How the Coalition was launched
The Orange County Community Remembrance Coalition formed organically in the summer of 2018, in response to the opening of the National Memorial for Peace and Justice at the Equal Justice Initiative in Montgomery AL. A group of friends and colleagues in Orange County, NC, convened a meeting to talk about the pressing need to recognize the sufferings and sacrifices of our foremothers and forefathers in ways that would respect them and their descendants, as well as the affected communities, past and present.
We agreed to establish a coalition with at least five community-based organizations that have civil rights, equity and justice as part of their mission or vision. We were aware that other community members were interested in a remembrance initiative and invited them to the inaugural reception.
Current organizational members of OCCRC
- Binkley Baptist Church
- Carolina K-12 | Carolina Public Humanities
- Center for Civil Rights: UNC School of Law
- Center for the Study of the American South
- Chapel Hill Carrboro Chapter of the NAACP
- Chapel Hill Public Library
- Eno Friends Meeting of Hillsborough
- Spirit FREEDOM
- Human Kindness Foundation
- Marian Cheek Jackson Center
- Northern Orange NAACP
- Orange County Arts Commission
- Orange County Human Relations Commission
- Rogers-Eubanks Neighborhood Association
- Sonja Haynes Stone Center at UNC-CH
- Town of Hillsborough
- UNC Descendants Project
- Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Governance and leadership
Governance takes the form of regular full Coalition meetings to approve policies, projects and organizational initiatives related to the mission of the Coalition. There are several committees and the organization is led by a group of co-chairs.
The OCCRC co-chairs are
Renée A. Price is a Member of the House of Representatives within the North Carolina General Assembly, representing House District 50. She also is Co-Founder and Project Director of Spirit FREEDOM, a cultural arts initiative that explores and highlights the history of Orange County through the lens of African Americans and people of color. Using photographs, historic images, narratives, storytelling and music, Spirit FREEDOM seeks to honor the legacy of African Americans, celebrate a diverse heritage, and advance the cultures of all people seeks. Rep Price previously served ten years on the Orange County Board of County Commissioners. Throughout her professional career (city and regional planning), she has worked with nonprofit organizations and government agencies to promote human, community and economic development, with a focus on historically marginalized people. Rep. Price has remained an advocate and activist for freedom, civil rights and justice for all.
Dr. Freddie Parker was born and reared in Hillsborough, North Carolina. He received the B.A. in History from North Carolina Central University in 1975, the M.A. in History from NCCU in 1977, and the Ph.D. in American History from UNC-Chapel Hill in 1987. He is currently Professor Emeritus, and former Julius L. Chambers Endowed Professor of History at North Carolina Central University in Durham, N.C. He taught American, African American, and African History at North Carolina Central University for thirty-nine (39) years. He is author of the books, Running for Freedom: Slave Runaways in NC, 1775-1840 and Stealing a Little Freedom: Advertisements for Slave Runaways in NC, 1791-1840. Dr. Parker served on the North Carolina Historical Commission, the North Carolina African American Heritage Commission, the North Carolina Historical Highway Marker Commission, among other boards and state commissions. He is a recipient of the Christopher Crittenden Award for his career contributions to the historical profession in North Carolina, and in February 2020, Governor Roy Cooper awarded him the Certificate of Appreciation for his exemplary service and invaluable contributions made to North Carolina’s community and education culture.
Sally Freeman is a member of Eno Friends Meeting of Hillsborough which grounds her deep commitment to racial justice. She believes that the work of OCCRC and EJI is crucial in beginning to heal the scars of racial terror in our community and in our country. Sally also chairs the Alamance Orange Prison Ministry Board, a non-profit which provides a much-needed chaplain and program materials to the men incarcerated at Orange Correctional Center. She works at Charles House Community Eldercare Center, where she conveys her lifelong passion for providing therapeutic social engagement and activities to people with dementia.
Hathaway Pendergrass, a native of Carrboro, North Carolina is a District Court Judge in Chatham and Orange Counties. Hathaway has served on a number of Boards and Committees in Orange County, including the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, the Orange County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, and Planning Boards for both Carrboro and Orange County. He currently serves as a Board Member and Treasurer of The ArtsCenter, a Member of the 18 Judicial District Bar Racial Justice Task Force, and as a Member of the Staff Parish Relations Committee at University United Methodist Church. Hathaway is humbled to serve as co-chair of OCCRC and to support its continued effort to push towards equity and equal justice for all in our community.
