[Durham INC] Durham's Historic Parrish Street Forum Hosts Black History Presentation June 20

[Blalock, Amy]

CITY OF DURHAM

Office of Public Affairs

101 City Hall Plaza

Durham, NC 27701

 

 

News Release

 

News Media Contact:

Amy Blalock

Sr. Public Affairs Specialist

(919) 560-4123 x 11253

(919) 475-7735 (cell)

Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov <mailto:Amy.Blalock at DurhamNC.gov>  

http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC <http://Facebook.com/CityofDurhamNC>


http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC <http://Twitter.com/CityofDurhamNC>


For Immediate Release: June 3, 2013

 

 

Durham's Historic Parrish Street Forum Hosts Black History Presentation
June 20

 

DURHAM, N.C. - Dr. Aaron Moore is hailed as Durham's first black
physician and one of the original founders of the North Carolina Mutual
Life Insurance Company. However, he was also a strong education advocate
who made a great impact on Durham's public education system and beyond.


 

Residents are invited to learn more about this pillar of Durham's black
community at a free presentation that will uncover the critical role
that Dr. Moore played in the education of blacks, not only in Durham,
but throughout North Carolina. 

 

Hosted by the Historic Parrish Street Forum, this free event will be
held on Thursday June 20, 2013, at 7 p.m. at the Historic Parrish Street
Forum, located at 108 W. Parrish Street in downtown Durham. 

 

The presentation will be given by Joanne Abel, adult programming and
humanities librarian with the Durham County Library. Abel will share her
research on Dr. Moore's work to improve education policies, the training
of students, and the employment of black teachers.  

 

Abel notes that Dr. Moore took decisive action in 1915 to inspect black
schools. "Dr. Moore raised money to hire a statewide inspector of black
schools who would be truly independent, because he was paid by the black
community," Abel said. "This inspector visited 35 counties and found the
schools in Durham County to be among the worst. This finding was a
catalyst for the actions Dr. Moore would then lead to improve black
schools throughout the South."

 

Abel will also discuss Dr. Moore's advocacy for the employment of black
teachers through the Jeanes Foundation - an organization founded to
train black teachers and place them in schools in the South. These
teachers worked to upgrade those schools and provide vocational training
for black students.

 

This event is sponsored by the Parrish Street Project, an initiative of
the City of Durham's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and
the Parrish Street Advocacy Group, to spur economic development and
commemorate the history of Durham's Black Wall Street.

 

For more information contact Nia Richardson, economic development
specialist with the City's Office of Economic and Workforce Development,
by email at Nia.Richardson at DurhamNC.gov  or by calling (919) 560-4965,
ext. 15216. 

 

About Joanne Abel

Joanne Abel is the adult programming and humanities librarian with the
Durham County Library. She earned her bachelor's of science degree in
Education from Georgia Southern College, her master's degree in Library
Science from North Carolina Central University, and her Master of Art in
Liberal Studies from Duke University. Her final project at Duke was on
Durham County's African-American Schools and the Jeanes Supervising
Teachers from 1900-1930. This project was made into a Durham County
Library web page called The Women Who Ran the Schools. To learn more,
visit http://www.durhamcountylibrary.org/ncc/jeanes/index.php.

 

About the Parrish Street Project

The Parrish Street Project is an initiative of the Durham City Council
to commemorate the nationally significant history of Parrish Street,
also known as "Black Wall Street," and spur economic revitalization for
this downtown Durham corridor. This initiative is being coordinated by
the City's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the Parrish
Street Advocacy Group, and a group of Durham leaders, activists,
businesses, and residents representing some of the most influential
organizations and interests in the Bull City. Together they are engaged
in a mission to attract new investment and pursue national heritage area
status from the United States Congress. To learn more, visit 
http://www.ParrishStreet.org

 

About the Office of Economic & Workforce Development

Guided by the City's Strategic Plan, the Office of Economic and
Workforce Development helps ensure that Durham has a strong and diverse
economy by increasing the city's tax base through several revitalization
initiatives, including new development efforts in the central city area.
The department also plans and promotes cultural awareness and events,
identifies and recruits target industries as well as assesses and trains
Durham residents to fill new jobs. For more information, visit 
http://www.DurhamEconomicDevelopment.org, "like" on Facebook at 
http://www.Facebook.com/DurhamOEWD, or "follow" on Twitter at 
http://Twitter.com/DurhamOEWD.

 


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