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 Albert Simms Williams - On his life, family, community, and faith

Rev. Albert Williams is the minister at Staunton Memorial CME Church in Pittsboro. He is a lifetime resident of the area and was the first African American firefighter in Chapel Hill. This interview was conducted as part of the Jackson Center’s local life history series. Topics include: childhood…

 Anita Spring Council and Annette “Neecy” Council - On Their Family History and Family Businesses

"Yeah our friends would be going to the ball games and going here and then we had to go to work. But then when it came down to going to McDonald’s or whatever we had the money to buy it and they didn’t, so that was the good part about it." - Annette "Neecy" Council Anita Spring Council and Annette…

 Carol Brooks and Keith Edwards - On the Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

The interviewees provide an overview of the Chapel Hill Civil Rights Movement. They specifically note the emotion of CRM marches of Chapel Hill, Raleigh, and Durham in 1963. They speak on Watt’s Hotel discrimination and Civil Rights leadership in the area, especially of the friendly Pottersfield…

 Clementine Self - on Lincoln High vs. Chapel Hill High (clip)

 Clementine Self - on student segregation at Chapel Hill High (clip)

 David Mason, Jr. - On Black communities in Chapel Hill

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 He notes the consequences of having segregated communities and outdated infrastructures.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…

 David Mason, Jr. - On planning Chapel Hill's first sit-in (clip)

David Mason: And, ‘til when I guess it must have been February or March of 1960. 1960. Shortly after the demonstrations in the city, as I shall say, in Greensboro. I was the president of my class, and then there was another fellow that was a year older than me. His sister goes to our church now.…

 David Mason, Jr. - on teachers at Lincoln High (clip)

 David Mason, Jr. - On the sit-in at Colonial Drugstore (clip)

David Mason, Jr.: And I remember when we went in, we sat down and Big John said, “Mason, you, you know y’all are not supposed to be sitting down here.” And I said, “Why? We just want a soda.” And he said, “well y’all can get your sodas, and y’all have to leave.” And Harold said “No, we aren’t going…

 David Mason, Jr. - On what happened after the sit-in (clip)

Matthew Miller: Were you arrested, were you taken away? Or did they just take your name? David Mason, Jr.: They just took our names, okay. But he said, if you— MM: If you do— DM: Well, we weren’t arrested at that time, I should say. MM: Okay. DM: What happened—I didn’t tell my father, and, the next…

 David Mason, Jr. - On why the sit-in happened (clip)

Matthew Miller: So you were allowed to go there, but you weren’t allowed to sit at the counter? David Mason, Jr.: Absolutely! Absolutely. MM: Okay. DM: Yeah, yeah. That’s exactly right. So that was the most logical place. MM: Yeah. DM: ‘Cause that’s where we all put our money, and, so that was…

 Deloris Bynum - On school integration, church, and work

In this interview Deloris Bynum recounts being in the 8th grade when black students were integrated into Chapel Hill High School. Bynum says that she loved to teach children. She worked as a Nurse’s Aide in Assisted Living homes and loved older people. Bynum was an usher for the St. Joseph’s CME…

 Diane Pledger - On her education and school experiences

“Education is the key to having more and representing your people and making it to the next level. So, in the whole realm of education, we had to make sure that within the school system, we were getting ours. That we were afforded the opportunity to get ours.” - Diane Pledger Diane Pledger recalls…

 Doris Wilson - On racial inequality, education, and faith

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 the transition to Chapel Hill when she was college-aged and the first times she…

 Doug Clark, Sr. - On growing up in Chapel Hill and high school

Doug Clark, Sr., a musician, was born in Chapel Hill in 1936, where he lived in a close-knit Black neighborhood and attended Orange County Training School, which became Lincoln High School. He reflects on his family life and experiences growing up, such as seeing lines of Black children walk to…

 Edwin Caldwell - On the events leading up to school integration

“One of the most difficult times I had was looking [after] and protecting teachers. I felt like that was my job. Man, you know, teachers need to have some independence to be able to do what they need to do, and I let them know that I was going to protect them. That’s why teachers came to me when I…

 Elaine Norwood - On changes in Northside and relationships with neighbors

Ms. Elaine Norwood discusses her life-long residence in the Northside, relationships with neighbors, changes in the neighborhood, and race relations in Chapel Hill. The changes in the neighborhood are due to the elderly dying out, and the next generation not keeping the houses in the family. For…

 Francesina Jackson - On integrating Chapel Hill High School and challenges faced by Black students

“I think today, nationwide, particularly when you look at the education system, there is a growing interest in separate but equal, with an emphasis on equal.” - Francesina Jackson Francesina Jackson, Chapel Hill resident and retired teacher, discusses her experience integrating to Chapel Hill High…

