Behind the Scenes: Hillsborough’s African American History: A Walking Tour
March 3, 2021
Behind the Scenes: Hillsborough’s African American History: A Walking Tour
Annie Newton, program coordinator for The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough, talks candidly about creating Hillsborough’s African American History: A Walking Tour.
The Alliance for Historic Hillsborough invites residents and visitors to stroll through Hillsborough’s African American history.
“This walking tour offers a small glimpse into the vibrant and profound African American community that has flourished in Hillsborough, despite race laws, segregation, and discrimination throughout the history of North Carolina.” – Intro to the African American History Walking Tour.
From Still Branch to St. James Lodge Masonic Temple, people can explore 13 different sites throughout town. Each stop depicting a different person, event, or location related to local African American history.
Newton, who has been with the Alliance since 2018, organized the tour with help from local volunteers and historians. “The African American History Walking Tour (AAHWT) currently displayed on the Alliance website is a small version of a larger tour that we are working on,” explained Newton. “This tour highlights a part of Hillsborough’s history that has long been overlooked, and we are hoping to engage visitors in a piece of history that has contributed to the culture of our community.” With two master’s degrees in History and a native of Orange County, Newton has been able to merge her love for the Tarheel state and its history, educating others by way of her popular heritage programs, historical events, and walking tours. Although her knowledge of North Carolina history is extensive, she admits to continually making discoveries. “You always find surprising information when you are doing research – whether it’s confirmation of an assumption or a new revelation.” Newton went on to say, “The most fun tidbit I learned doing this research was that so many Motown performers played at Hillsborough High School. To think that Ike and Tina Turner performed right up the road from our office is really cool. I also loved the fact that one of the richest men in town was a black freedman in the mid-1800s. That says so much about Hillsborough’s culture and the nuances of society at the time. Unfortunately, due to the content of the tour, there is a lot that is hard to find, prove and verify. So much has been unrecorded or lost over time, so that was and has been a big challenge as historians continue to provide insight to who history has deemed ‘others’ (women, minorities, and Native Americans) for so long.”
Currently, offering only the condensed version of the tour, the question had to be asked, how do you pick the sites? “We added sites and figures that helped highlight the full story and experiences of Blacks in Hillsborough, which included people like Billy Strayhorn, Henry Evans, and sites like the Removed Community,” replied Newton. “[We also wanted] the information to be fresh and informative, as well as give a new perspective of Hillsborough, so we tried to include sites not mentioned in other tour books. When including popular places such as the Courthouse, I sifted through the research and pulled facts that aren’t widely mentioned, like the Freedom Riders trials and segregation protests.” Newton went on to reveal the intentions behind the tour while strongly encouraging everyone to take the walk. “I hope people will learn that Hillsborough is complex but also fascinating – Ike, Tina Turner, Motown, Billy Strayhorn, all right here! [Hillsborough] hasn’t been immune to history, or the degrading race laws of this country, a lot of which are hard to read and learn about. But I do hope people will gain a better and deeper understanding of the diverse individuals who lived here, as well as grasp some of the unique nuances of Southern culture and appreciate the importance of learning its history.”
Newton has no plans of slowing down. While the efforts to expand the AAHWT continue, Newton also prepares to release another tour in March. “The next tour will be Women in Hillsborough, which will debut in March for Women’s History Month. We will be adding a new tour or updated stops to previous tours every month or so. All tours will be available online for visitor access,” explained Newton. A call for collaboration is posted on the Alliance website, inviting the public to submit sites or figures for the tours. If you would like to contribute to either the AAHWT or Women in Hillsborough, please email Annie@historichillsborough.org.
