Home > People > Hilliard Caldwell - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill (Interview One) > Hilliard Caldwell - Brothers in law enforcement (clip)

Oral History

Hilliard Caldwell - Brothers in law enforcement (clip)

Interviewed by John Kenyon "Yonni" Chapman on March 26, 1991

Hilliard Caldwell: My brothers’ backgrounds are varied. The leading career in my family was law enforcement. I have two brothers who have many years of law enforcement experience. One of the older brothers was the first full-time Black policeman in Chapel Hill.

Interviewer: Who was that?

Hilliard Caldwell: His name was Dave Caldwell. And Dave and another gentleman by the name of James Council were the first full-time Black policemen. Prior to that time, Chapel Hill law enforcement from the Black community standpoint was shared by two elderly gentlemen by the name of Mr. Bill Macauley and…. I can’t remember the gentleman’s name. I knew his family, but they only worked weekends. On Friday night and Saturday night, patrolling the Black community.

Interviewer: They worked for the…

Hilliard Caldwell: Chapel Hill Police Department. And, of course, subsequently the Police Department went into hiring two full-time Black policemen and, as I indicated earlier, my brother Dave Caldwell and his partner was James Council. And they held that position for many, many years.

Interviewer: When were they hired?

Hilliard Caldwell: Yonni, my dates on that … I can’t remember the dates, but I know they were very active in 1957 because I was dating at that time and I remember my brother, when I was out late visiting my girlfriend, who is now my wife, my brother Dave would come through and pick me up and bring me back home in the police car because we lived on Merritt Mill Road and I was way across town by Hargraves Center dating a young lady who is now my wife of 32 years. If you focus on that aspect, my brother can certainly give you those dates, the exact dates that he was in law enforcement. Of course, I have a younger brother who is the baby of the four of us who is a captain on the UNC Police Force and his name is Paul Caldwell.

Oral history interview of Caldwell, Hilliard conducted by Chapman, John Kenyon "Yonni" on March 26, 1991 at Chapel Hill, NC.

Citation: The Southern Historical Collection at the Louis Round Wilson Special Collections Library, “Hilliard Caldwell - Brothers in law enforcement (clip),” From the Rock Wall, accessed April 19, 2025, https://fromtherockwall.org/oral-histories/hilliard-caldwell-brothers-in-law-enforcement-clip.

Rights: Open for research. The Southern Historical Collection (SHC) welcomes non-commercial use and access that qualifies as fair use to all unrestricted interview materials in the collection. The researcher must cite and give proper credit to the SHC. The SHC requests that the researcher informs the SHC as to how and where they are using the material.

"We’re writing our own history, thank you!"

Ms. Esphur Foster

Want to add in? Have a different view? What do you think? Want to upload your own photos or documents?

History is not the past. It’s the sense we make of the past now. Click below to RESPOND—and be part of making history today.

Respond

In this Oral History

Back to Hilliard Caldwell - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill (Interview One)

Hilliard Caldwell - Brothers in law enforcement (clip)

In this Oral History

Hilliard Caldwell - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill (Interview One)

More to explore

Hilliard Caldwell - Role of adults in leading in the movement, conclusion (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Not allowing the white structure to control the Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Greensboro Sit-Ins and first sit-ins in Chapel Hill (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Late 1950s activism as PTA president to advocate for a safe crossing over a creek on the way to the school (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Watching the news on television in the 1950s (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Learning Black history, Brown v. Board of Education (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Grandma Flacks on the way to Northside School (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Violent August 1937 incident (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Mary Mason and Harold Foster (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Harold Foster and his leadership ability (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Liberal white citizens in Chapel Hill (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Campus Y meeting between Lincoln and Chapel Hill High School students (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Students who were involved with the Campus Y meeting (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Interaction between white and Black students in 1955-1956 at the Campus Y (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - The extent to which ministers addressed segregation (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Shifting from First Baptist to St. Joseph CME to United Church of Christ (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Church as food for thought (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Mother’s second marriage (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Class size in schools and economic class divisions in the community (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - R.D. Smith and other influential teachers (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - How teachers talked about segregation (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Contradictions between civics education and segregation (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Dedication of teachers and his grades (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Teachers in the community, integration (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Churches, Schools, PTA (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Living in rented homes (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Punishment and role of school (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Childcare while mother worked (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Mother’s domestic work (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Janitor’s association (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Fraternity work (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - His parents (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Career in public administration (clip)

Hilliard Caldwell - Introductions (clip)