In 1960, a sit-in by local high schoolers sparked a decade of direct-action civil rights demonstrations in Chapel Hill. The Town honors Movement activists with three bus shelters featuring dramatic photographs of protestors shutting down Franklin Street, picketing, and being arrested by police.
Each of the shelters includes a photograph taken by Jim Wallace, whose original film negatives are in Wilson Library’s Southern Historical Collection.
We Were Troublemakers
Photo by Jim Wallace
Installed 2019
Located at the bus shelter in front of The Graduate Hotel on Franklin Street.
We Were Troublemakers features a quote from Harold Foster, a leader in the Chapel Hill Civil Rights movement.
“We were troublemakers. We questioned authority and challenged it head on.”
I Raised My Hand To Volunteer
Photo by Jim Wallace
Installed 2019
Located at the bus shelter in front of Moe’s Southwest Grill on Franklin Street.
I Raised My Hand To Volunteer features a quote from Karen Parker, the first African American woman to graduate from UNC- Chapel Hill.
“On Saturday, the 14th, I decided to go to jail. It was not fun at all.” This was in December 1963 during a time when hundreds of people were arrested for protests and when those protests occasionally turned violent.
A Mouthful of Sand
Photo by Jim Wallace
Installed 2019
Located at the bus shelter at the Rosemary St. & Columbia St. Parking Lot.
A Mouthful of Sand features a quote from Harold Foster, a leader in the Chapel Hill Civil Rights movement.
“Man, this town is hard to crack. It’s called a liberal place, but that’s a mirage man. When you go to get water, you just get a mouthful of sand.”
Quote from Harold Foster, from John Ehle’s book, The Free Men.