 Fred Battle - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

"I would always look as I would walk down the corridors of the hall in Lincoln, and I could still hear some of the teachers speaking now. Giving guidance, giving direction, giving praise, and all the motivation we would need to excel as students, excel as athletes." - Fred Battle Fred Battle was…

 Freda Andrews - On education, teaching, and the Freedom Movement

Freda Andrews is a daughter of the Northside. Notably, her primary and secondary school education transformed her life immeasurably. Her teachers, especially at Northside Elementary, created a classroom setting that directed individual attention to each student. Fostered by these nurturing teachers,…

 Henry Atwater and Charles Weaver - On the African American freedom struggle and Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill

"Chapel Hill and Carrboro have been fighting each other for a long time. Ever since I was born. About where the city limits are, what they do, and how they’re going to do this. That’s why you’ve got the mayor of Chapel Hill and the Mayor of Carrboro. Chapel Hill has been trying to take over Carrboro…

 Katherine Council - On education, changes in the community, and racial discrimination

“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…

 Katherine Council - On her childhood, family, and changes in Northside

This interview provides an overview of the place and birth of Mama Kat. Her house burnt down in 1962. She notes the change in neighbors versus before. She had children graduating from college. Her 3 kids were in college at the same time. The last baby was born with down syndrome. She recounts the…

 Keith Edwards - On growing up in Carrboro and the role of teachers

“The thing I remember the most coming up in the Black community, the Black community supported the schools, not only financially, but they also supported the schools by parents having involvement in the children’s schooling.” - Keith Edwards Keith Edwards was born in 1950 and grew up in Carrboro and…

 Linda and Terry Carver - On integration, race in Chapel Hill, and medical access

The interview includes discussions about growing up in Chapel Hill during the Civil Rights era and highlights traits of early Chapel Hill life for African American families prior to integration. Both discuss the availability of medical facility access for blacks, how the community operated as a…

 Mae McLendon - On motherhood and attending UNC

“I was a member of the Black Student Movement. It was like a year old when I got there so I was very active in that. I was the off-campus minister. We would go to the football games and not stand for the national anthem…as a form of protest.” - Mae McLendonr In this interview, Mae McLendon sits down…

 Marie Mann and Kenneth Mann

“Everybody knew everybody, and it’s just like anywhere else, you could walk away from your house and not lock the door. You would know the neighbor would watch your house, and you would hook the screen in the back, and you go on downtown wherever you are going and come back, and your house is ok.…

 Mary Scroggs - On her time serving on the school board and integration

“We don’t have integration, we are desegregated, but aren’t integrated yet. I don’t know if we’ll ever be. We get closer, but it’s a slow process, but I felt very strongly that we needed to do that.” - Mary Scroggs Mary Scroggs grew up and attended high school in Nebraska and worked as a chemist for…

 Patricia "Pat" Jackson - On her family, faith, community, and civil rights

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…

 Patricia "Pat" Jackson - On Lincoln High mascot (clip)

Kathryn Wall (KW): Now this is just a minor question, just to answer a curiosity of mine, I know Lincoln's mascot was the tigers, and I know that Chapel Hill High School’s mascot now is the tigers, but was that always the case? Pat Jackson (PJ): Coming from Lincoln going to Chapel Hill High School,…

 Rebecca Clark - On her childhood, education, and school integration

This interview is part of an oral history project called Southern Communities: Listening for a Change: Mighty Tigers--Oral HIstories of Chapel Hill's Lincoln High School. The interviewes were conducted from 2000-2001, by Bob Gilgor, with former teachers, staff, and students from Chapel Hill, N.C.'s…

 Robert Campbell - Speaking about community, faith, and activism

Min. Robert Campbell is a well-known local activist who was raised by his grandparents in the Northside neighborhood. He attended Northside and Lincoln and was in the first desegregated graduating class at Chapel Hill High School (Class of ’67). He moved to Rogers Road in the 1970s where he has been…

 Saundra Dockery - on her school experiences and mother's spirit (clip)

 Thomas Merritt - On his family history, the importance of land ownership, and life prior to and after integration

"Know what history really is. Know what history is all about. Dig deep." - Thomas Merritt In this interview, Mr. Merritt gives an overview of his family history in Chapel Hill and Carrboro by sharing memories of his childhood while discussing larger social shifts at work. Starting with a description…

 Walter Durham - On school integration, his childhood, and race

“[Lincoln] was a school that you could go in and… no paper on the school campus. Hallway shines like new money all the time. You could drink out of the commode in the bathroom. And it was kept just that clean.” - Walter Durham Walter Durham discusses growing up as part of a large family on his…

 Willie "Brad" Bradshaw - On his childhood, education, and career coaching sports

“If you have good football teams, it permeates throughout the entire school and it helps the other things that you’re going to do come up to par, come up to snuff or whatever you want to call it. It cuts down on a lot of discipline problems. Kids want to do more in school, because they see the…