David Mason, Jr

This interview provides an overview of Black communities in Chapel Hill during Mason's life. He notes the consequences of having segregated communities and outdated infrastructures. His employment was at UNC Chapel Hill and he was employed at an early age at several local restaurants. He talks about local bands and other activities providing entertainment in Chapel Hill. Mason started working in an office then went back to school in the early 70s, graduated, and started to get a master's at NCCU. Mason’s mother played piano for 70 years. He talks about poverty in his childhood as well as the wealth and property owned by Black people on Franklin Street. He also talks about the Mason Motel, a Black motel in Chapel Hill where famous people stayed, and about other Black businesses in the community. He recounts being arrested for staging a sit-in at Colonial Drugstore and subsequently becoming of the nine Lincoln High School students who were the first to be arrested for civil rights violations in Chapel Hill. He married at the time of the Vietnam War and discusses his objection of going to war for a country that did not care about him. Here, he quotes Muhammad Ali. He shares how everyone in the community was close to one another. He also shares how integration was designed to fail local Black people. He finally talks about the effects of gentrification and community displacement being barriers to collective Black progress.

David Mason: And, ‘til when I guess it must have been February or March of 1960. 1960. Shortly after the demonstrations in the city, as I shall say, in Greensboro. I was the president of my class, and then there was another fellow that was a year older than me. His sister goes to our church now. Named Harold Foster. And we were all up to the M&N Grill, not—yeah, the M&N Grill—and he says, Dave says, you know, we need to stage our own sit-in. And I said, well, where should we go? He said, the place is obvious. We’re going to Big John’s.

Matthew Miller: So you were allowed to go there, but you weren’t allowed to sit at the counter?

David Mason, Jr.: Absolutely! Absolutely.

MM: Okay.

DM: Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly right. So that was the most logical place.

MM: Yeah.

DM: ‘Cause that’s where we all put our money, and, so that was thirteen of us. And I think two—myself, and maybe one other fellow from Saint Joe’s Church—we were the first to stage a sit in in Chapel Hill, which occurred at Big John’s. And—

MM: Is that when they had the fire hoses?

DM: Yeah.

MM: Wasn’t Pat Jackson there too?

DM: Well, she may have come along then, but—

MM: Later, okay.

DM: Yeah. But these were all, all guys.

MM: ‘Cause she was younger though, probably.

DM: Oh, yeah, gee whiz. She was much younger. Matter of fact, Pat has to be at least eight years younger than I am. I don’t remember Pat.

MM: But you guys were in the first—the first group that did it?

DM: Oh, yeah. Absolutely. Absolutely.

David Mason, Jr.: And I remember when we went in, we sat down and Big John said, “Mason, you, you know y’all are not supposed to be sitting down here.” And I said, “Why? We just want a soda.” And he said, “well y’all can get your sodas, and y’all have to leave.” And Harold said “No, we aren’t going anywhere.” So Big John said, “Well, I’m going to call the police.” And so I said, “Well, go ahead and call the police.” And John said, “Well, I really don’t want to call the police over y’all. But y’all are trespassing. I’m going to have to call them.” So we said, “Well, go ahead and do it.”

Matthew Miller: Were you arrested, were you taken away? Or did they just take your name?

David Mason, Jr.: They just took our names, okay. But he said, if you—

MM: If you do—

DM: Well, we weren’t arrested at that time, I should say.

MM: Okay.

DM: What happened—I didn’t tell my father, and, the next night, I was at my girlfriend’s house—who is now my wife—and Daddy said, Dave, police up here. I said, what they want? [Laughs]. You know what they want! You know what you’ve done! So, I said okay, so we called Reverend Jones, and Reverend Jones said y’all come down to the police station and y’all just sign it, the bonds, and y’all can be released. And that, that, turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. And the reason for that is because we were all tried and found guilty.