Dreams Held Fast: A Timeline of Black History in the Triangle
Designed by Jon Fuller
From the nationâs first public university, built by enslaved people, to the demonstrators this summer who finally rid the Capitol grounds of its monuments to white supremacy, the history of the Triangle and its major towns and citiesâChapel Hill, Durham, and Raleighâis inextricably intertwined with the history of its Black residents.
Black history is American history, and Black History Week, established as a precursor to Black History Month by the author and historian Carter G. Woodson, was an early affirmation, and now an ongoing reminder, that Black Lives Matter.
By Bob Dickerson
If there has ever been anyone that I consider myself privileged to have met, anyone who greatly inspired me by his unique entrepreneurial vision in his passionate belief in economic self-sufficiency that would be A.G. Gaston.
He was well organized, had great instincts, understood people and obviously made good business decisions. He was the kind of person who spurred others to action and led by example. He exhibited excellent characteristics like self-discipline, hard work and determination. He was certainly a Black Titan.
How many of us can really say that they met, got to know and actually worked with a true American hero. Well, I actually can and quite often do, especially during Black History Month where in Birmingham we recognize the life and achievements of A.G. Gaston, celebrating him during our conference held in his honor.
6. The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
A classic of Soviet-era film and one of the greatest war movies ever made, The Cranes Are Flying is the distinguished masterpiece of director Mikhail Kalatozov. The plot is a parallel narrative that traces the anguishes of war at home and on the front when the German invasion into the Soviet sphere rip lovers Veronika and Boris apart.
The filmmaking is overwhelmingly dense in its use of cinematographic, editing and narrative techniques, making it impossible to summarize but a wonder to watch. There is a generous use of Dutch angles, an oblique close up shot, that carries emotional impact but also skews the characters faces to suggest the uneasiness of their situation, context, and how off-center these circumstances place them. Comparable implications come from the haunting circular shots, sometimes sped up to a frenetic pace, of the towering trees and vaulting sky of the battlefield, having a dizzying and subliminal quality that forebodes of the im
Numerous factors impacted the Wilmington area’s Black communities on the World War II home front, underscored by racial segregation.
Wilmington’s recent designation as America’s first World War II Heritage City was based on wartime contributions and history preservation.
During WWII our area, like the south, practiced institutional segregation. Race relations were matter-of-fact and good or bad, depending on viewpoints and restrictions. Life proceeded for both whites and Blacks, separately mostly, together when necessary.
Race divided the public but remarkably hardly affected our successful war effort role.
Black citizens, while enduring discrimination, maintained positive morale, patriotically worked for national victory, and yearned for racial victory - the “Double V campaign.”