Mission and Goals of OCCRC
The mission of the Coalition is to recognize the five men from Orange County who are known to be victims of racial terror lynching, as well as the unnamed and unknown victims. Our work is to disrupt and overcome the detrimental systems and mindsets that have plagued America for generations, and to help usher forth a future of humanity, equity and justice for all of us.
OCCRC’s goals are to carry out a set of undertakings in partnership with the Equal Justice initiative, namely
- Soils collection research and events pertaining to the location of the lynchings of the five known victims in Orange county
- An essay contest for students in Orange County public high schools on a topic related to racial terror, set and judged by EJI, with scholarship prizes
- Installation of at least two historic markers in honor of the men known to have been lynching, with information about the history of racial terror lynching in Orange County, NC
- Installation in Orange County of a duplicate of the memorial located at the National Memorial for Peace and Justice at EJI
What OCCRC does
Education: Since its inception, OCCRC has been holding several programs on its own and co-sponsoring others, to inform and educate the citizens of the county about our local history of racial terror violence and how its legacy is perpetuated today. Programs have covered the stories of outstanding advocates for justice, such as Ida B. Wells, of fighters for voting rights, and of life for everyday African Americans, such as “The Talk” by Dr. Sonny Kelly. Upcoming programs are listed on the Events page and publicized on social media.
Research: Working with professional historians, journalists, researchers and family history and genealogy specialists, OCCRC makes use of oral histories, newspaper articles, and archival records to create a solid history of each instance of racial terror lynching – what is known about the individuals involved, both victims and perpetrators, their families and descendants, their homesteads, churches and cemeteries, and the likely locations of the lynchings.
Soils collections: Once the location of a lynching is identified, there is a community observance to collect soil from that spot and fill a container that goes to the EJI National Memorial for Peace and Justice, and at least one other that stays in Orange County.
We collect soils because the earth retains our stories. Soil is tangible and visible. It helps us connect with our foremothers and foregathers, with our people’s past experiences. The soil contains the blood, ashes, and DNA of the victims as well as the tears of those who wept in horror and in sorrow.
There is a soils collection project for each person for whom we can uncover reliable information about the location of his death.
Marker installation: There will be at least two historic markers installed in two sites in different areas of Orange County. On one side, the markers name the men who were lynched, giving a short statement about who they were and when they were lynched. On the other side is a brief summary of the history of racial terror lynching in North Carolina.
Markers are installed once the research has been completed and the soils collection has taken place. The installation is a second community observance in which the history of the individual is recounted and honored. The ceremony includes music, poetry, spoken word, dance and prayer, and addresses by public officials, researchers and historians, members of EJI and OCCRC, and descendants of the victims’ families.
Monument installation: The Equal Justice initiative has installed in the National Memorial for Peace and Justice metal coffin-shaped forms for each county in the US where one or more documented acts of racial terror violence occurred. Duplicates of these metal forms lie on the grass outside the Memorial, eventually to be taken to a significant location in each county. It is the intention of OCCRC to bring home and install the memorial for Orange County citizens subjected to violence and terror in their communities.
Timeline of the OCCRC work
Prior to 2018: Research into the identities and stories of the individuals lynched in Orange County, ongoing
2018: OCCRC – EJI partnership formalized. Coalition work continued. Research to locate the site of the lynching of Manly McCauley under eay
2019: Research, documentation of the lynching of Manly McCauley corroborated, approved by EJI. Manly McCauley lynching location identified. Manly McCauley soils collection observance.
2020: Research, documentation related to four other men lynched in Orange County, initially shared with EJI. Marker sites scouted.
2021: Research, documentation deepened. Application submitted for approval by county officials of one Marker site. Locations for one or more additional Marker sites scouted. Essay contest planning under way. Marker installation ceremony planning begun.
2022 (est’d): Essay contest to be conducted. Planning for first Marker installation to be completed. First Marker to be installed. Additional soils collection and second Marker research to be finalized, submitted to EJI