What Happened to Hayti? The Black Wall Street Lost to History
By: Victor Greene
Black History Month is important because it brings awareness to Black culture and highlights the struggles that African Americans went through, but the struggles did not put a limit on what could be achieved. A word that represents Unity that doesn’t get enough recognition is Hayti. What is Hayti? Why is it important to Durham, North Carolina? Hayti was a Black business district that was the first African American community to be fully self-reliant. This community was founded in Durham, North Carolina in 1865 after the American Civil War.
There were limited job options for freed Black men and women in the late 1860’s so for work, they would labor on the farms growing crops and performing household tasks like cooking, gardening, washing clothes, and tending to animals. In 1869, a piece of land at the intersection of Pettigrew and Fayetteville streets was purchased by Reverend Edian Markum. Reverend Edian Markum helped organize a church and a school. The church’s name is St. Joseph A.M.E and it is one of the oldest churches still open in Durham.
The land that was purchased in 1869, started the foundation for Hayti to grow. The name “Hayti” comes from the independent black nation of Haiti. This was the name chosen for the neighborhood to represent independence, empowerment, and unity. By the late 1940’s, Hayti, was home to thousands of African Americans and where they had the opportunity to become an entrepreneur.
In 1910, North Carolina Central University was built in the Hayti neighborhood of Durham, North Carolina. James E. Shepard founded the school and today NCCU is a historically black college that consistently ranks as one of the top HBCUs to attend in the United States. In 1928, W.G. Pearson was an elementary school created for Black students to attend during segregation. The building was renovated in 2017 and is now a historical venue. The Hayti neighborhood had a variety of businesses that helped keep the community independent like Speights Auto, Regal Theater, Garret’s Biltmore Drugstore, Green Candle Restaurant and Mechanics and Farmers Bank. The Hayti district was destroyed in the late 1950’s due to the construction of Durham Freeway Route 147 and urban renewal. The freeway split the center of the neighborhood causing families to go homeless and businesses to go bankrupt. This type of blatant sabotage happened in predominantly African American communities throughout the United States.
The Director of Hayti Reborn is Anita Scott Neville, the mission of Hayti Reborn is to spread the word of Hayti and teach the importance of unity. Mrs. Neville is the daughter of Joseph Scott who owned a retail and wholesale beauty and barber supply business in the Hayti District. Plenty of families were damaged due to the unjust actions that happened in the late 1950’s. The Hayti District was torn down, but Mrs. Neville is doing her part in keeping the name Hayti relevant. The knowledge of Hayti is important in Black History and below is a video representing how far we have come as a culture and also to inspire youth on what can be done to change the future.
YouTube Video Below:
