Teaching about Hayti

(Durham, North Carolina)

Introduction

Founded in 1865, the thriving black community of Hayti, Durham, North Carolina was viewed as rivaling Tulsa Oklahoma as a premier business district. Not only did Hayti boast black-owned churches, fraternal societies, business and residences, financial institutions, and insurance companies, but Hayti also had its own university – North Carolina Central University – an HBCU founded in 1909.The digital exhibit ‘Uneven Ground: Uncovering the History of Durham’s Housing Inequality’ states “In the end, over 4,000 families and 500 businesses were displaced. The price tag for the destruction of Hayti was $300 million in today’s dollars, three-quarters of which was paid for by the federal government. But the promise of a renewed Hayti never came.”

1. What role did deceit play in the dispossession of Hayti from the Black Community?
2. In what ways has legal action and government projects impacted Black communities in the U.S?
3. How have Black communities been targeted economically, physically, and emotionally by those in power, both in the past and present?

Historical Overview

Hayti was home to the first black public high school in North Carolina and numerous trade schools, as well as the oldest insurance company in North Carolina – the black-owned North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Agency. Established in 1898 and founded by John Merrick, the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Agency was the first Black-owned insurance company in the state and the largest in the nation. Located on Parrish Street in the all-Black neighborhood of Hayti, North Carolina Mutual has been a catalyst for cultural, social, and economic development. From its inception, its state purpose was “the relief of the distress of Negros” in North Carolina. Along with Merrik, the founding leaders of the company included Aaron Moore (who served as medical director and treasurer) and Charles C. Spaulding (serving as general manager) under whose guidance the organization bloomed and achieved national prominence. With a strong sense of social consciousness and responsibility, N.C. Mutual promulgated a concept of the Double-Duty Dollar, widely employed by well-known mutual aid benefit societies, which ensure that income from insurance sales could be funneled back into the community.

Throughout its history, the organization developed programs to help build and maintain strong Black families and communities through employment, loans, investments, and contributions and support of social programs. By 1921, N.C. Mutual expanded its corporate headquarters to a handsome six-story complex that had been designed by company officials. NCMLIC is the only insurance company domiciled in North Carolina with a charter dated before 1900 and, with over $2.4 billion dollars of insurance in force and surplus exceeding $9 million, it is the oldest and largest African American life insurance company in the United States.

Although there was significant poverty in its midst, financial, human, and community capital made Hayti a unique black community. In 1963, the community overwhelmingly voted in favor of an urban renewal project on the strength of the city’s promises to rebuild Hayti better. The digital exhibit ‘Uneven Ground: Uncovering the History of Durham’s Housing Inequality’ states “In the end, over 4,000 families and 500 businesses were displaced. The price tag for the destruction of Hayti was $300 million in today’s dollars, three-quarters of which was paid for by the federal government. But the promise of a renewed Hayti never came.”

Additional Resources:

8th grade:

8.1.28 Recognize historical perspective and evaluate alternative courses of action by describing the historical context in which events unfolded.
8.3.6 Using maps identify changes influenced by growth, economic development and human migration in the United States.
8.3.7 Using primary and secondary sources, identify ways people modified the physical environment as the United States developed and describe the impacts that resulted.
8.3.8 Analyze human and physical factors that have influenced migration and settlement patterns and relate them to the economic development of the United States.

Ethnic Studies:

ES.1.3 Students evaluate how society’s responses to different social identities lead to access and/or barriers for ethnic and racial groups in relation to various societal institutions, including but not limited to education, healthcare, government, and industry
ES.2.4 Students examine history and the present to make predictions about what role the dominant culture plays in the loss of racial/ethnic culture and cultural identity.

U.S. History

USH.7.6 Identify the problems confronting different minorities during this period of economic and social change and describe the solutions to these problems.

Social Justice Standards
6-8:

DI.6-8.8 I am curious and want to know more about other people’s histories and lived experiences, and I ask questions respectfully and listen carefully and nonjudgmentally.
DI.6-8.10 I can explain how the way groups of people are treated today, and the way they have been treated in the past, shapes their group identity and culture.
JU.6-8.12 I can recognize and describe unfairness and injustice in many forms including attitudes, speech, behaviors, practices and laws.

Social Justice Standards
9-12:

DI.9-12.8 I respectfully express curiosity about the history and lived experiences of others and exchange ideas and beliefs in an open-minded way.
DI.9-12.10 I understand that diversity includes the impact of unequal power relations on the development of group identities and cultures.
JU.9-12.12 I can recognize, describe and distinguish unfairness and injustice at different levels of society.
JU.9-12.15 I can identify figures, groups, events, and a variety of strategies and philosophies relevant to the history of social justice around the world.