UNC

Chronological overview of Donna Bell’s life history; being raised in New Bern, NC; growing up in a single parent home; her undergraduate experience and involvement at UNC; career choices through studying English to working in Social Therapy; her move to Northside in 2001, her first house, her…

Donny ‘Hollywood’ Riggsbee, resident of Chapel Hill, gives his biography during his time in in the town. He describes his youth, growing with 10 siblings, how his mother worked in a kitchen and how the kids worked while growing up. He talks about racial experiences in the form of his employer (Big…

This interview provides insight into the background of Donny “Hollywood” Riggsbee, a long-term Northside neighborhood resident. He shares his experiences living with 12 siblings, the areas of NC in which he lived, and his family’s interactions with UNC students. Hollywood goes into depth about how…

This interview is a part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Summer Oral History Series. Doris Wilson was born in 1936 in Robeson County, North Carolina and moved to Chapel Hill in the mid 1950s. She has lived in her same home on Church St. in Chapel Hill ever since. In the interview, she discusses…

This interview provides into Fowler's life growing up in Chapel Hill, her church attendance, and her education at Northside Elementary School. She goes into the neighborhood and family dynamics as well. She shares that her father worked for UNC. She spends her leisure time playing music and learning…

In the interview Mrs. Webb discusses her neighborhood and describes how the house that she grew up in was demolished by the state in order to build a road in its place. Her parents did not want to move but believed that if they refused the state’s offer their home would have been condemned; thus,…

Throughout Gracie Webb’s life she has seemingly always been in the Northside and Cedar Groves area of Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Reminiscing through the memories of her childhood, Mrs. Webb talks about her most fond experiences of cooking with her mother and grandmother, eating with her family on…

In the beginning of the interview, Ms. Atwater describes the history of her home, growing up in her neighborhood, and the significance of keeping her home in the family in order to continue an ongoing legacy. To Ms. Atwater, a home is more than a place of residence; it is a memorial, it is the…

Keith Edwards has lived at the same address on McDade St. in Northside since she was born but now resides in a different house, built with support from a development grant that Chapel Hill received in the early 1970s. She became the first black female police officer at UNC in 1974 and later won a…

Patricia Jackson grew up in Chapel Hill, NC and has been a member of St. Joseph CME Church for over forty years.  She now works with Wake County Schools and is also a church secretary, a stewardess, and a community activist.  This interview was done as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center…

Paul Caldwell was the first African-American sergeant, lieutenant, and captain of University Police at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. This interview includes Mr. Caldwell’s early life; The evolution of the Northside Neighborhood; Memories of growing up in Chapel Hill; Mr.…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series.
Rodney Taylor Sr., a current member and trustee at Barbee’s Chapel Baptist Church, has had a lifelong passion for community involvement. Mr. Taylor was born on June 26, 1958 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. His…

Senator Valerie Foushee discusses growing up in the Pine Knolls and Northside communities with her family. She details her family history, telling about the life stories of her grandparents and parents. Foushee recounts the relationships formed with other families in the Pine Knolls/Northside…

William Carter discusses the movement and his background. He was born in the Bronx, New York in 1949 and discusses his heritage with a grandma being a Lumbee Native American and father being an African American. Carter moved back to North Carolina because his aunt was in poor health and he discusses…