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 Albert Simms Williams - On his life, family, community, and faith

Rev. Albert Williams is the minister at Staunton Memorial CME Church in Pittsboro. He is a lifetime resident of the area and was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill. This interview was conducted as part of the Jackson Center’s local life history series. Topics include: childhood…

 Antonio Silva-Martinez

 Russell Edwards

 Isaac W. Lee II - On being a good neighbor

This short interview includes Lee’s description of what a good neighbor is. Lee says that a good neighbor looks out for the other’s wellbeing, health, safety, and financial hard times. He also describes his roommate experiences as a way to exemplify how to be a good neighbor.

 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…

 Andres Morales-Castillo

Esta entrevista es parte de la colección del Marian Cheek Jackson Center para la serie de Encontrando a Nuestros Vecinos. Señor Andrés Morales-Castillo empieza la entrevista con descripciones del barrio donde vive ahorra, comparando lo con su barrio de Monterrey, México. El cuenta un relato de un…

 Delaine Ingram and Antonio Vinson - On their businesses, gentrification, and changes in Chapel Hill

The first interview features Antonio Vinson as a narrator, and lasts about 19 minutes. A chef by trade, Antonio Vinson left Chapel Hill for 25 years before recently returning. Upon returning, he became a taxi dispatcher for Tar Heel Taxi, despite his lack of experience. Throughout the interview,…

 Stephanie Soulama - Speaking about her hair braiding business

This interview was done as part of the Facing Our Neighbors project. Stephanie Soulama is the owner of Stephanie’s Braiding Shop in Carrboro, NC. Stephanie is from Ivory Coast and speaks French. She recounts that she was a beautician in Ivory Coast. She later moved to Italy, and then Chapel Hill to…

 Sharon Livingston

"If you ask for help, you get it here." - Sharon Livingston Sharon is originally from New York and moved from Oklahoma to Chapel Hill, NC for medical training. At the time of the interview, she had been in Chapel Hill for three years. Her first impressions of Chapel Hill were positive given the…

 Benito Escovedo-Leal - On living on the street, his garden, and experiences with racism

Esta entrevista es parte de la colección para el Marian Cheek Jackson Center que se llama Encontrando Nuestros Vecinos. Señor Benito Escovedo-Leal cuenta la historia de vida en la calle, sus experiencias con el racismo, y como evitó problemas cuando vivía bajo de un puente. La entrevista incluye…

 Russell Edwards - On his family, faith, health, and upbringing

Russell Edwards grew up in Chapel Hill and has watched, as well as experienced, many situations that African-Americans dealt with both before, during, and after the civil rights movement took place. He resides in one of the historic African American communities of Chapel Hill and shares his opinions…

 Marquette Costen - On moving to North Carolina and what makes a good neighbor

This interview was done as part of the Facing Our Neighbors project. It begins with Costen discussing his respect for Southern women, noting that they can be stronger than men. Costen was originally from Washington, D.C. and moved to North Carolina with his grandmother. He notes the social…

 Mark Royster - On his family, community, and church

Rev. Mark Royster is the minister of Cedar Rock Missionary Baptist Church in New Hill, NC. He has spent decades working as a banker (VP of SunTrust), minister, school board member (leader of the Blue Ribbon Task Force), and community developer and activist in Orange County, and has strong ties to…

 Russell Edwards - On Northside, the Civil Rights Movement, and desegregation

Russell Edwards grew up in Chapel Hill and has watched, as well as experienced, many situations that African-Americans dealt with both before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement took place. He resides in one of the historic African American communities of Chapel Hill and shares his opinions…

 Keith Edwards - On the future of Northside and the impact of the Jackson Center

"After a while the only Blacks you will see in this community will be those going to the churches but not living here." - Keith Edwards Keith Edwards discusses the impact the Jackson Center and student organizations on the Northside community as well as the challenges posed by ongoing gentrification…

 David Caldwell, Jr. - On his career, community, and the Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood

"...and the thing about it was that you got to know there were very few activists that really knew what was going on with the enforcement and the same thing very few enforcers know what’s going on with the activists so it just made everyone—all of us more knowledgeable when people were talking we…

 Edric Cotton - On civil rights and education

"Because we can change these things, and that’s why we were marching..." - Edric Cotton This interview is primarily concerned with political figures (Dr. MLK, Jr, Dr. Benjamin Mays, Muhammad Ali, Mahatma Gandhi, and George Washington Carver) and personal spheres of influence such as his mother,…

 Shirley Davis - On her family history and the Civil Rights Movement

In this interview, Shirley Davis speaks about her family history. She grew up in Chapel Hill on Merritt Mill Road. Her father worked thirty years for the Sigma Chi Sorority and her mother worked for Milton Julian. Her grandmother worked at University laundry, and her grandfather worked with the Town…

 Gracie Webb - On her family, growing up in Northside, and changes in Northside

“On Sundays everybody would come after church and come there and eat, the pastors and all [of them]. We weren’t the wealthiest, but we were always full.” - Gracie Webb Throughout Gracie Webb’s life she has seemingly always been in the Northside and Cedar Groves area of Chapel Hill-Carrboro.…

 Amanda Ashley - On food during her childhood and learning to cook

Amanda Ashley describes her experiences with food in her childhood as the interviewer introduces the Food Ministry. Amanda shares how her mother’s occupation as a nutrition teacher influenced her food intake. Food in her household was less processed. Amanda describes her learning experiences in…

 Lavisha Williams - On food, cooking, and eating

Lavisha Williams grew up with her maternal grandparents as part of the household, and learned to cook watching them and her parents. Most of the foods and meals she grew up with had been passed down from her great-grandparents without cookbooks or precise recipes. Most of what she ate with her…

 Willistine McClain - On her childhood, parents, food, and farming

Willistine McClain begins the interview by sharing her childhood background of living in Darlington, SC with 12 siblings. She also includes her battle with cancer and having to attend UNC Hospitals for treatment. Willistine describes her parents’ relationship; her father was in his 20s and her…

 Robert Revels - On working in the food industry

This interview includes the interviewee’s background and his occupational history with food. He considers his first kitchen to be at the Carolina Inn in the 1940s and 1950s. His favorite dish to cook at the Carolina Inn was roast beef. Revels states that his favorite place to cook at was the Zoom…

 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.…