Russell Edwards

Russell Edwards grew up in Chapel Hill and has watched, as well as experienced, many situations that African-Americans dealt with both before, during, and after the Civil Rights Movement took place. He resides in one of the historic African American communities of Chapel Hill and shares his opinions about what it has become today. He also discusses recent developments around the historically African-American community and their effects on the neighborhood. Edwards talks about Lincoln High School being shut down due to integration; his feelings of anger during the Civil Rights Movement; his first hand experiences with desegregating Chapel Hill High School; the difficulty of non-violent protests; how Martin Luther King’s death affected the Northside community; white mobs that rioted in Chapel Hill and Carrboro; experiences with the Klu Klux Klan; the impact that the building of Greenbridge has had on the Northside community; his feelings of why the Apple Chill festival in downtown Chapel Hill got shut down; lynching in Pittsboro; the murder of James Cates; his daughter’s racial experiences at Chapel Hill High School and Guy B Phillips Junior High; her remembrances of segregation in Chapel Hill; the disgust she has with Greenbridge; the loss of Northside community.

Russell Edwards grew up in Chapel Hill and has watched, as well as experienced, many situations that African-Americans dealt with both before, during, and after the civil rights movement took place. He resides in one of the historic African American communities of Chapel Hill and shares his opinions about what it has become today.  He also discusses recent developments around the historically African-American community and their effects on the neighborhood.  Edwards talks about Lincoln High School being shut down due to integration; his feelings of anger during the civil rights movement; his experiences integrating Chapel Hill High School; the difficulty of non violent protests; how Martin Luther King Jr.’s death affected the Northside community; white mobs that rioted in Chapel Hill and Carrboro; experiences with the Ku Klux Klan; the impact Greenbridge has had on the Northside community; his feelings of why the Apple Chill festival in downtown Chapel Hill got shut down; lynching in Pittsboro; the murder of James Cates; his daughter’s racial experiences at Chapel Hill High School and Guy B. Phillips Junior High; her remembrances of segregation in Chapel Hill; the disgust she has with Greenbridge; the loss of Northside community.