Oral Histories

Virginia Medean: I think community takes people talking to each other and just finding what your similar needs are. I’ve met lots of people because I have a car, and I say to people, “Anybody need a ride to the other side of town?” Ella Wise: What else makes a community? So we talked about walking…

Virginia Medean provides a look into her experience of Northside as a white woman who is aware of both sides of town (Northside and Carrboro). She explains her concerns and her ideas of how the community could grow bigger and change. She also indulges in the present and how she spends her everyday…

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…

In this oral history, Regina Merritt discusses what her life was like growing up on a farm. From the beginning of the interview, it is clear that her grandmother was the centerpiece of her family. She cooked for not only her own family members, but also for anyone in the community who needed food.…

“My parents always taught us you know who you are, no matter what you say to me or what you call me, I know who I am. And that stayed with me for years. Because people are going to talk about you, you cannot stop people from talking. They can say what they want to say to you, but you know who you…

"Know what history really is. Know what history is all about. Dig deep." - Thomas Merritt In this interview, Mr. Merritt gives an overview of his family history in Chapel Hill and Carrboro by sharing memories of his childhood while discussing larger social shifts at work. Starting with a description…

MCJC Staff: “So, could you tell us what [growing up on Church Street] was like - sisters, brothers?” Thomas Merritt: “Oh one sister older, one brother younger. We were pretty well off back then. My mother she worked for Danziger’s Old World gift shop. My father worked at different restaurants, and…

MCJC Staff: “At the same time, kids in town were fighting for civil rights?” Thomas Merritt: “Yes. They were fighting for civil rights because they wanted to go places and to be free to go places and do things. Dairy Queen [chuckle]. Down at the bottom of Franklin Street, in the dirt parking lot…

MCJC Staff: “So what happened to the land?” Thomas Merritt: “Well, a lady came by and she had some papers and she tried to get my grandmother to sign them. So she forged her signature on them and she took the land. And I think she felt guilty. And my brother knew the whole story about what had…

Ms. Freddie Mae Mitchell grew up on Graham Street, and as the oldest daughter in her family, she helped her parents by cooking for the rest of the family. Her cousins owned a farm, and her family would get food from them. When she got married she moved to Gomains Street, where she lived for ten…

Esta entrevista es parte de la colección del Marian Cheek Jackson Center para la serie de Encontrando a Nuestros Vecinos. Señor Andrés Morales-Castillo empieza la entrevista con descripciones del barrio donde vive ahorra, comparando lo con su barrio de Monterrey, México. El cuenta un relato de un…

This interview provides discussion of food, especially the process of getting food, and the amount of food you could buy. Furthermore, Morrow describes the change in money changes to affect how much food you can buy. She also demonstrates how money affects traditions. Her area had no farmers market…

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…

BG: What was your involvement in sports here at Orange County Training School? MJ: Well, they had different clubs and I was a member of just about every club in the school. My favorite was playing basketball, and I started playing basketball when I was in the sixth grade, Mr. Judas Scales was my…

BG: What was the band like under Mr. Pickard? MJ: Well, we were getting started and what happened then was that Mr. Pickard would put all of the instruments out on tables and people would go into the room and choose the instrument that they were interested in playing so that everyone would know all…