OUR MISSION

This website is a product of Orange County, North Carolina through its department, The Chapel Hill/Orange County Visitors Bureau, www.visitchapelhill.org. It was created to honor the contributions of local black, indigenous, and people of color in our communities and our resident’s far reaching impact on the course of history. Read their stories here.

Read more: https://chapelhillmagazine.com/black-history-our-history

BLACK HISTORY
IN ORANGE COUNTY, NC

A Legacy of Resilience, Resistance, and Progress
From the historic streets of Hillsborough to the vibrant neighborhoods of Chapel Hill and Carrboro, the story of Black life in Orange County, North Carolina runs deep. It’s a narrative woven through the very foundation of these communities—a powerful testament to courage, community building, and perseverance against overwhelming odds.

Three Towns, One Shared History
Each of Orange County’s primary communities holds unique chapters in this ongoing story:

In Chapel Hill, Black hands built the University of North Carolina’s earliest structures, creating the state’s premier educational institution while being denied its benefits. Later, the legendary Lincoln High School would nurture generations of Black excellence. During the Civil Rights era, the courageous Chapel Hill Nine challenged segregation at local businesses, while neighborhoods like Northside, and Pine Knolls became strongholds of Black culture and community life.

Carrboro’s industrial growth depended on Black labor in its textile mills and surrounding farms. The West End neighborhood became a center of Black life, while environmental justice warriors in the Rogers Road community fought decades-long battles against environmental racism. In 1969, civil rights activist Braxton Foushee broke barriers as the first Black person elected to Carrboro’s governing board—a legacy of leadership that continues with the town’s current mayor, Barbara Foushee.

Hillsborough, the county seat, carries both the deepest scars of enslavement and powerful stories of emancipation and rebuilding. From the Burwell School, where Elizabeth Hobbs Keckly was enslaved before becoming Mary Todd Lincoln’s dressmaker and confidante, to historic Black churches like Mt. Bright Baptist and Dickerson Chapel AME that became centers of community organizing, Hillsborough’s Black history reveals both painful truths and inspiring resilience.

A Living Heritage

This rich legacy continues today through:

  • Historic neighborhoods fighting to preserve their character amid gentrification pressures
  • Community organizations documenting oral histories and protecting cultural landmarks
  • Annual celebrations like Juneteenth that connect past struggles with present triumphs
  • Black-owned businesses continuing a tradition of entrepreneurship and self-sufficiency
  • Environmental justice movements addressing the ongoing impacts of systemic inequity

Through it all, Orange County’s Black communities have transformed hardship into strength, exclusion into solidarity, and discrimination into determination. Their stories aren’t merely footnotes to local history—they are its essential chapters, without which no accurate understanding of Orange County’s past, present, or future is possible.

As you explore this site, you’ll discover the people that have shaped Black life in Chapel Hill, Carrboro, and Hillsborough — a legacy that demands remembrance, respect, and continued commitment to justice.