African Americans in Durham, NC in the Rubenstein Library

This teaching module looks at the history of Hayti, a historically Black neighborhood in Durham, focusing on the mid-twentieth century urban renewal project which was promoted as a benefit to the neighborhood but displaced many residents and Black-owned businesses. You and your classmates will use a range of primary sources to understand the perspectives of residents, government officials, and other local stakeholders, and work together to begin to put together a history of Hayti.

Durham was one of the great hubs of commerce for African Americans in the United States during the early and mid-twentieth century. But even with the great economic accomplishments, the African American community could not escape the overbearing shadow of the Jim Crow South. This module is designed to provide a glimpse into the process and protest of desegregating Durham, NC.

Open Durham is a highly interlinked archive/inventory of information about people, places, and history in Durham, NC. Collections from the Rubenstein Library are featured throughout the site.

The Digital Durham website offers students, teachers, and researchers a range of primary sources with which they can investigate the economic, social, cultural, and political history of a post-bellum southern community. The holdings of the website provide access to a wide range of manuscript and printed materials from the 1870s through the 1920s. Collections from the Rubenstein Library were used throughout the site.