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Friday June 24th

Sonja Haynes Stone Center

Photographer Cornell Watson, the creator of "Tarred Healing," poses for a portrait in his Durham office on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2022. "Tarred Healing" is a photo story reflecting on Black history in Chapel Hill and at UNC.

'Tarred Healing' photo story on Black history at UNC pulled from display

By Jade Neptune | Mar. 2

In June, photographer Cornell Watson was offered an artist residency at the Stone Center to create a body of work that captured spaces of memory for Black history. He created a project called "Tarred Healing."
The photo story was planned to be put on display in the Stone Center, which recently canceled the exhibition, citing "disagreements over content and scope" and that the project has been published in The Washington Post.
But to Watson, the decision was censorship. "All they had to do was just put the photos up," he said.

Genna Rae McNeil, Professor Emerita of History at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and a scholar of African-American and U.S. Constitutional history, delivered the 2021 Sonja Haynes Stone Lecture.

Professor Emeritus Genna Rae McNeil gives 29th annual Stone Center lecture

By Lia Salvatierra | Nov. 11

Former Chapel Hill Mayor Howard Lee spoke at an event hosted by the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on Oct. 19.

Former Mayor Howard Lee speaks on public service at UNC Stone Center

By Willow Taylor Chiang Yang | Oct. 25

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center pictured on UNC's campus on Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020. The Stone Center will serve as a voting location for the democratic primary on Tuesday, March 3, 2020.

Your guide to UNC's identity-based resources and organizations

By Maydha Devarajan and Allie Kelly | Aug. 25

Stone Center Writer’s Discussion Series highlights innovative research

By Valeria Cloës | Mar. 31, 2021

Coco Monroe stars in "Sweet Honey Chile," which will be screened Thursday, Oct. 8, 2020. Photo courtesy of director Talibah Newman.

Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film goes virtual

By Chloe Joseph | Sep. 21, 2020

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on Thursday, Jan. 17. Artist Charles Williams will have a new exhibit in the center this spring.

1619 Collective Memory(ies) Symposium projects the past into the present and future

By Alicia Robbins | Nov. 10, 2019

The Collective Memory(ies) Symposium aims to explore conversations about freedom and history, this Monday.

A screen capture from one the films "Princess of the Row" that will be  featured in the Diaspora festival. Photo courtesy of Stephanie Cobert.

Stone Center kicks off Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film

By Maddie Singleton | Sep. 26, 2019

The opening film, "Sighted Eyes/Feeling Heart," is an independent documentary about award-winning playwright Lorraine Hansberry, known for her activism and for being the first Black woman to have a production on Broadway.

Art from Fahamu Pecou's "DO or DIE: Affect, Ritual, Resistance" on display at the Stone Center. Photo courtesy of The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston.

Stone Center exhibit aims to reframe Black existence

By Maddie Ellis | Sep. 22, 2019

Fahamu Pecou's exhibit at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center explores Black resiliency through a combination of West African tradition and hip hop culture. The showcase coincides with the Stone Center's wider project addressing perspectives that surround 1619 and slavery in America.

Joshua Clark Davis will speak at a Thursday symposium on Black-owned bookstores, held by the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History. Photo courtesy of the Stone Center.

Discussion on Black-owned bookstores to be held at Sonja Haynes Stone Center

By Montia Daniels | Mar. 26, 2019

Black-owned bookstores, which serve a vital function in Black communities, have declined as corporations like Amazon and Barnes and Noble are on the rise. This trend will be detailed during the “Black-Owned Bookstores: Their Struggle for Survival and Revival” event.

TaKeia N. Anthony explores the African diaspora in Writer's Discussion series

By Alec Critser | Feb. 25, 2019

A lecture series is coming to UNC to talk about the lesser-known details of the African diaspora.

Astronaut Charlie Duke poses before a lecture at Morehead Planetarium celebrating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. Photo by Maydha Devarajan.

Morehead Planetarium trained astronaut Charlie Duke, celebrating 50 years since moon walk

By Maydha Devarajan | Feb. 24, 2019

“It's a human being going to another place and coming back to tell you what they found, to tell you how they felt, to tell you things that no other creature or no other robotics could ever tell you."

E. Patrick Johnson performs “Sweet Tea” at the Durham Arts Council. Photos by Paul Davis, courtesy of E. Patrick Johnson.

Race, sexuality and the South intersect in Stone Center's Writer's Discussion Series

By Maydha Devarajan | Feb. 10, 2019

“There's also something about bearing witness to the story with others that makes things really powerful. Having people share their stories is a way to give them a platform to speak their truth, to potentially shape public opinion about a population or minority group but also to humanize people in the eyes of those who might be bigoted.”

Dr. Ibram X. Kendi gives a lecture at the Stone Center on the history of anti-Black ideas and how it connects to racism today on Thursday, Feb. 7, 2019.

How do you define a racist idea? Here’s what the Office for Diversity and Inclusion's latest lecturer says

By Brandon Gianikos | Feb. 7, 2019

Award-winning historian and New York Times best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi gave a lecture on the history of racism in America at the Sonja Haynes Stone Center.

UNC sophomores Jasmine Marshall and Faith Jeffers help the Black Student Movement kickoff Black History Month in the Carolina Union on Friday, Feb. 1, 2019.

Celebrate Black History Month at UNC with a jam-packed schedule of events

By Kyle Arendas | Feb. 3, 2019

Feb. 1 marked the kickoff of Black History Month, and the Black Student Movement at UNC celebrated with a ceremony. BSM President Qieara Lesesne said she hopes campus events honoring African Americans "recenter our community and serve as a way to refocus on things that are positive."

Stone Center to host 15th annual "He Was a Song, He Was a Poem" for MLK Day

By Maydha Devarajan | Jan. 20, 2019

Charles E. Williams, an artist based out of Greensboro, N.C., explores the family relationship, forgiveness and transformation in his exhibit.The exhibit is debuting just in time for Martin Luther King Jr. Day at the Stone Center.

Members of the Black Student Movement after a “Battle of the Sexes” event that had a turnout of over 70 people. Photo courtesy of Alex Robinson.

Look back at the history of UNC’s Black Student Movement this MLK day

By Cynthia Dong | Jan. 20, 2019

The UNC Black Student Movement emerged in the fall of 1967, changing the path of UNC while giving a voice to Black students.

Students spend the morning studying in the Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History on Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018.

Sonja Haynes Stone Center celebrates 30th anniversary at UNC

By Hannah McClellan | Nov. 5, 2018

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center is celebrating its history of being a special spot on campus for Black inclusion, culture and conversation.

Nnenna Freelon, a Grammy-nominated jazz artist and educator, delivers the Sonya Haynes Stone Memorial Lecture on Oct. 2, 2018 in Sonya Haynes Stone Center. This lecture was a part of the Stone Center's 30th anniversary programming.

Nnenna Freelon encourages students to appreciate life at Sonja Haynes Stone Memorial Lecture

By Ellie Heffernan | Oct. 2, 2018

“We were dreamed here, for a reason. By people who had little reason to believe that dreams could come true."

Film still from "The Plural of Blood", a film being shown during the festival

Stone Center film festival celebrates new aspects of the African diaspora

By A.J. OLeary | Sep. 24, 2018

The Diaspora Festival of Black and Independent Film is coming to Franklin Street to screen films that celebrate diversity. If you're a film buff, or even if you just want to see something off the big motion picture screens, check out the list of movies being shown.