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Title: The Young People of Freedom Books Take Action Rooted in Study Year: 1989 Photographer: Unknown

Community Stories: Sustaining North Carolina Black Heritage

July 2, 2026 to February 27, 2027

Image above: The Young People of Freedom Books Take Action Rooted in Study, 1989, Photographer: Unknown

About this Exhibition

Community Stories: Sustaining North Carolina Black Heritage presents a series of vignettes exploring spaces of dignity, belonging, safety, and imagination within Black communities across North Carolina. This exhibition brings together historical photographs, contemporary images, artworks from the Gregg Museum collection, such as a Freeman Vines handmade guitar, and ephemera from collaborative partners to reflect on place, memory, creativity, and spiritual resilience across generations.

Electric guitar made from hand-carved wood with stain & lacquer and commercially manufactured components
“Skull Guitar” Freeman Vines, Circa 2020

Historically, Black Americans have navigated systemic challenges and racism by leaning on their family, friends, entrepreneurship, and soulful imagination to build a future to safely and peacefully uplift their communities. Community Stories showcases the triumphs and trials of this history, grounding audiences in the stories that continue to sustain the present day and inspire the next generation.

The series of vignettes featured throughout the Historic Chancellor’s Gallery rooms includes the following stories. 

Freedom Books: A Legacy of Resistance

Freedom Books: A Legacy of Resistance, curated by NC State University Professor Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, this section explores the history of Raleigh’s first Black bookstore. Founded in 1984 by Ajamu and Rukiya Dillahunt, the store was a vital hub for political organizing against racism and imperialism, serving as a meeting place for city workers and a headquarters for Black Workers for Justice. A true family institution, the Dillahunt daughters—Dara, Kemba, and Safiya—spent their afternoons sustaining the store, illustrating how family labor and the power of books can drive social change.

The Otey Family Legacy

The Otey Family Legacy honors a lineage of strong women, seamstresses, and sisters who served as civic leaders rooted in Raleigh’s Hargett Street business district. This vignette highlights the History Museum’s research, Made Especially for You. In an era of strict segregation, the Otey-Kay sisters were master dressmakers who ensured equity by designing fine formalwear for both Black and white debutantes. They passed down their commitment to well-being and civic life through generations. Today, this legacy is carried forward by living descendants who reflect the family’s deep roots and continued trajectory of public service, with a special highlight on the stories of Mildred Christmas and Bill Campbell.

A Tour in Color

Demetrius Hunter, a historical researcher and public service leader, utilizes genealogy as “restorative storytelling” to reclaim the narratives of families, including his own ancestors, at the Spring Hill plantation (now Dix Park). His work in community memory extends into vital restorative justice initiatives with Northeastern University and the Equal Justice Initiative. Through his initiative, A Tour in Color, Hunter bridges historical gaps by guiding audiences through a spectrum of physical landscapes, confronting the spaces of historic atrocities while celebrating the resilience of aging/new upcoming Black agricultural spaces and Black urban businesses in Raleigh/Durham. As the owner and operator of the Black Farmers Hub in Raleigh, North Carolina, he directly connects these historical legacies to modern community sustainability and infrastructure.

Oasis Spaces: North Carolina 1933-1966

Oasis Spaces: North Carolina 1933-1966 on the Green Book Project examines The Negro Motorist Green Book as a critical resistance tool that directed Black travelers to safe “oasis spaces” during the Jim Crow era. A traveling exhibition curated by the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission (NCAAHC), this section features historical photographs alongside present-day photos of these sites. It highlights a complex, statewide network of business owners and Green Book sites that allowed African American communities to thrive and created “oasis spaces” for a variety of African American travelers.

North Carolina Freedom Park portrats

Located near the State Capitol on Wilmington Street, North Carolina Freedom Park is the state’s first park dedicated to the African American struggle for freedom. The park is stewarded by NCAAHC. Designed by the late architect Phil Freelon, it features five walkways leading to the Beacon of Freedom, a 45-foot-tall sculpture that lights the night sky. Inscribed along the paths are the “Voices of Freedom”—twenty powerful quotes from Black North Carolinians throughout history that serve as a living testament to the shared pursuit of equality. To commemorate the significance of Freedom Park, the exhibition includes three portraits by artist Samantha Everette, featuring the park’s caretakers and members of the Freelon Family.

Collaborative Curatorial Team

The exhibition was developed through a collaborative curatorial team including Meredith Osborne, Curatorial Assistant at the Gregg Museum of Art & Design; Ajamu Dillahunt-Holloway, Assistant Professor of History and African American Studies at North Carolina State University, along with students from the African American Public History Spring 2026 class; the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission team, including Adrienne Nirde, Director, and Khadija McNair, Freedom Park Manager; Demetrius Hunter, owner of Black Farmers’ Hub; Mildred Christmas; Earl Ijames, Curator of African American History at the North Carolina Museum of History; and Sara Segerlin, Director of the Gregg Museum of Art & Design.