Oral Histories

"You have to keep going." - Marian Cheek Jackson Mrs. Marian Cheek Jackson begins with a description of prominent Black businesses that used to exist in the African American community, (including Mason's grocery store); St. Joseph's Christian Methodist Episcopal Church's role in civil rights…

Marian Cheek Jackson has resided in Chapel Hill for her entire life. Much of the life she knows has involved her staying in, participating in, and protecting Northside. The Marian Cheek Jackson Center was named after her because of the vision she had to document the history that lies in the…

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…

Ms. Pat Jackson gives an overview of her involvement in the organizations within St.Joseph’s CME, starting from when she was a child. This is followed by a discussion of thevarious power dynamic that occur between women in the church, and how to overcome anychallenges that can arise from these…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s Life History Series. Pat Jackson was born and raised in Chapel Hill North Carolina. She is a current member of St. Joseph Christian Methodist Episcopal Church in Chapel Hill. She serves as a stewardess and motherly figure within the site…

Patricia Jackson: ...walk from this church and remember growing up as little kids we could walk from here and go to Big John’s pharmacy, which was just on the corner there of Franklin Street. But when segregation time came and when the students, and the white people that were in charge, now we…

"The loyalty and the faith of the congregation at our local church. We are loyal to CME. We know our history and our roots. We know what the expectations are, and we hold ourselves accountable to our connection. We’ve always paid our financial obligations, and we pay them on time. That stems from…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: Mr. Farrington, Mr. Charlie Farrington, I recall was one of the people that died during this time period of 1974 to 1977. [He] was a trustee here, very instrumental in making sure the church was always taking care of its structure inside and outside, is the responsibility of…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson is the daughter-in-law of Mrs. Marian Cheek Jackson, the namesake of the Jackson Center. She brings with her to her interview several clippings from various newspapers, some of which include the first articles her daughter wrote in her journalism career or articles about…

“All the sermons that you are hearing, preaching, you are seeing God at work through the elders. Not until then, did you realize that was the relationship with the Lord. You had to give an account to God that he set you up and kept you safe and now I need to get your attention. He got my attention.…

Kathryn Wall (KW): This is Kathryn Wall and I am Co-Director of Public History at the Marian Cheek Jackson Center. It is November 3, 2021 and we are at St. Joseph CME Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Anna Spencer (AS): And this is Anna Spencer. I am also the Co-Director of Public History at…

Kathryn Wall: When did she decide that she wanted to go into journalism? Pat Jackson: She’s picking it up from her grandmother, Marian Cheek Jackson, always capturing information, always wanting to make sure that the voice of others were being heard. Instantly being accepted at UNC, there she didn't…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: I also brought along the… Dr. Bruton is also a graduate of my alma mater, Chapel Hill High School here in Chapel Hill, NC. And I brought along today a copy of The Proconian. That was our newspaper from Chapel Hill High School and it’s from February 27, 1970. And the reason…

Kathryn Wall (KW): So when you were growing up, you know, in younger grades, the older kids were all going to Lincoln from your community— Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): Mhm. KW: So did you expect, you know, did you think you would be going to Lincoln when you were approaching high school? PJ: Well…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson: So, with those feelings, we were able–and we had had collaboration with the other white churches in the neighborhood. Our ministers that had been in the Church had had students to come from Duke University over to our Church as youth workers, so we already knew that people…

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,…

Pat Jackson (PJ): One of the other things I brought to share was in the Chapel Hill News, May 21, 2000, is an article of 75 Years of Hill Life, and it talks about 1957, 1962 and I'm featured, myself Pat Jackson in the class of 1971 of Chapel Hill High School, 75th yearbook included, you know, my…

Patricia “Pat” Jackson (PJ): I also brought an article that I wanted to share from 2005 and it talks about home-grown businesses in the Midway Business Center. The Midway Business Center was the original place that here on Rosemary Street was our financial district. Was the place where all the…

Kathryn Wall: Did that spirit of thinking outside the Church walls and really connecting with people throughout the community, did that kind of take fire through the rest of the congregation? Pat Jackson: Oh yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it did. People felt the community back and the fellowship back around the…

Kathryn Wall (KW): When you were going to First Baptist was your family going there as well or coming to St. Joseph’s? Pat Jackson (PJ): No, my family didn't come to St. Joseph, my family, my mother, our home church is Neville's Chapel and it’s out on 15-501 headed towards Greensboro, that's where…

Kathryn Wall (KW): And when you were growing up, you know 7th grade and earlier, did lots of people in the community come out for those football games? Pat Jackson (PJ): Oh yes, that was the big event of your week, there were, during the early parts of celebrations on the UNC campus, especially…