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Thursday March 30th

Northside

A piano and photos on display at The Jackson Center on Monday, Feb. 20, 2023.

Marian Cheek Jackson Center preserves Chapel Hill's Black history, provides resources

By Gowri Abhinanda | Feb. 28

Rev. Troy Harrison of St. Joseph CME Church and UNC Professor Della Pollock founded the Marian Cheek Jackson Center in 2007 to preserve the oral history of the Northside neighborhood. 

  • The center's goals have since evolved to include fostering housing justice for the Northside community, preserving civil rights and local history through education and cultivating a sense of community between neighbors.
  • “Something that any of us can do to support retention is just to get to know our neighbors,” Christine Abernathy, director of housing justice at MCJC, said.

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Trinity Court public housing community remains vacant due to structural damage on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020. Trinity Court is set for demolition and rebuilding starting in 2022.

Trinity Court public housing remains vacant after 2019 redevelopment announcement

By Henry Haney | Sep. 24, 2020

Though Chapel Hill seeks to expand public housing units, it is not accessible to all. The Trinity Court public housing community is set for redevelopment, and has been vacant since 2018 Chapel Hill is working with community partners to alleviate housing insecurity Elizabeth O'nan, a Chapel Hill resident and disability rights activist, said public housing is not always accessible

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A police car parked on Franklin Street flashes its lights on Saturday, Aug. 29, 2020.

Numbers show over-policing in historically Black areas, and history tells more

By Elizabeth Moore | Sep. 3, 2020

Historically Black neighborhoods in Chapel Hill have experienced disproportionate policing, but the numbers only tell part of the story. Gentrification over the past decade has changed the demographics of neighborhoods and therefore who commits crimes.  Longtime residents say they've seen a double standard in how the law is enforced, but Chapel Hill Police Chief Chris Blue said the police department works hard to avoid that.   “I’ve seen the positive side of the police department and the negative side of the police department,” Northside resident Delores Bailey said.

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Marian Cheek Jackson Center staff and partners from Pee Wee Homes welcoming one of the center's newest Northside neighbors to the community. Photo courtesy of Hudson Vaughan.

The Jackson Center has built community for years in Northside and Pine Knolls neighborhoods

By Rebecca Ayers | Apr. 11, 2018

The Marian Cheek Jackson Center is a non-profit dedicated to building community in Chapel Hill's Northside and Pine Knolls neighborhoods. The organization has worked alongside UNC students since its beginning and UNC recently gave the organization a $3 million loan to continue its work in the community.  “I remember growing up with neighbors that knew each other, sharing joys and sorrows, knowing who lived around you, which brought safety because you knew who your neighbors were,” said Kathy Atwater, the center’s community advocacy specialist. “The Jackson Center has become a part of the community, not just someone outside looking in." 

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