school experiences
Brentton Harrison - On his time at the Jackson Center
“It doesn’t feel like work, it feels like a calling, a mission, or a purpose."
- Brentton Harrison
Mr. Harrison is bidding farewell to the Jackson Center after 10 years of service to join the Hargreeves Community Center. With the whole staff bidding him farewell and asking questions, it leads to…
Brentton Harrison - On his time at the Jackson Center
Clementine Self - on Lincoln High vs. Chapel Hill High (clip)
Clementine Self - on Lincoln High vs. Chapel Hill High (clip)
Clementine Self - on student segregation at Chapel Hill High (clip)
Clementine Self - on student segregation at Chapel Hill High (clip)
David Mason, Jr. - On Lincoln High School, school desegregation, and Northside
David Mason, Jr. a lifetime resident of Chapel Hill, is one of the leaders of the Lincoln High Alumni Association, an active member of St. Joseph CME, and a community historian. This interview, conducted as part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center for Saving and Making History’s local Life Histories…
David Mason, Jr. - On Lincoln High School, school desegregation, and Northside
David Mason, Jr. - on teachers at Lincoln High (clip)
David Mason, Jr. - on teachers at Lincoln High (clip)
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…
Deloris Bynum - On school integration, church, and work
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…
Edwin Caldwell - On the events leading up to school integration
Frances Hargraves - On childhood, family, education, and teaching
"I remember my mother always told me, 'Whatever job you must do, be sure you give it your best.' She said if it’s sweeping the floor, washing dishes, anything, do it your best. And as I grew, that was her philosophy - always give it your best. And I still carry that philosophy."
- Frances…
Frances Hargraves - On childhood, family, education, and teaching
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…
Francesina Jackson - On integrating Chapel Hill High School and challenges faced by Black students
Francesina Jackson and Charlene Regester - On family, 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…
Francesina Jackson and Charlene Regester - On family, education, and school integration
Heather Giuffre and Others - On their experiences as white UNC students living in Northside
“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…
Heather Giuffre and Others - On their experiences as white UNC students living in Northside
Hilliard Caldwell - Speaking about his childhood, family, and race
I was president of my student body at Lincoln High from 1955-56. That was the first time that I'd ever ran for an office where people voted for you based on what you stood for. Having experienced that in an all Black high school was the driving point in getting me to want to run for public office…
Hilliard Caldwell - Speaking about his childhood, family, and race
James Foushee - On the Civil Rights Movement, family, and Northside
Foushee speaks on growing up in Northside which includes his educational experiences, and his family overview. He goes into the dynamics of his relationship with his aunt. Furthermore, he talks about his relationship with his neighbor. He takes the listener through the beginning and organization of…
James Foushee - On the Civil Rights Movement, family, and Northside
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 education, changes in the community, and racial discrimination
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…
Keith Edwards - On growing up in Carrboro and the role of teachers
Louise Felix - On her family's history in construction and her relationships
"I’m a people person, you know that, I love people. And I love to talk."
- Louise Felix
In this interview, Mrs. Felix exudes warmth and happiness. She highlights her family’s deep history of construction. Beginning with the Hargraves Community Center and continuing on throughout Chapel Hill and…
Louise Felix - On her family's history in construction and her relationships
Saundra Dockery - on her school experiences and mother's spirit (clip)
Saundra Dockery - on her school experiences and mother's spirit (clip)
Sharon Livingston
"If you ask for help, you get it here."
- Sharon Livingston
Sharon is originally from New York and moved from Oklahoma to Chapel Hill, NC for medical training. At the time of the interview, she had been in Chapel Hill for three years. Her first impressions of Chapel Hill were positive given the…
Sharon Livingston
Valerie P. Foushee - on her learning experiences during integration (clip)
Valerie P. Foushee - on her learning experiences during integration (clip)
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…
Walter Durham - On school integration, his childhood, and race