gentrification

"Thirteen years old and I gave my hand over to God. I've been in church ever since. Of course when you go off to college, you kind of drift away, but you always come back. I loved it. It was a good experience for me. It has always been a good experience for me." - Betty Baldwin Geer This interview…

This interview provides Brentton Harrison’s early biographical information, reflections on his father’s life as a Reverend and his life growing up in Northside including participation in a band while in high school. He shares his involvement with Heavenly Grocery, overseeing the Pancake Jamboree at…

Brian Toomey majored in History and wanted to teach after graduation. He moved to Carrboro in 2010 from Massachusetts. He speaks in detail about the services of the health center he works at and the outreach work for the Northside Neighborhood. Toomey notes that one of the difficulties of reaching…

Freedom fighters Euyvonne Cotton, James Foushee, William Carter, Linda Brown, Keith Edwards, and Marion Phillips gathered upstairs at St. Joseph C.M.E. to talk about their experiences as young people in the freedom movement in Chapel Hill 1960-1964. Spurred by the recent publication of Courage in…

In this interview, Cleo Caldwell, 53, discusses growing up in the Northside neighborhood surrounded by extended family and, in particular, her cousins who became policemen and civil rights activists. Cleo’s mother and sisters were known for their musical talents—her mother played piano and her…

This interview provides an overview of Black communities in Chapel Hill during Mason's life. He notes the consequences of having segregated communities and outdated infrastructures. His employment was at UNC Chapel Hill and he was employed at an early age at several local restaurants. He talks about…

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…

R.D. and Euzelle Smith have lived in Pottersfield in Chapel Hill since the 1940s. Both worked as educators in Chapel Hill for decades, and R.D. served as a member of the Town Council. They then became the namesakes for Smith Middle School when it was constructed. This interview was done as part of…

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,…

“On Sundays everybody would come after church and come there and eat, the pastors and all [of them]. We weren’t the wealthiest, but we were always full.” - Gracie Webb Throughout Gracie Webb’s life she has seemingly always been in the Northside and Cedar Groves area of Chapel Hill-Carrboro.…

“Well, I feel like it’s a big issue of whether or not businesses should have a social component in their mission. And I think that ideally, it’s best for business to have that element. And so, I feel like it’s responsible for businesses to take community input into consideration.” - Paige In this…

The interview includes the history of the Hargraves family: her great-grandfather, Jerry Hargraves had a role in the founding of St. Paul's. Nineteen children were born to her grandparents, Della Weaver and Luther Hargraves, the first black mortician in the area. He also built houses in Northside.…

“I really think with children, it didn’t matter. It was the adults that were having problems.” (In reference to integration) - Katherine "Mama Kat" Council Ms. Council, fondly known as Mama Kat, grew up on a farm in Chapel Hill down Jones Ferry Road and has lived in various places in the area her…

Kathy Atwater: Everybody was just family. I mean even in the neighborhood with the families that were in the neighborhood we all looked after one another- nobody was left to themselves. If I did something wrong, of course the neighbors would, you know, tell me “Kathy you shouldn’t do that,” and then…

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 discusses the impact the Jackson Center and student organizations on the Northside community as well as the challenges posed by ongoing gentrification of the neighborhood brought about by the conversion of single family homes into high occupancy student accommodation. Edwards expresses…

“My parents always taught us you know who you are, no matter what you say to me or what you call me, I know who I am. And that stayed with me for years. Because people are going to talk about you, you cannot stop people from talking. They can say what they want to say to you, but you know who you…

Rob Stephens (RS): And you say you did talk to elders about it? Reginald Hildebrand (RH): Yeah. Elders, I mean older people, not officials of the church. RS: Yeah. RH: Yeah. But these are the same people you’re talking to. Velma Perry and Rebecca Clark and others like that and they had, well it…

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…

Thomas Bell, a long time Northside community member and employee at Hillsborough Prison, attended Lincoln High School immediately before the desegregation of Chapel Hill public schools. He reflects on growing up in the Northside (walking to high school football games in Carborro, playing at…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Ms. Virginia has grown up in Chapel Hill and lived here her entire life. She was born on Mitchell Lane. She is the 10th of 10 children. Her mother worked at UNC at Chase Hall and her father worked within landscaping.…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Minister Willis Farrington, an associate pastor at S. Joseph CME Church, grew up in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He grew up going to St. Joseph CME all his life and has never been a member of another church. In 1975 he…