More Interesting Than I Thought

Last month I wrote a letter-to-the-editor of the Chapel Hill News. The letter expressed my opinion that Chapel Hill has become a much less interesting place over the last twenty years or so.

You can read the letter ( A Radical but Interesting Idea) in the January archive of the blog.

I saw a play this week at the Paul Green Theatre that both challenges and confirms the point of my letter. The play is called, "Because We’re Still Here (and Moving)." It is a collection of stories based on interviews with over 100 African Americans whose families have lived in Chapel Hill for 150 years or so.

The play weaves together many fragments of oral history in a very moving and creative way. I learned a lot about the proud (but disappearing) history of the black community in Chapel Hill.

The play also tells first person stories of slavery and racism that are a part of our community’s shared history. The play reminded me how easy it is to forget that Chapel Hill is part of the South. I was surprised to hear stories about violence and intimidation by the KKK in Chapel Hill within the relatively recent past. It was interesting to consider that former UNC presidents were slave owners.

I was particularly interested in stories about Lincoln High School (now the Lincoln Center). I have lived here for many years but, I was unaware of the history of extrodinary achievement and community pride that surrounded Lincoln High School. The play effectively communicates the sense of loss associated with the closure of that school - a sense of loss and resentment that still exists within the black community.

I think Chapel Hill is a more interesting place when the timeline of history is extended beyond the narrow limits of the past 30 years. I am once again reminded that I am a newcomer.