The James Cates Scholars is a youth-led, elder informed program dedicated to centering, exploring and sharing marginalized Black history in Chapel Hill. The Scholars range in age from middle school, high school, college and beyond.

Find out more and support the program at Bridging the Gap with Danita Mason-Hogans.

For the past year, Chapel HIll Public Library has been taking a deep dive into local history, uncovering untold stories and telling them from “the bottom up and the inside out.” These stories are the basis of the Library’s new podcast, Re/Collecting Chapel Hill.

The first season of Re/Collecting Chapel Hill focuses on the community’s history and connections with historical monuments and markers. Listeners will hear archival audio mixed with present-day interviews that illuminate the history behind some of the most iconic--and occasionally controversial--monuments and markers in Chapel Hill.

The first season is co-hosted by Molly Luby, Special Projects Coordinator at Chapel Hill Public Library, and Danita Mason-Hogans, Chapel Hill Community Historian and member of the Town Council’s Historic Civil Rights Commemorations Task Force. Each episode will feature community voices from both the past and present, and invites listeners to consider how these voices can help us envision a better future.

CJ Suitt (he/him/they/them) is a performance poet, arts educator, and community organizer from Chapel Hill, N.C., whose work is rooted in storytelling and social justice.

CJ most recently was appointed as the first Poet Laureate of Chapel Hill. He is committed to speaking truth to power and aims to be a bridge for communities who can’t always see themselves in each other.

This episode was produced by Klaus Mayr and edited by Klaus and Molly.