area for most of his life. He was born in 1944 at UNC Hospital. When he was first born he lived with his grandparents on the farm that they sharecropped in Durham. Pee-Wee reflects on growing up on a…

The Porches of Northside

The front porch.  The space between inside and outside, private and public worlds.  A place for friends and family to gather and to renew the essential connections that make up community.  A place to sit and watch out; a place from which to receive the waves of passing neighbors and strangers as…

On and Off the Midway

In 1957 in Chapel Hill, only 3 restaurants in Chapel Hill were desegregated, those owned and run by the immigrant Danziger family. Otherwise, Jim Crow laws kept Black residents from sharing a lunch counter, much less a table with whites. Breaking bread together would be one of the last thresholds of…

Dishing It Up at Heavenly Groceries

The food ministry at St. Joseph C.M.E. began in 2004 as part of Rev. Troy F. Harrison’s vision of a “church without walls.” Initially a bread ministry stocked with loaves and coffeecakes donated by an Entemann’s Bakery Outlet, the ministry has grown to a grocery-style, no-documentation-needed, fresh…

The Lenoir Strike:  A Story of Food and Fearlessness

The UNC Food Workers Strike, or what is commonly known as the Lenoir Strike, of 1969 catalyzed concern about the working conditions of cafeteria workers at UNC, many of whom were Northside residents. Led by Mary Smith and Elizabeth Brooks, the nearly year-long strike put gender and race at the…

 Christian Foushee-Green - On the role of church and the future of Northside

Christian Jacobi Foushee-Green is the lead singer, songwriter, and keyboardist for the “Chit Nasty Band” which he created in 2011, one year after graduating from the Berklee College of Music in Boston. Born on April 26 in 1988, Christian (or “Chit” to some of his fans) has been involved in both…

 Brenda Jackson - On family, church, and community

History of family at St. Joseph; Mr. Henry Baldwin donating to church; changes in church; fast pace nature of new generation; church’s role in community and individual’s role in church; meaning and power of singing and why singing is such a big part of St. Joseph; feeling of gratitude among…

 Hilliard Caldwell

Hilliard Caldwell, one of the leaders of the Chapel Hill Freedom Movement, during a protest march on Franklin Street. Hilliard Caldwell was later elected to the Board of Aldermen in Carrboro, the town adjoining Chapel Hill.

 Members of several rights organizations stand in front of the Chapel Hill Post Office

Members of several rights organizations stand in front of the Chapel Hill Post Office. They led this holiday march on December 7, 1963. Carrying letters addressed to political leaders to urge anti-discrimination legislation, they requested that fellow Chapel Hill citizens follow suit and "Send…

 Protestors march and sing in Chapel Hill

Pictured are Otto White, Ophelia Johnson, Kenny Farrington, Carolyn Farrington, Cynthia Hines, and Johnny Robinson