Durham, North Carolina
In Spring of 2024, the America’s Hallowed Ground team felt called to work in our own community of Durham, NC. This place – where our team lives and works – is rich with history, but is also a place where people have struggled, where neighborhoods have fought for equality, and where people died for simply being different. All these occurrences make ground hallowed.
History of Durham
Our exploration starts with
where we live—Durham, NC—
home to Indigenous people,
descendants of the enslaved,
freedom fighters, Black
entrepreneurs, and recent
arrivals to the United States.
Our Research
Our team interviewed key stakeholders and community members to learn the history of their hallowed spaces and collaborate on programs which might be helpful in the preservation and promotion of their stories.
Our Work
Our team also held a series of conversations with artists whose works are known both locally and nationally to gain a clearer understanding of how communities interpret these spaces through the visual and performing arts.
THE BOOKER T. SPICELY STORY
Private Booker T. Spicely, a Black soldier, was shot and killed by a white bus driver in Durham, NC, in 1944 after refusing to move for white passengers under Jim Crow laws. The driver was acquitted, but in recent years a historical marker was erected to commemorate Spicely’s death, marking the first in the state to reference Jim Crow laws.
THE BOOKER T. SPICELY STORY
Private Booker T. Spicely, a Black soldier, was shot and killed by a white bus driver in Durham, NC, in 1944 after refusing to move for white passengers under Jim Crow laws. The driver was acquitted, but in recent years a historical marker was erected to commemorate Spicely’s death, marking the first in the state to reference Jim Crow laws.
