Black Durham’s success did not end with Black Wall Street. Durham’ Black Wall Street was located in the historic Hayti community. Many community members believe it was named after the independent Black nation of Haiti. The neighborhood was the principal residential district for most of Durham’s Black middle class residents and the center Black Durham’s business, educational, cultural, and religious life. Hayti was a model for other African American communities across the nation and an example of what was possible. The Hayti community and Durham flourished in the Jim Crow South and largely managed to avoid the sort of aggression, and terror that was common for Blacks at the time. However, Hayti was not the only Black neighborhood in Durham. Many African Americans in Durham were not not wealthy or middle class like those in Hayti. A significant portion of people of color were poor or working class and struggled to get by. Many labored in the city’s tobacco factories, which sprang up following the tobacco-driven economic boom Durham experienced in the late 19th and early 20th century. Guests in this episode include Hayti Heritage Center Executive Director, Angela Lee. Listeners will also hear from Duke University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Robert Korstad.
“ ...I would say the brilliance of so many people who were in Durham...brick masons and carpenters and mathematicians and educators...there was just a wealth of skillset and intelligence and knowledge and, and, and beauty with artists...everything was, there. ...Hayti Heritage Center Executive Director Angela Lee.
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Guests in this episode
Duke University Professor Emeritus of Public Policy, Robert Korstad.
Hayti Heritage Center Executive Director, Angela Lee
Musical Attribution:
1. Title: African Moon by John Bartmann. License, disclaimer and copyright information: CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
Link to Music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/John_Bartmann/Public_Domain_Soundtrack_Music_Album_One/african-moon
2. Title: Window Sparrows by Axletree. Licensed under a Attribution License. License, disclaimer and copyright information: Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Link to music: https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Axletree/Ornamental_EP/Window_Sparrows
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