Home > Items

Browse Items (2170 total)

 Hilliard Caldwell - Speaking about the integration of Chapel Hill High School

“As R.D. Smith would tell you, I had a chip on my shoulder. I thought everybody was against me because… I didn’t have the finer things in life. But R.D. saw that chip and he told me, 'One day I’m going to knock that chip off,' and he did. And as a result, I ended up in 1955 getting elected president…

 Hilliard Caldwell - Speaking about his childhood, family, and race

I was president of my student body at Lincoln High from 1955-56. That was the first time that I'd ever ran for an office where people voted for you based on what you stood for. Having experienced that in an all Black high school was the driving point in getting me to want to run for public office…

Hilliard Caldwell

“I think had it not been for our leadership and our slow approach to things, I suspect Chapel Hill would’ve had some scenes that were very common in Birmingham- the fire hoses, the police retaliating against the movement.” - Hilliard Caldwell

 Civil Rights protesters march from St. Joseph C.M.E. to Franklin Street

A protest march makes its way from St. Joseph's CME Church to Franklin Street. To maintain calm, the Chapel Hill police often treated the marches as parades. Eat at Joe's, the restaurant named in the banner carried in the front, was named in many signs protesting segregation. The owner was a vocal…

History of Lincoln High School by Mr. Edwin Caldwell

In June 1973, Mr. Edwin Caldwell wrote a history of Lincoln High School for Lincoln High School Alumni Association. Starting with the establishment of the "Free School," Mr. Caldwell details the events leading up to the renaming of O.C.T.S. to Lincoln High School. To read the history, click here.

 Ed Caldwell, Jr. - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

“We wanted integration, so we could have the same opportunities." - Ed Caldwell, Jr. During this oral history, Ed Caldwell, Jr. recounts his youth and adult career in Chapel Hill. Main focuses were the discussion of African American education, differences between areas and groups in the town, and a…

 David Caldwell - Introductions (clip)

 David Caldwell, Jr. - On his parents, civil rights, and law enforcement

In this interview, David Caldwell, Jr., begins by discussing past generations of Caldwells that came from Chatham County and lived first on Merritt Mill Road, then Durham, then Northside. His family moved to Rogers Road in 1963 when land became available to African-Americans. A major topic is the…

 David Caldwell - On the difficulties between the local government and Rogers-Eubank community concerning the landfill

This interview is part of an SOHP project called Rural South: Backways: Understanding Segregation in the Rural South. The interviews, 2014-, were conducted in the rural piedmont region and eastern North Carolina about the often hidden forces of structural and institutional discrimination that have…

 David Caldwell - On the history of environmental racism in the Rogers Road community

“That’s one reason we’re trying so hard to document everything. Because if you lose your identity, you lose your community…You lose your community, whether it’s from development or people buying it, you lose your identity also. So either way, if you lose either one, you’ve lost completely.” - David…

 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…

 Chapel Hill police officers round up demonstrators for arrest at the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Merchants Association sit-in

Chapel Hill police officers David Caldwell, Coy Durham, Charles Allison, and Herman Stone round up demonstrators for arrest at the Chapel Hill/Carrboro Merchants Association sit-in.

David Caldwell is the Black officer standing on the left. Judy Booth can be seen sitting in the front. Raeford…

 Cleo Caldwell - On cancer (clip)

 Cleo Caldwell - On her mother (clip)

 Cleo Caldwell - On her family's musical talent, growing up in Northside, and returning to the neighborhood

In this interview, Cleo Caldwell, 53, discusses growing up in the Northside neighborhood surrounded by extended family and, in particular, her cousins who became policemen and civil rights activists. Cleo’s mother and sisters were known for their musical talents—her mother played piano and her…

 Belinda Caldwell - Speaking about her career and life in Northside

This interview is centered around Ms. Belinda Caldwell. She begins by describing her family history then goes into detail about her personal history to Northside. She mentions that there is a significant difference between how her kids grew up and how she grew up. Belinda had only good things to say…

Belinda Caldwell

 Edwin Caldwell, Sr. - On his family and working at the DKE fraternity house

“I try to live the best I can and do the best I can in church and my community and try to be a good citizen the best I know how and sometimes that’s hard to do.” - Edwin Caldwell, Sr. This interview is a part of an oral history project starting in 1982 in which Kathryn Wall interviews key people…

Edwin Caldwell, Sr.

 Edwin Caldwell, Jr.

This interview is part of a group of interviews conducted by Susan Simone exploring the lives and struggle of various members of the Northside community: a historically black and primarily residential neighborhood located immediately northwest of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and…

 Edwin Caldwell - On civil rights, education, and societal changes in Chapel Hill and Orange County

"I was for all kids, not just Black kids. My philosophy was if it's good enough for white kids, it ought to be good enough for Black kids." - Edwin Caldwell, Jr. Edwin Caldwell, Jr. talks about his time working at a biomedical lab and eventually becoming in charge of the lab after excelling in his…

 Edwin Caldwell - On the Church of Reconciliation and status of the local Black community

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…

 Edwin Caldwell, Jr. - On his childhood and interactions between Black and white community members

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…

 Edwin Caldwell - On working as a Black man and interactions with police

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…