Urban Renewal in Durham, Hayti

The Rise, Decline, and Legacy of Hayti in Durham, North Carolina

Origins and Boundaries

The Hayti community in Durham, North Carolina, emerged after the Civil War as formerly enslaved African Americans established a self-sufficient enclave south of downtown Durham. By the 1880s, Hayti was recognized as one of the most prominent Black communities in the South. Its boundaries extended roughly from Pettigrew Street to Fayetteville Street, anchored by St. Joseph’s AME Church (founded in 1869) and later the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company, one of the nation’s most successful Black-owned businesses (Brown, 2009).

Hayti was closely tied to “Black Wall Street,” the commercial hub that flourished along Parrish Street, where African American entrepreneurs created thriving businesses, including Mechanics and Farmers Bank, NC Mutual, and a host of professional offices (Prieto & Phipps, 2022). The Hayti neighborhood provided the residential and cultural base that supported these institutions, making Durham a national center of Black economic power (Brown, 2009; Richardson, 2020).

Social and Cultural Life

At its height, Hayti featured hundreds of Black-owned businesses, schools, and entertainment venues. The Biltmore Hotel, the Wonder Theater, and a vibrant nightlife district served as cultural landmarks (Williams, 2019). Oral histories collected in Durham recall that “you didn’t have to leave Hayti for anything—you could get your hair cut, buy your clothes, see a movie, and go to church all in the same community” (Ward, 2012, p. 76).

This density of institutions fostered a sense of community pride and resilience, even in the face of segregation. Historian Leslie Brown describes Hayti as “a city within a city, where African Americans built parallel institutions that asserted dignity and autonomy” (Brown, 2009, p. 15).

The Urban Renewal Plan and Destruction

By the mid-20th century, federal urban renewal programs targeted Hayti as “blighted” (Richardson, 2020). In 1958, Durham officials proposed a $300 million redevelopment plan that promised new housing, schools, and infrastructure. Central to this plan was the construction of the Durham Freeway (NC-147), which cut directly through the heart of Hayti (Ehrsam, 2010).

While the official rhetoric promised revitalization, the reality was devastating. More than 200 acres of homes and businesses were demolished, displacing over 600 families (Lyons, 2010). A 1965 editorial in the Durham Morning Herald proclaimed urban renewal would “clear away decay and open the door to a modern city,” but in practice, the promised redevelopment was never fully realized (McDonald, 2020).

As one Hayti resident recalled in an oral history interview:

“They told us we’d get better homes, better schools. But all we got was a highway running through our living rooms” (quoted in Alston, 2016, p. 54).

Displacement and Relocation

Dislocated families were often funneled into segregated public housing projects such as McDougald Terrace or pushed to peripheral neighborhoods with fewer resources (Lyons, 2010; Alston, 2016). Others scattered to East Durham and areas north of downtown. This disrupted community cohesion, breaking intergenerational ties and dismantling the economic ecosystem that had once thrived in Hayti (Ward, 2012).

Lasting Impact

The destruction of Hayti reverberated well beyond Durham. Scholars note that Hayti’s decline mirrored similar patterns in Black communities across the United States, where urban renewal disproportionately targeted African American neighborhoods under the guise of “progress” (Prieto & Phipps, 2022). The promised economic benefits never materialized, leaving behind vacant lots, poverty, and social dislocation.

Citywide, the loss of Hayti weakened the economic foundation of Durham’s Black middle class. Nationally, its erasure has become a cautionary tale: how Black success was systematically undermined through policy decisions disguised as modernization. Yet, institutions like St. Joseph’s AME Church and the Hayti Heritage Center continue to preserve memory and identity, reminding Durham and the nation of Hayti’s significance.

As one longtime resident reflected:

“They tried to bury us under concrete, but we still remember Hayti. It lives in us, even if the buildings are gone” (quoted in Vann, 2017, p. 112).

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References

• Alston, C. (2016). The Structures of Trauma and Inequality: A Case Study of Durham, North Carolina’s Housing Market. Duke University. PDF

• Brown, L. (2009). Upbuilding Black Durham: Gender, Class, and Black Community Development in the Jim Crow South. University of North Carolina Press.

• Ehrsam, F. (2010). The Downfall of Durham’s Historic Hayti. Duke University Journal of Economics. PDF

• Lyons, B. (2010). Partitioning the Projects: Racial Segregation and Public Housing in Durham, North Carolina. Duke University. PDF

• McDonald, T. (2020). To Understand How Gentrification in Durham Works, Just Read the Signs. Indy Week. PDF

• Prieto, L. C., & Phipps, S. T. A. (2022). Supporting Black Business Ecosystems: Lessons from Durham’s Black Wall Street. MIT Sloan Management Review.

• Richardson, L. (2020). The Bull City—A Short History of Durham, North Carolina. Durham County Library. PDF

• Vann, A. D. (2017). African Americans of Durham County. Arcadia Publishing.

• Ward, A. R. (2012). Echoes in a Changing Urban Landscape: Memories and Place Identity in Durham, North Carolina. UNC-Chapel Hill. PDF

• Williams, O. R. (2019). Memories of Hayti: African American Community in Durham, North Carolina, 1890–1970. In The Black Urban Community: From Dusk Till Dawn.

Oral History with Artist, David Wilson

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Oral History with Artist, Emily E. Weinstein

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.

Blog Post Title Four

It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sound like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest. If you read the words back and don’t hear your own voice in your head, that’s a good sign you still have more work to do.

Be clear, be confident and don’t overthink it. The beauty of your story is that it’s going to continue to evolve and your site can evolve with it. Your goal should be to make it feel right for right now. Later will take care of itself. It always does.