Wanda Weaver

Wanda Weaver: My dad was the owner and operator of Chapel Hill Funeral Home, which is only two funeral homes that was in Chapel Hill, a black funeral home and a white funeral home. Walker’s Funeral Home which is on Franklin street still there and right here on Graham Street was Chapel Hill Funeral Home- Which was the black funeral home. What my dad did, because black people weren’t allowed to go to Memorial Hospital they had to go to the hospital in Durham. Memorial is UNC hospital. And there was no way to get them there because the ambulance would not take them there; so he developed an ambulance service out of what they used to have before station wagons. Remember the big station wagons? And, then he had an ambulance, actually got an ambulance as well. So he would transport the people from Chapel Hill to the hospi- Lincoln hospital in Durham where they can be seen. And he also, like I said, operated the funeral home where my mother assisted him there. Ms. Marian Jackson was the, one of the secretaries at the time also, and so he was the kind of person that opened up the doors and helped everybody as well. Mainly with funerals. They couldn’t afford to buy a casket, they could afford to *inaudible* a funeral. My dad would eat the cost. So for the families he really reached out in order to help them during time of bereavement.

This interview mainly focuses on Wanda Weaver’s mother and father/Kathy Atwater’s aunt and uncle, as well as the past and present dynamics of the Northside community. Ms. Wanda and Ms. Kathy show pictures of their mother and father/aunt and uncle, as well as discuss what they did for the community. Both parents were heavily involved in the community and had a giving spirit to everyone. They looked out and gave a helping hand to whomever needed it. Ms. Wanda and Ms. Kathy then discuss their contributions during the civil rights movement. They were only elementary aged during the time so they did not participate. They did not recognize race as a problem due to them being shielded and protected by those who loved them. The latter part of the interview primarily discusses current youth involvement in Northside, as well as changes in the neighborhood and community members’ participation in decisions regarding those changes. Ms. Weaver discusses ways that churches are currently trying to involve youth in the Northside community through outreach programs. Ms. Atwater also talks about programs such as Learning Across Generations through which the community is partnering with the school system to increase awareness of Northside history and community participation amongst the youth. The interview then transitions into conversation about the increased number of students and city-like buildings in and around the community. Ms. Weaver and Ms. Atwater both stress that it is important for community members to voice their opinions about these changes and work together to formulate a community-based response. The interview ends with Ms. Weaver and Ms. Atwater sharing the impact that the Northside community has had on their lives.

To learn more about Wanda Weaver's search for her mother's music, click here to read the article, "The Search For Susie Weaver's 'Freedom In Chapel Hill'," from WUNC.