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Scarborough & Hargett Celebration of Life Center, Inc.

"Scarborough owned Scarborough Funeral Home in Durham. And they used to have a funeral home in Chapel Hill, too, before they moved to Durham. They had them in both places."

- Doug Clark, Sr.

Scarborough & Hargett Celebration of Life Center, Inc. began in Kinston, NC in 1871 when grocer J.C. Hargett, established a funeral home catering to the city's Black community. Hargett paid for the education of his employee, John Clarence Scarborough, who was the only Black student when he attended Reounard Training School for Embalmers in New York in 1905. The two men moved the business to Durham that same year. Scarborough became founder of the Funeral Directors and Morticians Association of North Carolina and the funeral home has been in operation and remained family-owned for over 100 years.

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Citation: “Scarborough & Hargett Celebration of Life Center, Inc.,” From the Rock Wall, accessed November 21, 2024, https://fromtherockwall.org/places/scarborough-hargett-celebration-of-life-center-inc.

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