Topics Related to African American History

Founded 1865 by Baptist missionary Henry Martin Tupper. Chartered 1875; named for benefactor Elijah Shaw of Mass.

African American teacher, preacher, & Revolutionary War veteran. Taught free black & prominent white students in school nearby.

Founded by Presbyterian elder Wm. Peace 1857 as school for women; opened 1872. Main building used as Confederate hospital & by Freedmen's Bureau.

Black U.S. Army soldier shot nearby in 1944 for resisting Jim Crow laws on a bus. Aftermath of killing helped revitalize North Carolina’s NAACP.

Est. in 1922 by African Americans. Hosted many American Tennis Assoc. tournaments. Durham Committee on Negro Affairs org. here, 1935.

In May 1942 a group of 44 African American musicians broke U.S. Navy's color barrier, enlisting at general rank. Barracks were 1/4 mi. W.

Educator & civil rights activist. Chair, Education Dept., N.C. College for Negroes, 1948-1963. Her grave is nearby.

“Libba” Cotten composed, recorded “Freight Train” (1958). Key figure, 1960s folk revival. Born and raised on Lloyd Street.

In 1947 the Congress of Racial Equality & local citizens, black & white, protested bus segregation. Setting out from Washington, D.C., "freedom riders" tested compliance with a U.S. Supreme Court ruling barring segregation on interstate buses. On April 13, riders arrived at local bus station then 20 yards west. A mob attacked one rider. Four others were arrested and sentenced to 30 days on chain gangs.

Jazz composer & pianist. Wrote "Take the A Train" and other songs for Duke Ellington Orchestra. Boyhood home site 1/4 mi. W.