Black history exhibit to open

Chapel Hill will kick off a monthlong exhibit tonight at Town Hall to celebrate local black history.

The exhibit includes photographs, newspaper articles, arrest reports and a collection of other items that chronicle black history in Chapel Hill from the civil rights movement to the present day.

The reception is free and open to the public, and it will be held from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.

“This year it’s much more of a historical exhibition,” said Kate Flory, executive director of the town’s Public Arts Commission.

Every year, Chapel Hill displays the artwork of prominent black artists in Town Hall during Black History Month. This is the first year that local history will be the focus.

“It’s been a major topic of discussion lately,” Flory said. “Out of (the renaming of Airport Road) meetings came a real desire to be more in touch with our local black history.”

Flory said the town started with a few contributions on local black history and was then flooded by hundreds of donated items. Items were still coming into mayoral assistant Emily Dickens’ office Thursday.

Dickens said the sheer volume of material forced the opening of the exhibit to be delayed from the beginning of the month.

“If we’re going to do something, we’re going to do it right,” she said.

She added that she spent many afternoons talking with people in their homes about the stories behind the items they donated and that she wants to show the town’s rich black history to the public.

Many local residents might not be aware of events that happened one or two generations ago, she said.

“If you don’t know your past, you won’t know your future,” said Fred Battle, president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Battle added that Black History Month is important because society needs to be reminded of the legacy that individuals created so things could be the way they are today.

Few city schools students or their parents are old enough to remember much about Lincoln High School, Chapel Hill’s all-black school, because it closed in the late 1960s, Dickens said.

“(The exhibit) is a reflection of learning, a lot of which we don’t get in our everyday history classes,” Battle said.

Battle said he hopes the exhibit can be taken to local schools in order to remind black students of Chapel Hill’s history.

The exhibition includes many pieces from Lincoln High because the Lincoln High School Association kept so many objects well-preserved.

Other pieces include chronicles of local black bands, politicians and protests. Several police reports displayed cite the reason for arrest as “going limp” and protesting.

Mayor Kevin Foy will speak briefly to open the exhibit to the public, and the St. Joseph CME Male Chorus will perform.

Refreshments will be served while visitors are encouraged to peruse the exhibit, which will be on display in Town Hall from Feb. 11 to March 25.

The showcase is open to the public during regular business hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The pieces are displayed on the first and second floors in hallways and other open areas that are not used for daily business.

“We wanted people to be able to view the artwork without feeling like they were intruding,” Dickens said.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.