Fred Battle
A pillar of the community, Fred Battle, known by many as "Butch" or "Toro," grew up in Northside and played on the state champion Lincoln High football team. Heavily involved in the local civil rights movement, he went on to direct the Hargraves Community Center, serve on the Chapel Hill Town Council, was president of the local chapter of the NAACP and was a life-long champion of social justice causes.
Fred Battle - On his childhood, education, sit-ins, and school integration
Fred Battle - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill
"I would always look as I would walk down the corridors of the hall in Lincoln, and I could still hear some of the teachers speaking now. Giving guidance, giving direction, giving praise, and all the motivation we would need to excel as students, excel as athletes."
- Fred Battle
Fred Battle was born on Hillsborough Street in Chapel Hill, which was a predominantly Black neighborhood at the time. He reflects on the power of community and how the institutions of Chapel Hill shaped him into the man he is today. He discusses Lincoln High School and the atmosphere that surrounded him during his youth. He also notes the meaning of sports to him and the influence of the coaches he had in college and high school made on him. The interview emphasizes the huge support he received from his family and friends and how it drove him to advocate for desegregation and a better future for Black youth in the US. The interview also discusses the contrast between how white people and Black people lived their lives in Chapel Hill.
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.
