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1 <br /> COUNTY OF ORANGE <br /> DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT, AGRICULTURE, <br /> PARKS AND RECREATION <br /> MEMORANDUM <br /> To: David Stancil, Director <br /> From: Peter Sandbeck, Cultural Resources Coordinator <br /> Date: December 4th, 2024 <br /> Subject: Update on Civil Rights Trail Marker Program <br /> The NC African American Heritage Commission launched this program in 2021, with a goal <br /> of erecting a total of 50 markers statewide by the end of 2023. Program rules stipulated <br /> that a minimum of 10 of those 50 were required to be in Tier 1 or 2 counties, leaving only <br /> 40 remaining markers to be distributed among all other counties. <br /> In 2022, the Historic Preservation Commission members discussed the program and <br /> determined that the events of greatest importance to the county's Civil Rights movement <br /> took place in Chapel Hill, which was the scene of a race riot in 1937, along with several <br /> major protest marches that took place on Franklin Street between 1961-64. These marches <br /> were the culmination of over two decades of community organizing by local activists and <br /> the Chapel Hill NAACP. <br /> A Civil Rights Trail Marker was awarded to honor the Hargraves Community Center in <br /> Chapel Hill, built in 1940-42 as a much-needed recreation center for Black youth. This center <br /> was the scene of a number of important events associated with the local Civil Rights <br /> movement and its achievements, starting soon after it was built. The new marker at the <br /> Hargraves Center was dedicated in June 2023, as a result of hard work by many in the <br /> community: https://chapelboro.com/news/chapel-hills-hargraves-center-officially-added- <br /> to-statewide-civi I-rights-tra i I <br /> The program website contains additional information: https://aahc.nc.gov/programs/nc- <br /> civil-rights-trail/nc-civil-rights-virtual-trail/hargraves-community-center-1942 <br /> Given the limited scope of this program, obtaining a marker for the Hargraves Center was a <br /> significant achievement. Looking ahead, there is interest in creating our own Orange County <br /> local historical marker program, which could be used to highlight other important Civil <br /> Rights leaders and events, such as the massive walkout of Hillsborough's Central High <br /> School students who marched from school over to the Old Courthouse in April 1969, to <br /> express their frustration over the slow pace of school integration in the county. <br /> Environment, Agriculture, Parks and Recreation <br /> PO Box 8181/306-A Revere Road <br /> Hillsborough, NC 27278 <br /> (919) 245-2517 <br />