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.

“Something I’ve been thinking about lately is that I think of myself as a student that’s here for four years. I think of my contributions, both negative and positive to this area and people who live here, as a temporary thing. I think that’s really problematic, because I’m a temporary student, but…

In this interview Deloris Bynum recounts being in the 8th grade when black students were integrated into Chapel Hill High School. Bynum says that she loved to teach children. She worked as a Nurse’s Aide in Assisted Living homes and loved older people. Bynum was an usher for the St. Joseph’s CME…

This interview was conducted for the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Facing Our Neighbors Initiative. The interview focuses almost entirely on the importance of community in the lives of the Bynums. Topics Include: Growing up in area, Mr. Bynum’s experience in the fire department, Lincoln High,…

Earl Bynum (EB): Probably ’69 or ’70 and I was standing outside the fence and I was talking to a girl on the inside of the fence and we were just talking and all of the sudden I was seeing her go [deep intake of breath in shock] and I heard a thump and I looked over there and the guy missed. He was…

Earl Bynum: Well, my father had the idea about going to the Town to ask. We need a pool for our kids. You know what I mean? They got together and planned how they were going to build the pool, so here come all of the money that it took to build the pool and we got it. Mr. Aldophus, I remember him as…

Earl Bynum: Well, like I said, I was a little small guy, so I didn’t know really what all was going on. I remember when they added the second half onto Hargraves Center, the back part that they had there. Because, let me tell you, I used to go over there and play and they were just building it and…

Earl Bynum: But they knew that the little kids would just be going around the side of the pool. They knew they could dog paddle, so they’d catch you and grab you and they’d throw you out there in the middle and say you either swim or sink, but they knew you could swim a little bit. They were just…

Earl Bynum: We had some good times. I have one more thing. I want to say just one more thing. You were talking about activities over there. People forget that we had movies. We had movies on the inside and we also had movies on the outside and we had dances. We had the best dancer on the planet…

In this interview, Ronnie Bynum discusses his family history, including the career of his grandmother as a midwife and the changes she witnessed on Airport Road, which is now MLK Boulevard. He talks about how much he learned from his grandmother, and how easily it is for the fabric of an extended…

In this audio clip, Ronnie Bynum talks to Heidi Dodson about what it was like in Carrboro before and after desegregation.

Ronnie Bynum: Yeah, I remember the marches, and everything- the meeting areas out in front of St. Joseph’s. I remember when Reverend Manley and First Baptist, for example, saying Martin Luther King can’t speak here because during that time they had moved from Franklin Street, near McDonald’s, and…

Blanche Brown (BB): I just want to test the sound levels real quick, so if you wouldn’t mind just saying something, anything. David Caldwell Jr. (DC): Five four three two one, one two three four five. BB: [laughter] Alright. DC: [laughter] BB: Okay. That should be good. Okay. So my name is Blanche…

Blanche Brown (BB): So, did you grow up in the Rogers Road area? David Caldwell Jr. (DC): Yes I did, since the third grade. BB: Since the third grade? DC: Been here since the mid-sixties. BB: Okay. Where were you before the third grade? DC: Before that it was Merritt Mill Road in Chapel Hill. From…