David Caldwell, Jr.
A Chapel Hill native, David Caldwell is the Project Director and Community Organizer for the Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association located in northern Chapel Hill, North Carolina. As part of his position, he collaborates with UNC in research and works with PORCH and summer enrichment programs to help revitalize the Rogers Road Community.
David Caldwell, Jr. - On the integration of Lincoln High School, family, and civil rights
David Caldwell, Jr. - On his parents, civil rights, and law enforcement
David Caldwell - On the difficulties between the local government and Rogers-Eubank community concerning the landfill
David Caldwell is a retired sheriff's officer who recounts the changes of the Rogers Road-Eubank neighborhood in Orange County, N.C. over four decades as they relate to the introduction of a landfill and increased housing density. Caldwell has been active in social justice work in his community as a leader of both the Rogers-Eubank Neighborhood Association (RENA) and the Coalition to End Environmental Racism (RENA-CEER). Caldwell discusses ongoing difficult interaction with the local government as the Rogers-Eubank community has voiced concern and organized against the effects of the landfill. He recounts Rogers Roads being a green and lush area during his youth and how it became less so with the landfill and housing development. RENA-CEER is a leader amongst community organizations combating environmental racism.
David Caldwell, Jr. - On his career, community, and the Rogers-Eubanks neighborhood
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 Caldwell
During this interview David Caldwell led a walking tour of the landfill and community of Rogers Road in Orange County, North Carolina. A long-term resident of the historically Black community, David is the Project Director and Community Organizer at Rogers Road. He shows the landfill, the woods in which the streams are contaminated by runoff from the red dirt (caused by the landfill), a historical cemetery, an enslaver's home, and the residential communities. David has rich knowledge and experience with the history of Rogers Road. He speaks on the loss of community, the loss of natural beauty, and of environmental racism.