Celebrating 100 Years of Black History at the Carolina Theatre

Black history is woven into the fabric of the Carolina Theatre of Durham. The theater’s evolution over its 100-year history reflects the creativity, resilience, and influence of Black artists and residents in Durham. As we celebrate a century of the Carolina Theatre, we honor the Black voices, vision, and creativity that helped build the theater’s legacy—and continue to shape its future.

Breaking Barriers: Marian Anderson Performs at the Carolina Theatre

Even in its earliest years, the Carolina Theatre of Durham hosted remarkable Black talent. In 1927, just one year after opening, the celebrated African-American opera singer Marian Anderson performed at the theater. Regarded as one of the finest contralto singers of all time, Anderson was internationally famous at a time when Black artists were often excluded from performing at major concert halls in the U.S and around the world. Her career was notable not only for her artistic achievements but for her work as an activist, breaking barriers and opening the doors for subsequent generations of black American singers to share their culture and perform anywhere, regardless of race—including at the Carolina Theatre.

While her appearance at the Carolina Theatre of Durham drew both Black and white audiences, segregation was enforced, and Black patrons were subject to separate entrances, ticket lines, and seating.

A Stage for Change: The Fight for Civil Rights at the Carolina Theatre

Although the Carolina Theatre was one of the few venues in Durham that admitted Black patrons, it operated under Jim Crow practices with segregated entrances, seating, and even a steep 97-step climb for Black guests to reach balcony seats.

Because the theater was a city-owned building and had been using taxpayers’ money to uphold segregation, it became a focal point of the Civil Rights Movement in Durham. Beginning in 1961, members of the Youth Chapter of the NAACP and local students, led by Attorney Floyd B. McKissick, began protesting the theater. The students began implementing a “round robin” strategy in 1962— where protestors would repeatedly form a line and one-by-one attempt to purchase tickets for whites-only sections. Once refused, they would rejoin the line to impede theater operations and negatively impact revenue.

Their perseverance paid off; in August 1963, the Carolina Theatre was officially desegregated, months before the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A comprehensive history of the Civil Rights Movement at the Carolina Theatre’s can be found on our website.

Renovation as Reckoning: Revealing the Theatre’s Divided History

In the decades following the Civil Rights Movement, white residents left American cities en masse for the suburbs to avoid school desegregation and racial integration. White flight significantly reduced funding to American cities by eroding the tax base and causing property values and tax revenues to plummet. The mass exodus created fiscal crises, forcing cities to cut public services, severely impacting infrastructure, and intensifying urban decay. Public institutions like the Carolina Theatre fell into disrepair.

In 1978, a group of volunteers rallied to save the theater by forming a nonprofit group to help restore it to its orginial glory and run an arthouse film program. Nearly a decade later, Durham County and the City of Durham appropriated $7.8 million from a bond to go towards the restoration of the theater. During the restoration, a false ceiling was removed that had hidden the segregated balcony for Black Patrons. Volunteers also made a concerted effort to preserve artifacts from the theater’s segregated past, including the original ticket window designated for Black patrons.

Confronting Change: Preserving Stories of Courage and Action

As part of the effort to preserve and be transparent about the theater’s history, a proposal was put forward to create an exhibit highlighting the theater’s civil rights history. A dedicated Civil Rights Exhibit Committee, made up of the original activists, their descendants, and community members, spearheaded the project, determined to preserve the stories of the protestors for future generations.  

The exhibit, housed in the once-segregated Carolina Theatre balcony two, opened to the public in 2014. It features photos, personal biographies, original artifacts, including the separate ticket window, and narratives illustrating the peaceful protests and legal struggles that ultimately opened the theatre to all patrons regardless of race.

Patrons can explore the exhibit during free public guided tours on select Saturdays at the theater. Private and school tours can be scheduled online.

By honoring the courage and perseverance of local changemakers, The Confronting Change exhibit ensures visitors understand both the theater’s past injustices and the community’s efforts toward justice and equality.

