Black Self-Determination In Durham
Large gathering of men in front of the Regal Theater, one of the landmarks of Hayti on East Pettigrew Street, circa 1940
Courtesy Durham Historic Photographic Archives, North Carolina Collection, Durham County Library
“Today there is a singular group in Durham where a black man may get up in the morning from a mattress made by black men, in a house which a black man built out of lumber which black men cut and planed; He may put on a suit which he bought at a colored haberdashery and socks knit at a colored mill; he may cook victuals from a colored grocery on a stove which black men fashioned; he may earn his living working for colored men, be sick in a colored hospital, and buried from a colored church; and the Negro insurance society will pay his widow enough to keep his children in a colored school. This is surely progress.”
W. E. B. Du Bois, American historian, sociologist, and civil rights advocate, from The Upbuilding of Black Durham
Landownership has always been a key part of Black self-determination, a collective effort that gathers the strength of the community to identify their own needs and work together for positive change.
Black spaces in Durham, such as the “city within a city” of Hayti, built a sense of unity and security that allowed Black culture to develop and made Durham a beacon for Black people across the country.
Children participate in a radio workshop at Durham’s Black-owned radio station, WAFR,in 1973.
Courtesy University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries
Hayti was an essential stop for Black activists, entertainers, and academics travelling the country – connecting Black Durham to broader cultural and political movements. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at the original White Rock Baptist Church in 1960.
Courtesy Durham Herald Co. Newspaper Photograph Collection #P0105, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill
Members of BYP100, an activist member-based organization of Black 18-35 year-olds, at a Durham Beyond Policing rally in July 2016. Black self-determination, through community control of Durham’s city budget, is one of Durham Beyond Policing’s demands.
Photo credit: Katina Parker
Large gathering of men in front of the Regal Theater, one of the landmarks of Hayti on East Pettigrew Street, circa 1940
Courtesy Durham Historic Photographic Archives, North Carolina Collection, Durham County Library
“Today there is a singular group in Durham where a black man may get up in the morning from a mattress made by black men, in a house which a black man built out of lumber which black men cut and planed; He may put on a suit which he bought at a colored haberdashery and socks knit at a colored mill; he may cook victuals from a colored grocery on a stove which black men fashioned; he may earn his living working for colored men, be sick in a colored hospital, and buried from a colored church; and the Negro insurance society will pay his widow enough to keep his children in a colored school. This is surely progress.”
W. E. B. Du Bois, American historian, sociologist, and civil rights advocate, from The Upbuilding of Black Durham
Children participate in a radio workshop at Durham’s Black-owned radio station, WAFR,in 1973.
Courtesy University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill Libraries
Black spaces in Durham, such as the “city within a city” of Hayti, built a sense of unity and security that allowed Black culture to develop and made Durham a beacon for Black people across the country.
Landownership has always been a key part of Black self-determination, a collective effort that gathers the strength of the community to identify their own needs and work together for positive change.
Hayti was an essential stop for Black activists, entertainers, and academics travelling the country – connecting Black Durham to broader cultural and political movements. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at the original White Rock Baptist Church in 1960.
Courtesy Durham Herald Co. Newspaper Photograph Collection #P0105, North Carolina Collection Photographic Archives, The Wilson Library, UNC Chapel Hill
