Oral Histories

“I tell you young people, stay up with your peers. Never lose track of them.” - Clayton Weaver Weaver was born and raised in Chapel Hill, NC on Cameron Avenue. His great-uncle bought their family home in 1929 for $3000. He went to school at Northside Elementary. Weaver provides background on who…

Wanda Weaver: My dad was the owner and operator of Chapel Hill Funeral Home, which is only two funeral homes that was in Chapel Hill, a black funeral home and a white funeral home. Walker’s Funeral Home which is on Franklin street still there and right here on Graham Street was Chapel Hill Funeral…

This interview mainly focuses on Wanda Weaver’s mother and father/Kathy Atwater’s aunt and uncle, as well as the past and present dynamics of the Northside community. Ms. Wanda and Ms. Kathy show pictures of their mother and father/aunt and uncle, as well as discuss what they did for the community.…

“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.…

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,…

Gracie Webb describes holiday cooking in her family.To hear more from Gracie Webb, listen to her full oral history "Gracie Webb - On her family, growing up in Northside, and changes in Northside."

Louis Wijnberg was born in Holland in 1922. The interview begins with an overview of his extended family, all Jewish, and what happened to them during the Nazi occupation. A few were able to escape capture due to spectacular acts of bravery including going in to hiding and escaping via ship to…

In this second interview, Louis Wijnberg discusses his war experience at length including a very painful story related to a fellow soldier. He also tells of his relationship with fellow soldiers with different backgrounds and his difficulty in making friendships. Another major theme is his…

This interview is part of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center’s History Potluck Series. In this interview, Mr. Wijnberg shares photos and documents from his life. He begins by sharing photos taken at the end of World War II while he was still in Europe. He also shares documents he received from the…

Eloise Williams (EW): They dealt with the “rebbish” [white people in Carrboro] but we dealt with the Ku Klux. Rob Stephens (RS): Out where you were? Albert Williams (AW): Yeah, on 54. They’d have Klan rallies in that field, in that section. EW: Yes, sir. They would scare you half to death, peeking…

Albert Williams: Neighbors looked out – this was a tight neighborhood– right down that cross from Hargraves Center. Rob Stephens: Yeah Albert Williams: On Roberson's street. And you know, it was tight. We grew up – I grew up – being introduced to white and Black. It wasn’t no big thing even though…

Rob Stephens: --people? Albert Williams: Yeah, we met them. RS: Is that the family that said they moved out here because there weren't any Black people in Cary? AW: Yeah. Eloise Williams: It’s not a family, it’s just a lady. AW: A lady. She had a grandson, her grandson came down. EW: He was…

Albert Williams: You know, there's failure in us, but like everybody else, we’ll strive, and even though we should have a higher standard [pause], you know, and really strive to live according to that standard. Rob Stephens: Yes. Albert Williams: But many of us fail in so many ways. We are human,…

Albert Williams: Things were segregated. That’s why I’m saying the people in Carrboro don’t know what was going on. When you cross that railroad track at night, that was the white side of town. You didn’t have no business in Carrboro. Rob Stephens: I’ve heard that. AW: Unless you lived out there.…

Rob Stephens: What’d you think would be most needed in, for the neighborhood – we talked about this a lot, especially in the sessions with you and Brother Revels and Pastor Harrison – but, for the community around Saint Joseph, to really, you know in the midst of all the changes that are going on,…

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 and a native son of St. Joseph CME. Mrs. Williams is also a lifetime resident and active member of Staunton…

In this short clip, Rev. Williams tells the story of his 1968 interview for a position with the Chapel Hill Fire Department. Albert Williams: I had to be interviewed by a panel of five personnel. They were five chiefs, and five officers from various departments around the state. One of the questions…