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The Freedom Movement

Spurred by the lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro and by the actions of high school students determined to gain fair and open access to places that served the public, the Freedom Movement in Chapel Hill was supposed to break the way for cities and towns across the South. But, as James Foushee says,…

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…

The Patio

"There's another fellow who came home from World War II and moved back here by 1954. He built a place back here on Merritt Mill Road -- it's no longer there -- called The Patio. He was trying to make it go and all...And in the summer, too, there was a lot of people in Chapel Hill that had nieces and…

The Pines Restaurant

"As a kid I worked for The Pines down there, where they didn't let no Blacks come in there and eat, and my mommy and my daddy worked back there in the back. By the time I was a senior in high school, you had broken the rule where they could, Blacks could come there and eat." - Thurman Couch Located…

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…

The Ramshead Rathskeller

"The Danzigers had four restaurants: the Ranch House, the Rathskeller, the Zoom Zoom, and the Villa Teo...The Rathskeller was the first place in North Carolina, I believe — I know in Chapel Hill—that had pizza...Very first place. The Rathskeller employed a lot of Black people." -David Mason, Jr. The…

 The Saving OurSelves Program

 Third grade student at Northside Elementary responds to the question, “What does freedom mean to you?”

Thomas Bell

Thomas Bell is a longtime Northside community member, who grew up walking to high school football games in Carrboro and playing at Hargraves. He attended Lincoln High School before Chapel Hill public schools were desegregated. These days, he volunteers at Heavenly Groceries and is an active member…

 Thomas Bell - On growing up in Northside, involvement with the community, and the Civil Rights Movement

Thomas Bell, a long time Northside community member and employee at Hillsborough Prison, attended Lincoln High School immediately before the desegregation of Chapel Hill public schools. He reflects on growing up in the Northside (walking to high school football games in Carborro, playing at…

 Thomas Hoyt Feature

 Thomas Hoyt Statement

 Thomas Hoyt with Aleck and Della

 Thomas Hoyt, Jasmine Farmer, and Brentton Harrison

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…

 Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood

Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood plays the drums.

 Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood

Thomas James "Bubba" Norwood enjoying a sunny afternoon at the 2018 Northside Festival.

 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 Mason

 Thomas Mason - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

"“It felt good. It was almost like ‘wow, this really happened.’ And when the majority of the Black community became involved is probably when it was the most rewarding.” - Thomas Mason This interview is a part of an oral history project in which Yonni Chapman interviews a series of African Americans…

Thomas Merritt

 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 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 - 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…