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 Emily Banks - On her family, immigration, and faith

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series.  Emily Banks, a current member and leader of St. Joseph CME Church, was born in 1946 in New York and migrated south to North Carolina in 1970.  She has spent the last few decades in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.  She…

 Esphur and Harold Foster - On her mother, education, and impact of the Civil Rights Movement

Esphur Foster has lived on Cotton Street in Chapel Hill, North Carolina for 70 years.  In this interview, Foster discusses the powerful life of her mother, Hattie Mae Foster, as well as growing up in Chapel Hill during a pivotal time in history. She also describes much about life before, during, and…

 Dennis Farrington - On his family, education, and work experiences

Dennis Farrington spent the first part of his life in the Northside area of Chapel Hill before moving to a home off of NC Hwy 54, and he has deep roots in Chatham County, North Carolina. He attended Chapel Hill High School after it was newly integrated. He spent most of his working career at UNC…

 Cecilia Massey-Fike - On her family, faith, and community

Cecilia Massey-Fike is an important member of her community in Chapel Hill, NC taking particular prominence among her family and her church, Saint Joseph’s Methodist Episcopal Church. During her life in Chapel Hill she has worked as a certified nursing assistant (CNA) at Chapel Hill Rehab, worked in…

 Betty Baldwin Geer - On her family, work experiences, and gentrification

"Thirteen years old and I gave my hand over to God. I've been in church ever since. Of course when you go off to college, you kind of drift away, but you always come back. I loved it. It was a good experience for me. It has always been a good experience for me." - Betty Baldwin Geer This interview…

 David Mason, Jr. - On Lincoln High School, school desegregation, and Northside

David Mason, Jr. a lifetime resident of Chapel Hill, is one of the leaders of the Lincoln High Alumni Association, an active member of St. Joseph CME, and a community historian. This interview, conducted as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History’s local Life Histories…

 David Mason, Jr. - On Black communities in Chapel Hill

This interview provides an overview of Black communities in Chapel Hill during Mason's life. He notes the consequences of having segregated communities and outdated infrastructures. His employment was at UNC Chapel Hill and he was employed at an early age at several local restaurants. He talks about…

 Robert Revels - On influential people in his life

Throughout this interview, Mr. Revels discusses the most influential people in his life as being the Danziggers, his mother and father, and his grandmother. He touches on a lot of lessons he’s learned from each of these individuals throughout the interview, such as the importance of work and…

 Patricia "Pat" Jackson - On her family, faith, community, and civil rights

Patricia Jackson grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and has been a member of St. Joseph CME Church for over forty years.  She now works with Wake County Schools and is also a church secretary, a stewardess, and a community activist.  This interview was done as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center…

 Chelsea Alston - On her experiences as a youth leader and changes in the community

This interview provides background of interviewee’s connection to Chapel Hill. She shares her experiences as a youth leader in the community. She describes the changes of the community over time (gentrification). Her ideas of safe places for young POCs in Chapel Hill are provided. She talks about…

 Joseph Fearrington and Clementine Self - On home, community, World War II, and Civil Rights

The interview was conducted on the porch of Joe’s home, a wonderful venue for an interview about home and community, although maybe not ideal for sound quality. There was significant wind at times and the sound of the cars passing by on the street. The interview begins with Joe’s stories of how he…

 Janie Alston - On her childhood, civil rights, and the Hargraves family

The interview includes the history of the Hargraves family: her great-grandfather, Jerry Hargraves had a role in the founding of St. Paul's. Nineteen children were born to her grandparents, Della Weaver and Luther Hargraves, the first black mortician in the area. He also built houses in Northside.…

 Delores Bailey - On her family home and preservation of community

Bailey describes the family history in the house she grew up in around 1975. She goes on to explain the expansion and uniqueness of the craftsmanship. She shares the memories from the neighborhood and the change of neighborhood over time. She has service involvement in the neighborhood to keep the…

 Velma Perry - On the history and future of Northside

In the interview Ms. Perry discusses the early history of the Northside community going back to the founding of the University and the introduction of slaves to the area. She then goes on to describe her family history, including her grandfather’s work as an undertaker and a carpenter who built many…

 Gracie Webb - On changes to the neighborhood and the effects on senior community members

In the interview Mrs. Webb discusses her neighborhood and describes how the house that she grew up in was demolished by the state in order to build a road in its place. Her parents did not want to move but believed that if they refused the state’s offer their home would have been condemned; thus,…

 Kathy Atwater - On home, community, and Northside

In the beginning of the interview, Ms. Atwater describes the history of her home, growing up in her neighborhood, and the significance of keeping her home in the family in order to continue an ongoing legacy. To Ms. Atwater, a home is more than a place of residence; it is a memorial, it is the…

 Elaine Norwood - On changes in Northside and relationships with neighbors

Ms. Elaine Norwood discusses her life-long residence in the Northside, relationships with neighbors, changes in the neighborhood, and race relations in Chapel Hill. The changes in the neighborhood are due to the elderly dying out, and the next generation not keeping the houses in the family. For…

 Keith Edwards - On housing and gentrification in Northside

Keith Edwards has lived at the same address on McDade St. in Northside since she was born but now resides in a different house, built with support from a development grant that Chapel Hill received in the early 1970s. She became the first black female police officer at UNC in 1974 and later won a…

 Euzelle and R.D. Smith - On changes in Northside

The interviewees share their experiences with living in Northside, the1940s until today, and the lack of interactivity between Northside and the university. There is a lack of progress in preventing harmful change to Northside. R.D. Smith talks about his own experience on town council. They talk…

 Euzelle and R.D. Smith - On Pottersfield and Smith Middle School

This interview was done as part of the “Histories of Homes” initiative of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History. The interview includes R.D.’s experience in WWII and his role in constructing their current home after the war. R.D. also held educator roles at Lincoln High…

 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…

 Mildred Council - On food, business, and Mama Dip's

Food is inextricably woven into Mildred Council’s life story. She grew up on a farm outside of Chapel Hill and cooked mostly out of necessity, and her main concerns were cost and practicality. She started learning from her father when she was nine years old, and as she grew up she held different…

 Willie Mae Patterson - On cooking and food

As a part of the Jackson Center’s food ways project, Willie Mae Patterson speaks to her experience with food and cooking. White Patterson grew up with a very small kitchen, her grandma taught her how to cook and always had lots of vegetables in her garden. Some of Patterson’s most popular dishes…

 Lillie Edwards and Juanita Washington - On food and cooking

Lillie recounts on her first experiences with cooking bread as a young girl. She was the designated cook of the family. She also talks about her mother’s cooking style since her mother does not use standard recipes to cook. Juanita speaks about Mama Dip (her aunt) being the head cook in her family.…