Re/Collecting Chapel Hill

The James Cates Scholars is a youth-led, elder informed program dedicated to centering, exploring and sharing marginalized Black history in Chapel Hill. The Scholars range in age from middle school, high school, college and beyond. Find out more and support the program at Bridging the Gap with Danita Mason-Hogans. (https://www.bridgingthegapdmh.org/copy-of-what-we-do)

CJ Suitt (he/him/they/them) is a performance poet, arts educator, and community organizer from Chapel Hill, N.C., whose work is rooted in storytelling and social justice. CJ most recently was appointed as the first Poet Laureate of Chapel Hill. He is committed to speaking truth to power and aims to be a bridge for communities who can’t always see themselves in each other. This episode was produced by Klaus Mayr and edited by Klaus and Molly.

Join Chapel Hill Public Library staff and community members as we uncover the untold histories of Chapel Hill, from the inside out and bottom up. In this episode we dive into Chapel Hill's musical history, starting with one of its most beloved artists, Elizabeth Cotten. We search for signs of Chapel Hill in Cotten's music and learn about life for a young Black girl growing up in the turn of the century South. Producer, Mandella Younge, joins Molly as co-host for this episode. Special thanks to Glenn Hinson, Brent Glass, and the Chapel Hill Historical Society. This episode was written, produced and edited by Mandella Younge and Molly Luby.

The mission of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill is to share stories of our community’s history from the inside out and bottom up. Usually, that means sharing stories from the past, in the voices of the people who lived that history. We’re not totally sure how to document and share history of the present moment. Real talk. It’s feeling like a lot right now. Kids are home. Grownups are home. We’re all trying to figure out how to do this thing, settling in for the long haul. At the podcast, we’re thinking about how we can best serve our community and history. We don’t know, not yet. But we’d love to keep hearing your voices. The messages we’ve received over the past week were sometimes scared, sometimes funny. We’re going to share those messages with you today. And you out there, listening. You are the living history we want to hear. Head to chapelhillhistory.org or call us at (919) 960-1736.‬ Tell us what’s changed in your world. Tell us about the quiet.

Hello out there This is a confusing and difficult time in Chapel Hill and in the world. To slow the spread of COVID-19, we must isolate ourselves in our homes and distance ourselves from the places and activities that usually make up our days. Our strange shared mission is solitude. As a result, we’re starting to live our lives in totally unfamiliar ways—working from home, diving deeper and longer into dinner conversations, home-schooling our kids, and taking up new activities that we otherwise wouldn’t have found the time or space for. As audio storytellers, we at Re/Collecting Chapel Hill want to explore creative ways to connect our community by collecting stories and sounds of the way lives are changing and people are feeling in and around Chapel Hill. So tell us your news. Share something that’s bringing you joy. We want to hear it all. This may turn into a short podcast series, or it may simply end up being an audio record of this challenging and curious time. Record your own message-in-a-bottle at chapelhillhistory.org. (https://chapelhillhistory.org/news/hello/) We can't wait to hear from you.

In August, 2018 student activists toppled UNC's confederate monument, Silent Sam. In our final part of our 3-part series exploring the history of the statue, we dig into the question: what comes after Silent Sam?

Part 2, in our 3-part Silent Sam series. In this episode, we share the story of James Cates. James was born and raised in Chapel Hill. In 1970, when he was just 22-years-old, he was murderd on UNC campus. Journalist Mike Ogle has spent years researching the life and death of James Cates. We'll share his work and hear from community members who knew Cates, including those with him when he died. Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

What was the meaning of the American Civil War? And why are we still arguing over this some 150 years later? In this, the first of our 3-part series on Silent Sam, we explore the purpose of confederate monuments and their impact on the African American community in Chapel Hill. From the work of United Daughters of the Confederacy in the early 1900s to spread their version of history throughout the south, to the first stirrings of the Black Power Movement at the end of the 1960s, we will hear how the white south's lost cause mythology affected the lives of black people, and how young Chapel Hillians began to push back on that narrative. We introduce one of our associate producers in this episode, Klaus Mayr. Klaus spent countless hours researching histories, collecting audio, and assisting in editing all three parts of our Silent Sam series. This episode was written and produced by Klaus Mayr, Molly Luby, and Danita Mason-Hogans. Editing by Klaus and Molly. Mixing by Ryan Chamberlain. With thanks to Aaron Keane for audio recording, technical assitance, and production coaching. Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Public memorials are embedded in our landscape. In this episode we learn the history behind two public memorial benches that bookend the Bolin Creek Trail in Chapel Hill. Learn how two men devoted their lives to making our public spaces more open and accessbile for all of us...and how one man tried to stop such work from ever happening. This episode was produced and edited by Molly Luby, with help from Mandella Younge, Omar Roque, David Felton, and Susan Brown. Audio mixing by Ryan Chamberlain.  Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

