Oral Histories

In this interview, Shirley Davis speaks about her family history. She grew up in Chapel Hill on Merritt Mill Road. Her father worked thirty years for the Sigma Chi Sorority and her mother worked for Milton Julian. Her grandmother worked at University laundry, and her grandfather worked with the Town…

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…

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

“Well I would say that [Black women] stood by the men and we also stood up for our rights. We knew a change had to come.” - Shirley Pendergraph Davis Civil rights activist, Shirley Pendergraph Davis, comments on the role of Black women in the Civil Rights Movement in the early 1960s. Ms. Davis…

In this interview, Jarrett Dawson, a Chapel Hill local discusses his experiences with work, family, and church. Although originally from North Carolina, Dawson talks briefly about how his family moved to Patterson New Jersey for a time, and the experience of taking trips between North Carolina and…

This interview was part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s History Potluck series. Saundra Dockery, is a Northside native and daughter of Katherine Council better known as “Mama Kat”. Ms. Dockery shares photos and documents from her mother’s life as a way to commemorate her mother because of her…

“...It really became the motto of my life- to live like that. Not just for knowledge or education, but to have tools like that- qualities, virtues that can help people fight battles through life.” - Sherdenia Thompson Dunn Sherdenia Thompson Dunn was raised in Carrboro in the 1950s and early 1960s…

“[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…

She remembers Hargraves as her “second home” and a safe place to be. She describes staying at the pool all day until her fingers and toes were like raisins.

Audio recordings of interviews conducted by Yonni Chapman with participants in the African American freedom struggle and the civil rights movement in and around Chapel Hill, N.C.

"You couldn't have the expression of anger because you knew what this person was doing. Because your actions would not have come back on you, it would have come back on your parents." - Keith Edwards Edwards discusses her life in Carrboro and how she felt safe within the Black community but unsafe…

"After a while the only Blacks you will see in this community will be those going to the churches but not living here." - Keith Edwards Keith Edwards discusses the impact the Jackson Center and student organizations on the Northside community as well as the challenges posed by ongoing gentrification…

“Sundays were always a special day. That whole day was made into just like a holiday. - Keith Edwards This interview includes Keith Edwards’s viewpoint on the importance of food in the home and in the community.  She recalls specific recipes in the interview. Edwards was born and raised in Carrboro…

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…

“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…

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…

This interview is part of a group of interviews conducted by Susan Simone exploring the lives and struggle of various members of the Northside community: a historically black and primarily residential neighborhood located immediately northwest of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and…

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…

Lillie recounts on her first experiences with cooking bread as a young girl. She was the designated cook of the family. She also talks about her mother’s cooking style since her mother does not use standard recipes to cook. Juanita speaks about Mama Dip (her aunt) being the head cook in her family.…