Home > Oral Histories > Minister Robert Campbell - On Franklin Street (clip)
Oral History

Minister Robert Campbell - On Franklin Street (clip)

Interviewed by George Barrett and Kathryn Wall on October 28, 2022

Minister Robert Campbell - On Franklin Street (clip)

Clip_Campbell, Robert (BB_0002)_15_QR.png

Tags:

Oral history interview of Campbell, Robert conducted by Barrett, George on October 28, 2022 at RENA Community Center, Chapel Hill, NC.

Citation: Marian Cheek Jackson Center, “Minister Robert Campbell - On Franklin Street (clip),” From the Rock Wall, accessed December 27, 2024, https://fromtherockwall.org/oral-histories/minister-robert-campbell-on-franklin-street-clip.

"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

Min. Robert Campbell

"We want our young people to have a sense of worth in this, to have a value about who they are, and not to limit yourself because of your stature because your imagination and your desire can carry you above your stature." - Min. Robert Campbell Min. Robert "Peter" Campbell grew up in Northside. Many…

 Minister Robert Campbell - On Black Builders

"It’s good to talk about what it took to generate economics for the community itself. It was always teaching the new guy on the block. This is what it’s going to take for the future." - Minister Robert Campbell Within his interview, Minister Robert Campbell’s lively spirit and storytelling ease…

More to explore

 Minister Robert Campbell - On teaching for the future (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On Chapel Hill masons

 Minister Robert Campbell - On Aunt Callie (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On rafter (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - Ask your wife (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: “Well, it all depends on the function. A residential home uses smaller rocks, a commercial type you have bigger rocks. And you can actually see that the rocks at Hargraves are a little bigger than the rocks that you see on the rock houses on Graham and Moore Street. And so…

 Minister Robert Campbell - On walls (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - Money in the ground (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - Buff and shine (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On the Swain house (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On recipes (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: “I miss him teaching us how to play the piano…My grandfather, he could blow, he could blow. He was our inspiration. Sometimes, sitting around telling the tales about growing up and the things he had to endure. I think it just made him a more persistent and stronger person.…

 Minister Robert Campbell - On the brick bat (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On concrete (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On Chapel Hill rocks (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On his family history (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On how community engagement improves quality of life (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On the importance of the youth's conduct (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On lessons from the Navy (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On the rewards of RENA's community engagement (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - Encourages youth to know their history to build a better future (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On how community events unites people with differences (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On his fifty-seven year pursuit of bridging divides between races (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On the rabbit and the turtle race (clip)

 Min. Robert Campbell - On the impact of youth's involvement in RENA (clip)

 Minister Robert Campbell - On the Ministerial Alliance (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: The Ministerial Alliance in Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been very instrumental. Through it, the foundation of the Civil Rights Movement was really established. And under the mentoring of Dr. J. R. Manley and Rev. Foushee that was at St. Joseph Church during this time, and…

 Minister Robert Campbell - On needs of the community (clip)

Adwoa Asare: Could you just tell us a little bit about who you are and what you’re involved in with the community? Minister Robert Campbell: Yes. I’m Minister Robert Campbell. I was ordained at Faith Tabernacle in the ’80s. I am the president of the Roger-Eubanks Neighborhood Association, co-chair…

 Minister Robert Campbell - On Black Builders

"It’s good to talk about what it took to generate economics for the community itself. It was always teaching the new guy on the block. This is what it’s going to take for the future." - Minister Robert Campbell Within his interview, Minister Robert Campbell’s lively spirit and storytelling ease…

 Robert Lee Campbell - Speaking on his childhood, faith, and environmental justice

“All God's people coming together and then you hear the voice that said, "I went to the mountain top and what did I see?" I saw all God's people coming together, black, white, red, holding hands and chanting "peace and unity. What do you want? Justice!" And just to hear that echo and look around and…

 Minister Robert Campbell

 Minister Robert Campbell

 Robert Campbell - Speaking about community, faith, and activism

Min. Robert Campbell is a well-known local activist who was raised by his grandparents in the Northside neighborhood. He attended Northside and Lincoln and was in the first desegregated graduating class at Chapel Hill High School (Class of ’67). He moved to Rogers Road in the 1970s where he has been…

 Min. Robert Campbell - On the community of Black builders (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: There were, there were times where there were a lot of brick masons here in Chapel Hill, people of color. The thing is, once you begin to teach skills and then it came, it came a time, and that time did not change back until I will say… around about the later part of the…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Campbell building style (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: Well, looking at the texture of the craftsmanship of the house you can see, as I said, you know, Handy’s signature and Bill’s signature is that it’s good. I mean, they wasn’t boastful but, it had to be something that not only they were proud of, but the person who hired…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Slinging bricks (clip)

Robert Campbell: Going back to constructing some of the houses. Uncle Leo and Uncle Handy and Uncle Bill taught us how to sling bricks. George Barrett: Ok. RC: Sling bricks. Sometimes you could take a flat board, almost like a paddle, you could throw the bricks up and somebody could catch them and…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Blueprints (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: We did blueprints. It was easy to do the sketches first, because you could say well, this is what we got, do we want the storage room a little bit bigger? So, it gave people the opportunity to change their minds. Do you want the front and back door to be centered, or do you…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Inspiration (clip)

Robert Campbell: He was our inspiration. Sometimes sitting around telling the tales about growing up and the things they had to endure – I think it just made him a more persistent and stronger person, and in doing so, to teach his children as well as his grandchildren how to fend for themselves. If…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Teaching others (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: My grandfather and most of the builders were eager to be tutors and train other people how to do their type of work. It came in handy for us because we didn’t have to look for a summer job – because we already knew what we were going to be doing. We found out to have fun –…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Signatures (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: My grandfather used to put signatures in his house. You can easily find the one in Mr. Neville’s house. I haven’t been able to find that, but I know what I'm looking for. Those type of things let you see the ability, the craftiness…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Process of building (clip)

Robert Campbell: The first thing is you got to have your plans. You got to have your concept, so that you can basically make sure that you’ll be able to find all the material for that building and how far you might have to ship it. And I will say that fortunately for most of the construction that…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Mortar and cement (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: In the mortar and cement, there’s a certain amount per bag that you mix with sand to enhance and strengthen the mixture. In the cement, you would have more sand in it than you would in the mortar mixture itself. When it comes to the concrete, it would be a mixture of…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Ingenuity (clip)

Minister Robert Campbell: My cousin Gloria – my grandfather was teaching us all how to be a part of the work he was doing – she also helped put that wall together. She also made a different mixture of concrete – well, cement – with a mixture of lime in it. There’s a rock in there, it’s huge, and…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Family history (clip)

Robert Campbell: He was our inspiration. Sometimes sitting around telling the tales about growing up and the things they had to endure – I think it just made him a more persistent and stronger person, and in doing so, to teach his children as well as his grandchildren how to fend for themselves. If…

 Minister Robert Campbell - Buildings constructed by family (clip)

Robert Campbell: There are several homes, if you take the long journey around. There are some houses on Jones Ferry Road. It all depends on what end of Jones Ferry Road you start on. If you start over there by Terry’s Creek, you’ll see some of his handiwork. But over here in Chapel Hill there’s…

Northside News Volume VIII, Edition 3

Northside News Volume IV, Edition 12

Northside News Volume III, Edition 1
Back to all oral histories