In 1964, a town divided

Nearly 50 years ago, Chapel Hill was a town restless with civil rights conflict.

During a series of demonstrations for racial equality in January 1964, roughly 239 people were arrested as the tension to integrate built.

On Jan. 12, 1964, civil rights activists marched 13 miles in freezing rain from Durham to Chapel Hill to demonstrate support for an anti-discrimination ordinance.

The next day, the Chapel Hill Board of Aldermen voted 4-2 against the ordinance — which would have outlawed segregation in the town — and instead created a committee tasked with solving problems of race discrimination and segregation.

Chapel Hill was seen as a state leader for civil rights — making the board’s decision especially hard for civil rights activists.

The march brought together about 170 students from North Carolina Central University, Duke University and UNC and attracted national attention from newspapers and civil rights activists.

James Farmer, co-founder and first national director of the Congress of Racial Equality, traveled to Chapel Hill and spoke to marchers on Jan. 12. He threatened to focus national efforts on Chapel Hill if the town did not integrate by Feb. 1.

“Chapel Hill was spotlighted all over the whole country because of what was going on with the demonstrations,” said Sandy McClamroch, who served as mayor of Chapel Hill from 1961 to 1969.

“All the big movements were taking use of Chapel Hill’s problems for their national publicity. It was a very important time for the town and the University.”

Harry McLean, board member of the Chapel Hill Historical Society, said the town was seen as a more liberal, intellectual center in the South. “It was one of the centers of integration,” he said.

Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt said the town is still a leader in activism.

“I think we’re a community that recognizes that we haven’t always been the best place, but for a long time now, we’ve had an energy to continue our commitment to civil rights and equality for our community,” he said.

When the aldermen voted down the public accommodations ordinance, integration leaders saw the decision as a blow to the movement.

“It led to disappointment that all of the public pressure that had been put on the town of Chapel Hill and on the aldermen had not worked,” said Jim Wallace, a former photographer for The Daily Tar Heel who covered many of the town’s civil rights protests.

“The movement felt like it had failed because it took federal law to open up the restaurants,” he said.

Chapel Hill was not legally integrated until President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Civil Rights Act in July 1964.

“That’s what I’m talking about when I say we have not always been a perfect town,” Kleinschmidt said. “We haven’t ignored that. We try to learn from what were mistakes in the past.”

During Monday’s march down Franklin Street in celebration of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, town residents celebrated their commitment to fighting for equality.

Chapel Hill resident Basel Sellars participated in the first marches in Chapel Hill during the 1960s, and he also participated in Monday’s march.

“There are more people together, black and white coming together more than back then,” he said. “I will participate in every one until I get ready to leave this world.”

Contact the desk editor at city@dailytarheel.com.