Morehead Manor Bed and Breakfast of Durham, North Carolina is honored to be named the Best Black-Owned Bed and Breakfast in America by Black Enterprise magazine. We feature some of the African-American heritage events happening in the Bull City.
Historian Thomas C. Holt, currently the James Westfall Thompson Distinguished Service Professor of American and African American history at The University of Chicago, will deliver a free lecture about Black Intellectuals of ‘The Greatest Generation’ in room 04 of the Sanford School of Public Policy building on Duke University campus at 201 Science Drive in Durham, NC on October 15 at 6:30 pm.
Holt, a MacArthur fellow and former president of the American Historical Association will discuss how a previous generation of black intellectuals — one shaped by economic depression and world war — influenced Franklin’s own scholarship and perspective. (919) 684-4807
Don’t miss the free Hayti at the Hub event on October 16 at the Museum of Durham History at 500 W. Main Street in Durham, North Carolina from 6 pm to 9 pm. The Museum of Durham History and the Hayti Heritage Center are throwing a
party and everyone’s invited!
See the latest exhibit in the Durham A-Z series: H is for Hayti, enjoy food truck refreshments from Joe’s Diner, hear live music by JB & Friends and the Hillside Drumline, and join a community discussion led by Andre Vann of the James E. Shepard
Memorial Library at NCCU. The event and exhibit are a collaboration between the Museum and the Hayti Heritage Center.
For decades, Hayti was the social and cultural center of Durham’s black community and a model for self-sufficient African American communities in the South. The neighborhood formed after the Civil War when freed men and women moved to Durham in search of work and opportunity.
The exhibit Durham A-Z: H is for Hayti focuses on the history of the neighborhood, including its vibrant businesses, schools, cultural activities, social institutions, and churches. The exhibit also discusses the loss of many of Hayti’s businesses and homes in the late 1950s to urban renewal and the Durham freeway as well as how current residents preserve and carry forward Hayti’s legacy. (919) 246-9993
The Durham Civil Rights History Mural, African American History Exhibit and Lunch happens on October 17 in the Museum of Durham History at 500 W. Main Street in Durham, NC beginning at 10 am.
Join the Triangle Friends of African American Arts and view the exhibit, H is for Hayti, about a vibrant and historically significant African American neighborhood in Durham as old as the city itself. Then visit the Durham Civil Rights History Mural and meet with the Project Director. Brenda Miller Holmes. She will discuss the development and meaning of the mural. Those who are interested can stay for brunch at the nearby Beyu Cafe. The activities are free but attendees are responsible for the cost of their meals. To reserve your space register at Triangle Friends of African American Arts.
Historic Preservation Society of Durham docents, on Saturday, Oct. 17, will lead a free 45-minute tour focusing on sites in downtown Durham that were important in the 1950s and ’60s Civil Rights movement. Bottled water recommended. Meeting at 501 Foster Street in Durham, NC at 10 am. (919) 682-3036
On October 18 beginning at 2 pm, Spectacular Magazine will present Spectacular Magazine Woman of the Year Awards in 2015 to honor and celebrate the achievements and contributions of African American women or women who have made a difference in the African American community. The Woman of the Year Awards Gala includes a Silent Auction, Buffet Dinner, Door Prizes, and Entertainment. A portion of the proceeds will benefit the Sisters Network Triangle, an organization assisting African American women with breast cancer.
Rennie Harris is one of the great veterans of hip-hop dance, having broken down barriers between the vocabulary of the street and the vocabulary of the concert hall for nearly forty years. At the age of twelve he formed his first crew, and by the age of twenty-five he had shared the stage with many of hip-hop’s founders, including Run DMC, Sugarhill Gang, Salt ’n’ Pepa, and Kurtis Blow.
October 23 and 24 at 8 pm, Rennie Harris comes to Reynolds Industries Theater at 125 Science Drive in Durham, NC with his company Rennie Harris Puremovement. The group is a repeat Bessie Award-winners whom The New York Times calls “phenomenal” and “seemingly without a semblance of gravity.” Ticket prices: $38, $32, and $15. Duke Students $10. (919) 660-3357
As hip-hop rose to the mainstream and splintered into factions, Harris evolved, breathing new life into popping, locking, breaking, and voguing. The New Yorker calls Harris “the most respected — and the most brilliant — hip-hop choreographer in America.” Puremovement’s program begins with the new four-movement work
Nuttin’ but a Word, which, as Harris says, aims to “challenge the hip-hop puritans at every turn.”
After intermission, the company perform two Rennie Harris classics: Continuum and Students of the Asphalt Jungle. Made possible, in part, by a Visiting Artist Grant from the Council for the Arts, Office of the Provost, Duke University, and support from the Dance Program at Duke University.
North Carolina Central University’s 2015 Homecoming Week is October 25 through the 31st. Save the date and make plans to return to campus to reconnect with classmates and friends, as well as enjoy great football! This year the NCCU Eagles will be taking on the Norfolk State University Spartans. For more information call (919) 530-7099.
Celebrate Durham’s history and mingle with local entrepreneurs and investors at Black Wall Street’s Back Alley on October 29 from 6 to 11 pm! Food will be provided by some of downtown Durham’s most notable restaurateurs. Cocktails will also be available for purchase from event partner, Alley Twenty Six. Entrances to the alley can be found on 320 E. Chapel Hill Street and Orange Street. $30 or $50 per couple.
Back Alley is part of a three-day series of events being hailed as BLACK WALL STREET: HOMECOMING, where local entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, and business educators can collide, providing opportunities for learning, networking, and inspiration.
Imani Winds, a quintet lauded as “strikingly virtuosic and immaculately tight” by the Boston Music Intelligencer, come to Baldwin Auditorium as part of a University-wide celebration of historian John Hope Franklin’s centenary. October 29 the group performs with The Fisk Jubilee Singers in Baldwin Auditorium at 1336 Campus Drive in Durham, North Carolina beginning at 8 pm.
Dr. Franklin, a Duke professor and author of the authoritative African American history From Slavery to Freedom, was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom in his lifetime and chaired President Clinton’s Advisory Board for the Initiative on Race.
The program is anchored by American composer Frederic Rzweski’s Breath, a Duke Performances-commissioned world premiere, based on the melodies of spirituals and dedicated Franklin’s memory.
The evening is further enriched by a collaboration between Imani Winds and GRAMMY Hall of Fame inductees the Fisk Jubilee Singers, a sixteen-voice a cappella ensemble
in continuous operation since 1871 at Dr. Franklin’s alma mater, Fisk University. This will be a unique musical celebration dedicated to the life and legacy of a brilliant scholar and activist and a pillar of the Duke community. Ticket prices range from $10 (Duke students) through $42. Call (919) 660-3357.
On October 30, the NCCU Alumni Concert with Jeffrey Osborne and Michael Phillips, will perform at the Sheraton Imperial Hotel and Convention Center at 4700 Emperor Boulevard in Durham, North Carolina from 8 pm to 11 pm. Platinum-selling singer and songwriter Jeffrey Osborne, will be performing hits like “On the Wings of Love,” “Only Human” and “You Should Mine” live with saxophonist and Hidden Beach recording artist Mike Phillips. Heavy appetizers and a carving station are included in the price of admission. A cash bar will be available. $90 per ticket.
We invite you to stay at Morehead Manor Bed and Breakfast in Durham, North Carolina. We have luxurious amenities and we are centrally located in the Bull City. Each morning our guests love our fresh gourmet breakfasts.