About

In the early 20th century, Parrish Street in Durham, North Carolina, was the hub of African American business activity. This four-block district was known as “Black Wall Street." Although other cities had similar districts, Durham’s was one of the most vital and was nationally known.

ELRETA MELTON ALEXANDER-RALSTON  (1919 – 1998)
First black woman to graduate from Columbia University School of Law in 1945 as well as the first black woman to practice law and be elected as a judge in North Carolina.

DR. AARON M. MOORE  (1863 – 1923)
Preeminent force in building a strong black community in Durham. Principal in establishing Lincoln Hospital, Bull City Drug Company, and Mechanics & Farmers’ Bank.

REGINALD HAWKINS, SR.  (1923 – 2007)
Dentist and ordained minister who lived the cause of civil rights and championed the fight for equal rights throughout the Mid-Atlantic states. First African American to run for Governor of North Carolina.

HENRY PLUMMER CHEATHAM  (1857 – 1935)
Republican Congressman from 1888 – 1892. Superintendent of the African-American orphanage he had co-founded two decades earlier.

DAVID RICHMOND (1941– 1990) (in chef's jacket)
David Richmond was one of the original "Greensboro Four," students from North Carolina Agricultural & Technical State University who took part in the historic Woolworth lunch counter sit-ins in Greensboro, North Carolina, in 1960. A Greensboro native, Richmond majored in business administration and accounting at NC A&T State University. He worked as a counselor-coordinator for the CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) program, but he left Greensboro after his life was threatened, living for nine years in the mountain community of Franklin, North Carolina. Richmond subsequently returned to Greensboro to care for his elderly parents, and he found work as a janitor for the Greensboro Health Care Center. In 1980, the Greensboro Chamber of Commerce awarded him the Levi Coffin Award for “leadership in human rights, human relations, and human resources development in Greensboro.” After his death in 1990, NC A&T posthumously awarded him an honorary doctorate degree.

For in-depth information about the individuals depicted in the mural, and to view the creation of the painting over 11 months from concept to completion, visit the artist's blog.

  For information about publications related to some of the individuals and events featured in the mural, visit the UNC Press blog.