Oral Histories

BG: You had mentioned that you learned either late in the school term or during the summer that you were going to go to Chapel Hill High and you had some feelings about that that were just expressed to me while we were changing the tapes. BH: Right. My personal preference of course being a senior…

BG: Did you feel that you were treated the same as a student as the white teachers as the whites were treated when you went Chapel Hill High in '66? BH: I don't have a recollection of being treated differently, it's just maybe a sense of identifying with their teacher or the teacher identifying with…

“For me, high school was a good experience because I had my friends. We were in this big environment, and we had to stick together. We learned to love each other and care about each other. We didn’t know it, but we were nurturing each other.” - Sylvester Hackney Sylvester Hackney, a native of rural…

Annie Burnett Hargett is a Northside “legacy seller.” She was born in Chatham County, where the family owned a large piece of land but moved to Chapel Hill to find work at the university. She remembers growing up poor, but lacking nothing. She talks about black businesses, Northside school and…

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…

"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…

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…

FH: I guess I was just like any other youngster. I was more concerned about the neighborhood and being accepted by my peers and also my relatives. Just being a part of what was going on, and playing games, and going to school like any child would at that period. You must remember I was born in 1914.…

FH: at that time it was hard to find qualified teachers. That's why they sent me. I was the first teacher in Orange County to be certified to teach special education. So I ran a lot of workshops. And when I came back, UNC, this university up here sent students to me to train. BG: In teaching…

BG: What was the feeling about Lincoln High School when it was moved to Merritt Mill Road in 1951? How did the community relate to the school? FH: Wonderful, wonderful! Good heavens, you had everything: space, better school, more equipment. All of it was just wonderful. Very accepting of moving to a…

BG: I think this is interesting, and a lot of it is theoretical. So I want to go back to Lincoln High School and more of your memories of Lincoln High School. What the teachers were like, what the students were like. The sports, and the band, the chorus. Anything else you remember from Lincoln…

Keely Hargraves (KH): So, I learned to swim over here at Hargraves. I was nine-years-old and my sister Sharon started working at the pool, and I’d come over here with her every day and I would just wade around the pool and I would be on one leg thinking I was doing something and finally one day I…

Kelven Hargraves: Oooh Lord, look, I was reluctant to get up here but, you know, that Spirit just pushed me. I was motivated, my cousin, sitting here, Jimmy Merritt. We watched everybody grow up in front of us and they led us and role modeled for us over here at the Hargraves Center. It started out…

Veronita Hargraves (VH): Hello everyone. Can you hear me? Crowd: Yes! VH: Wonderful. Hi! It’s so wonderful to see all your faces. This has been an honor. Thank you for inviting me, Kathy. I did not know my Dad, unfortunately. He passed when I was 22 months old, but growing up [people would say]…

Curtis Harper is a member of the Church of Reconciliation, which he joined in the 1970s when he moved to Chapel Hill. Harper speaks about his upbringing in a community where the only secure place African Americans could meet was in church. He describes his work teaching at the University of North…

In her oral history, Andrea Harris discusses her parents and growing up in Henderson, NC. She attended segregated schools and went to Bennett College, where she began her community organizing career by experiencing first-hand the aftermath of the assassination of Dr. King and the became aware of the…

This interview provides Brentton Harrison’s early biographical information, reflections on his father’s life as a Reverend and his life growing up in Northside including participation in a band while in high school. He shares his involvement with Heavenly Grocery, overseeing the Pancake Jamboree at…

"Come to Hargraves. Come build community either with myself or someone else. Build community because at the end of the day, community is kind of the only answer. - Brentton Harrison Brentton Harrison has been in Chapel Hill since he was nine and lived in the parsonage of St. Joseph CME Church, which…

“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…

In this short clip, Rev. Harrison talks about his dream for Chapel Hill.

Listen to Rev. Troy Harrison, former pastor of St. Joseph CME Church, speak about how faith sustained the Black communities of southern Orange County.

Danina Henley: I’m still getting used to the diversity as far as feeling like I belong here. Growing up, I was around people that were just like me. It’s just different. We were all alike. We all had the same interests. How do I want to say it? Our way of life was just real similar. We shared a lot.…

Danina Henley: The community is what got people through, you know neighbors is what got each other through hard times when my grandmother was coming up and when her mother was coming up. It was neighbors that got people through hard times. I know with the recent recession scare and all the things…