Oral Histories

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series.
Rodney Taylor Sr., a current member and trustee at Barbee’s Chapel Baptist Church, has had a lifelong passion for community involvement. Mr. Taylor was born on June 26, 1958 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His…

This interview touches on childhood stories from Makla Thompson. Makla talks about her mother, grandmother, and the importance of family. She reflects on growing up in Carrboro, where her grandmother was active in the community as a kind woman, caring for those who could not care for themselves. She…

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Facing Our Neighbors series. Tommy Owens and his brother, Jason, reflect on their neighborhood in Chapel Hill and the neighbors they’ve had in it in the 2 years they have been living there (in 2010). They go on to describe the community…

Brian Toomey majored in History and wanted to teach after graduation. He moved to Carrboro in 2010 from Massachusetts. He speaks in detail about the services of the health center he works at and the outreach work for the Northside Neighborhood. Toomey notes that one of the difficulties of reaching…

“I got the sense that it was more than just a job to them [teachers]. I really got the sense from my teachers that they cared about me.” - Stanley Vickers Stanley Vickers has been a member of the Chapel Hill community for a long time. He grew up in Carrboro and attended both Lincoln High School and…

In this interview, Wallace speaks about Civil rights in Chapel Hill, resistance within the movement, and differences of thought. He also talks about Karen Parker, the first black Woman to graduate from UNC. The interview also includes discussion of Jim Wallace’s photos, photos used in schools to…

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…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Oral History Trust. Albert (Bruce) Washington, III grew up in Chatham County with his mother and in Northside with his father and extended family. He was an only child, but grew up in the context of many cousins, aunts, and uncles who cared…

“Everything you do, just make it look good and have pride in what you do. And we had a lot of pride in what we did.” - Albert Williams Albert Washington is a former brick mason and Black business owner. He and his business partner, Barry Kelly, have been in business together for 37 years. Over that…

Albert “Bruce” Washington (ABW): Actually, I took it in high school, in Chatham County, Horton High School. And they used to interview us and say, “Who’s going to college?” If you weren’t going to college, they would teach you a trade – carpentry, brick masonry, all that, and it just went on from…

Albert “Bruce” Washington (ABW): Well, it is now, but a lot of things now is that, when I first started, it was all Black [people] doing it because it was hard, hard work, and then when the white [people] found out how much money was in it, they kind of took it over. I remember when I started, if I…

Yvonne Cleveland (YC): How far back does your family go in this brickmasonry? Albert “Bruce” Washington (ABW): I think it was just my uncle. YC: Just your uncle? ABW: Yeah, uh huh. And I forget who he worked for around here in Chapel Hill, but I can just remember him being around the house, filling…

Albert “Bruce” Washington (ABW): Well they need to make sure that they get their money for their labor. That’s what they need to do. Because the government has got it set up where you have to pay so many taxes and general liability and insurance and stuff like that, you know. So they just need to…

Albert “Bruce” Washington (ABW): I would like to see something like that, you know, I would like to see the picture of George Tate and Donny Brooks, and Charles Brooks, and people like that. And David Rankins, I’d like to see, because they were the ones who started us and taught us what to…