We explore the ways that cemeteries act as memorials and markers. How do Chapel Hill’s cemeteries help us remember the people who came before us? How have they obscured the past? Join us and our special tour guide, local historian Ernest Dollar, as we walk through four Chapel Hill burial sites. In this episode, you also meet associate producer, Mandella Younge. Mandella works behind the scenes on Re/Collecting Chapel Hill. In this episode, she joins Danita on the mic. Podcast production team: Mandella Younge, Sam Bermas-Dawes, Klaus Mayr, and Ryan Chamberlain. With thanks to Aaron Keane for audio recording, technical assistance and production coaching. Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Join Chapel Hill Public Library staff and community members as we uncover the untold histories of Chapel Hill, from the inside out and bottom up. In our first season, we are exploring the histories behind the monuments and markers of Chapel Hill. In June, 2019 we honored the lives of two Chapel Hillians whose names were added to the Peace and Justice Plaza marker in downtown Chapel Hill. Mama Dip. Mildred Council was a culinary and community matriarch known for her traditional Southern cooking and her community service. She served on the Orange County Prison Board and was known for hiring and helping prisoners once they were released. Council co-founded the Community Dinner, an annual event that highlights diversity in the community and asks attendees to “sit down with a stranger and leave with a friend.” Harold Foster. As a high school student, Harold Foster led the Chapel Hill Nine, a group of students who sparked the Civil Rights Movement in Chapel Hill. On February 28, 1960, Foster and the other students entered the Colonial Drug Store, sat down at the counter, and asked for the same service afforded to white customers. It is believed to be one of the first such sit-ins organized by high school students. Foster and the rest of the Nine were later arrested for this action, which ignited the movement locally. Awesome podcast production team: Mandella Younge, Sam Bermas-Dawes, Klaus Mayr, and Ryan Chamberlain. With thanks to Aaron Keane for audio recording, technical assistance and production coaching. Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

Join Chapel Hill Public Library staff and community members as we uncover the untold histories of Chapel Hill, from the inside out and bottom up. In our first season, we are exploring the histories behind the monuments and markers of Chapel Hill. Our first stop: Peace and Justice Plaza. (https://www.townofchapelhill.org/residents/about-chapel-hill/history/peace-and-justice-plaza) "The Peace and Justice Plaza honors the energy and spirit of the thousands who have stood in the shadow of the Courthouse and exercised their rights to assembly and speech and have spoken out on issues as diverse as the Vietnam War, environmental justice, women’s rights, gay rights, the death penalty, and racial justice." Learn how this one spot in Chapel Hill became the place for people to practice free speech and their right to assemble. Awesome podcast production team: Mandella Younge, Sam Bermas-Dawes, Klaus Mayr, and Ryan Chamberlain. With thanks to Aaron Keane for technical assistance and production coaching. Season one of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill was supported by grant funds from the Institute of Museum and Library Services under the provisions of the federal Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.

For the past year, Chapel HIll Public Library has been taking a deep dive into local history, uncovering untold stories and telling them from “the bottom up and the inside out.” These stories are the basis of the Library’s new podcast, Re/Collecting Chapel Hill. The first season of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill focuses on the community’s history and connections with historical monuments and markers. Listeners will hear archival audio mixed with present-day interviews that illuminate the history behind some of the most iconic--and occasionally controversial--monuments and markers in Chapel Hill. The first season is co-hosted by Molly Luby, Special Projects Coordinator at Chapel Hill Public Library, and Danita Mason-Hogans, Chapel Hill Community Historian and member of the Town Council’s Historic Civil Rights Commemorations Task Force. Each episode will feature community voices from both the past and present, and invites listeners to consider how these voices can help us envision a better future.