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After the Civil Rights Act was enacted, significant strides were made towards racial equality, including the desegregation of public facilities and the promotion of voting rights for African Americans. However, challenges persisted, leading to ongoing efforts to combat systemic discrimination and promote social justice.

Numerous protestors advocating for the desegregation of the Carolina Theatre were present. The speech further ignited activism both statewide and nationwide.

Protests persisted for two and a half years, ultimately proving successful due to the collective pressure from protestors, shifting public opinion, and changes in government leadership.   Despite integration, many Black individuals refrained from attending the theater. While some Black adults, accustomed to Jim Crow, viewed this integration as progress, Black youth regarded it merely […]

Protestors could request tickets to attend an integrated screening. No more than six tickets were permitted to Black patrons and tickets had to be arranged in advance. Box office staff would screen for approved names and allow them to enter the theater.   Many protestors felt like this process was degrading. Protestor Bessie McLauren, who […]

Photo credit: Durham County Library On the night of Mayor Grabarek’s election, 130 Black people were arrested after staging sit-ins at six restaurants throughout Durham. The next day 700 more Black protestors were arrested for trespassing after staging sit-ins at Howard Johnson’s. On May 20th thousands of protestors marched at City Hall.

Protesters initiated Round Robins, a tactic where Black patrons would request a ticket at the white ticket window, be denied, and then move to the back of the line to repeat the request. This method proved more effective as it disrupted the theater’s normal operations, blocking white customers from entering the queue in a timely […]

Following a two-day mass demonstration, Judge Hamilton Hobgood issued a restraining order instructing 34 students of the NAACP Youth Group, who organized the protest, to refrain from visiting the theater. Copies of the restraining order were posted outside the theater and distributed to each of the 34 students.

NAACP lawyers used the Supreme Court decision Burton v. Wilmington Parking Authority, which ruled that publicly owned buildings must desegregate, as a starting point for their case.

While now a nonprofit, the Carolina Theatre of Durham’s building is a city-owned facility. From 1976 through the late 1970s, the Carolina Theatre was privately managed, while the building was owned by the city of Durham.

Photo credit: Greensboro News and Records The Greensboro Four, consisting of Joseph McNeil, Franklin McCain, Ezell Blair Jr., and David Richmond, were young Black students enrolled in their freshman year at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. United by a common desire to combat segregation, they frequently gathered in their dorm rooms to strategize […]