BECAUSE WE’RE STILL HERE
(AND MOVING)
“This story is dedicated to all the elders that told me I was the force of history;
To all the marble slabs at Memorial Hall
Founders of the University
Battle, Norwood, Swain, Caldwell
Same names as my community
Hogan, McCauley, Farrington, Edwards, Barbee, Weaver, and Foushee
You hear what I’m saying?
Merritt, Atwater, Mason, Stroud, Foster, McCauley,
Hargraves, Cotton,Purefoy, Riggsbee, Jones, McMasters,
Cole, Sellars, Craig, and Pratt...”
Black History happened here, and it wasn’t just a month. From Tin Top to Windy Hill to Pottersfield; from the Lincoln High Band to the Starlite Motel to the Orange County TrainingSchool; from slavery to sit-ins to urban renewal; this community-based project explores the dynamic relationship between local African-American neighborhoods, the oldest stateUniversity in the country, and the ongoing development that is altering it all.
PERFORMANCES
The ArtsCenter
In this historic performance, local residents, family members, and students bring to life 140 years of stories, histories, maps, images, and music from the historic communities of color in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The Kenan Theatre
University students fill the stage with stories, music, rap, and movement to tell the history of slavery, reconstruction, segregation, integration, urban renewal, and the resilience of a community. A Dept. of Dramatic Art MainStage Production.
The School Tour
As a finale for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools centennial celebration, a group of intrepid UNC Maymester students rehearsed and toured a 3rd version of Because We’re Still Here (and Moving) for all the middle schools in the district.
EXHIBITS
Frank Porter Graham Student Union
From Windy Hill to Pottersfield, from the Wilson Library to Memorial Hall, from slavery to sit-ins to urban renewal, these images and text remind of us of the rich reality of a community whose 150-year existence has been profoundly impacted by local development and ongoing University policies.
The ArtsCenter Gallery
You can tear down the buildings, but when you bury the stories, you rob the people of their power. These current and archival images, portraits, and text are testament to the enduring power of a community and their stories.
TOURS
Walking & Text Message Tours
History is the people’s memory. Too often that memory is lost beyond telling when the landscape of recorded history and monument ceases to express those stories. This map reminds us that, despite constant obstacles, these residents created their own institutions and their own community “out of what was possible and free.”
COMMUNITY photos
This rich collection of images were shared by community elders who offered their scrapbooks and family photos in the hope that “people would know we existed” and that “the children would know their story.” Other images were kindly shared by the WilsonLibrary and the Town of Chapel Hill.
creative placemaking
Coming Soon!