From Past to Present: Black Programming Shaping Culture at the Carolina Theatre

The volunteer-led nonprofit that ran the theater made a deliberate commitment not only to preserve the Black history that was uncovered during renovations, but to schedule more inclusive and representative programming moving forward. The commitment to place a greater emphasis on programming Black films, artists, and cultural events to ensure that the theater’s stage and screens reflect the diversity of Durham’s community remains today.

A Home for Black Cinema in the Heart of Durham

While the theater was closed to the public during the six-year renovation by the volunteer-led nonprofit, it hosted two film premieres, “Bull Durham” and “Hollywood Shuffle.”

“Hollywood Shuffle,” was a satirical comedy about the racial stereotypes of African Americans in film and television. Robert Townsend, the film’s director and star, famously visited the theater on its opening day in 1987. During its run the film broke the Carolina Theatre box-office record with a $40,000 gross, reflecting the demand for Black art on the big screen at the Carolina Theatre. 

In 1995, a year after the theater reopened post-renovation, it continued to meet the demand for Black film and engage the community by hosting Durham’s first annual African American Film Festival. That year, the festival featured 16 films from local filmmakers exploring the origins and scope of Black cinema in the 1990s.

In the 2010s and 2020s, the theater saw some more significant Black film premieres. The film “Best of Enemies” premiered at the Carolina Theatre on February 23, 2019. Taraji P Henson, who portrayed Ann Atwater, a Durham activist who worked with and befriended a former KKK leader in her efforts to desegregate Durham Public Schools, walked the red carpet.

In 2026 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the theater premiered its self-produced documentary called “Breaking the Booth,” directed by filmmaker J.D. Jones. The documentary followed Durham’s youth protesters during the Civil Rights Movement as they fought to desegregate the Carolina Theatre.

The premiere included moving spoken word by Chapel Hill Poet Laureate, Dr. Donovan Livingston, Chapel Hill Poet Laureat and an enlightening panel discussion featuring original activist Vivian McCoy, NCCU Professor Irving Joyner, Justice Anita S. Earls, Alec Virgil, Durham Public Schools 2025 Teacher of the Year, and moderator Cori Greer-Banks, Director of Carolina K-12.

Honoring Black Artistry Through Performance and Community Engagement

Since its re-opening in 1994, the Carolina Theatre has internationally curated programs and live events that celebrate Black artistic expression, welcoming world-renowned live performers including Branford Marsalis, Chuck Davis, Harry Belafonte, Mavis Staples, Lauryn Hill, Jon Batiste, Gil Scott Heron, John Legend, Rhiannon Giddens, Questlove, Reggie Watts, Gregory Porter, Nnenna Freelon, George Clinton, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, Tracy Morgan, Leslie Jones, Roy Wood Jr., Michael Che, The Dance Theatre of Harlem, and more.

The theater has also hosted notable community events organized by national and local Black organizations and instituions, including the Ebony (Magazine) Fashion Fair (2000); the BET Star Power Tour featuring live recordings of 106 & Park, ComicView, and Bobby Jones Gospel Show (2002); the NCCU Grady Tate Jazz Festival (2003); and the Art of Cool Festival (2014-2019).

In addition to hosting touring artists, festivals, and community events, the Carolina Theatre has actively produced educational programming that spotlights Black performers and Black cultural contributions. Through its Arts Discovery Educational Series (ADES), the theater has presented programs for Durham school children such as “February One”, a documentary screening exploring the 1960 Greensboro sit-ins and the student activism that helped ignite the Civil Rights Movement, as well as performances by Step Afrika!, the internationally recognized dance company rooted in the African American tradition of stepping. ADES has also featured “Evolution of American Music”, highlighting the foundational role of Black artists in shaping American musical genres. Beyond school programming, the theater’s Family Saturday Series (FSS) has showcased artists like Durham-based trumpeter Al Strong and North Carolina-based drumming ensemble “Africa Unplugged.”

Reaffirming its role as a cultural institution dedicated to equality, visibility, and community engagement, the theater launched The Wavemakers Series in 2024, curated by Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Rissi Palmer. The groundbreaking performance series celebrates spotlighting emerging diverse artists, including Black Country and Americana musicians Denitia, Madeline Edwards, SistaStrings, Buffalo Nichols, and Grace Givertz.