Tuesday Talk 01.2024: The Stagville Memorial Project - Creating Public Art to Uplift Enslaved Voices

Durham, North Carolina has a unique and storied history. The city is widely known as a long-time tobacco hub where places like Bull Tobacco, and later, Liggett and Meyers grew to become massively influential corporations. Many might know Durham as the home of North Carolina Central and Duke Universities. What many might not know, is that prior to Durham’s incorporation in 1869, the surrounding area that became the city of Durham was home to Stagville Plantation; a 30,000-acre slave labor camp owned by the Bennehan and Cameron families where over 3,000 people were enslaved from the mid 1700’s up until to 1865. After emancipation, 900 newly freed people went on to establish many of the historically Black neighborhoods - where much of Black Durham history took root - that still exist today.
In recent years, many Black folks living in Durham have been displaced, due to the many consequences of gentrification. Many people taking advantage of comparatively lower housing prices in these areas are moving into Durham without cultural competencies, or historical knowledge, sometimes leading to unintentional community harm. The Stagville Memorial Project’s hope is that through creating art, they will inspire catalytic conversations which help people think deeply about displacement, as they invoke inquiries of permanency, belonging, and inclusive histories in public spaces.
Join us as they share their journey of what it has been like to help their community tell hard histories through the healing power of art.
Speaker: Vanessa Hines, Executive Director, Stagville Memorial Project