INC NEWS - Durham Unveils Historic Parrish St. Banners Sept. 21

[RW Pickle]

Press Release from the Public Affairs Office.
RWP
27 Beverly
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Residents and Business Owners Encouraged to Participate in Public Art
Project and Learn About Available Properties

Durham, N.C. – In the next milestone of downtown Durham’s revitalization,
a traveling banner exhibition commemorating Durham’s historic Parrish
Street will be unveiled Friday, September 21, 2007, at 5 p.m. in a special
ceremony at the corner of Parrish and Corcoran Streets in downtown Durham.

According to Barbara Lau, a member of the Parrish Street Advocacy Group
(PSAG) History Committee, the banners will help educate schoolchildren and
residents about the significant role of Parrish Street, known as “Black
Wall Street,”  in the development of Durham and the nation’s
African-American business community.  “This is a celebration of a truly
unique place in the history of the United States because it was the center
of African-American commerce and culture in the first half of the 20th
Century,” Lau said.  “Durham’s Black Wall Street was nationally recognized
as a focus of innovation, tenacity and entrepreneurship. It is critical
that all people of the area, of all races and nationalities, understand
and celebrate the history of Parrish Street and play a role in returning
it to a place of prominence in the community.”

The banner exhibition celebrates 12 themes in Parrish Street’s history,
including N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company; Mechanics & Farmers Bank;
social entrepreneurship; North Carolina Central University; Lincoln
Hospital; the role of Black Wall Street leaders in their churches; and the
Durham Colored Library.  Other banner themes commemorate the role of
women; the struggle for civil rights led by Parrish Street leaders; the
designation of Durham as “Capital of the Black Middle Class;” the visits
of several leading thinkers and activists; and the future vision for
Parrish Street.

In addition, residents will be invited to participate in a public art
project to further the revitalization of Parrish Street.  Janet Kagan,
principal of the Percent For Art Collaborative, is planning a unique
approach to obtaining public input into the public art process to
incorporate into a plan to be reviewed later this fall.  Kagan’s team will
ask attendees to "map" their experience and understanding of Parrish
Street using a brief walking questionnaire.  “When we describe a space our
descriptions are embedded with understandings, beliefs, values and
prejudices.  We call these embedded elements perceptions,” Kagan said. 
“When we are able to express our perceptions to each other, we are better
able to understand what the space means to us and to make critical design
decisions.”

Business owners interested in locating to Parrish Street will also have an
opportunity to learn about several incentives offered by PSAG and the
City.  The PSAG will distribute fact sheets on several City of Durham
financial service programs and incentives available to entrepreneurs who
choose to locate on Historic Parrish Street. These fact sheets will
include information on demographics and working population in downtown
Durham, plans for future development in the area, a list of businesses
currently in the area and specific information on properties for sale or
lease.

According to Charles D. Watts, Jr., chairman of the PSAG and senior vice
president and general counsel for N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Company, this
event allows Durham residents to actively participate in the future of
this vital downtown area.  “The Parrish Street Advocacy Group has been
working for year to bring an exciting future to Parrish Street and the
surrounding area,” Watts said. “Our September 21st event will be both an
unveiling of significant educational work and an opportunity for people of
all ages to help us shape the future of Parrish Street.”

For more information about PSAG or this event, contact Parrish Street
Project Coordinator Reginald Jones with the City’s Office of Economic and
Workforce Development at (919) 560-4965, extension 240, via e-mail at
Reginald.Jones at durhamnc.gov, or visit the City’s Web site at
http://www.durhamnc.gov/departments/eed/parrish/.