DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

'Durham' is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. It is the county seat of Durham County and is the fourth-largest city in the state by population. It is the home of Duke University, North Carolina Central University and is the primary cornerstone of the Research Triangle Park.
Durham is the core of the four county Durham, NC MSA Metropolitan Statistical Area which has a population of 451,212 as of July 1, 2004. The US Office of Management and Budget also defines Durham as a part of the Raleigh-Durham-Cary Combined Statistical Area, which has a population of 1,565,223 as of July 1, 2006.
The City of Durham, Durham County and the Durham, NC MSA are consistently ranked among the best places in the nation as a place to live, visit and do business. A dozen of the most recent rankings include:

★ #15 best place to live in the USA, Bert Sperling's City's Ranked & Rated, May 2007

★ Top 10 Tech Town, Wired, January 2007

★ #26 City where business opportunity is greatest for growing companies, Expansion Management August 2007

★ #3 best small city for relocating families, Worldwide ERC, May 2007

★ #45 hottest business market in the country, Inc. Magazine April, 2007

★ 24th year as Tree City USA, National Arbor Day Foundation, April 2007

★ #7 for business and careers, Forbes Magazine, April 2007

★ One of the 100 best communities for music education, American Music Conference, March 2007

★ #16 best green places in America, Country Home Magazine, March 2007

★ #6 nationally for bird checklists submitted, Great Backyard Bird County, March 2007

★ #37 best walking city, March 2007

★ #1 MSA in the national for percentage of workforce in the "Creative Class," Catalytix, January 2007

★ Top 100 best communities for young people, America's Promise, January 2007
Durham's motto is "Where Great Things Happen" www.wheregreatthingshappen.com.

History

Durham originated in 1853 with the search for a suitable railroad depot for the North Carolina Railroad between Wilson and Hillsborough. An earlier post office known as Herndon's existed in the area from 1827, and another at nearby Prattsburg was established in 1836. The landowners at Prattsburg refused to sell land to the railroad. Somewhat further to the northwest, a country physician named Bartlett S. Durham lived and practiced along the route. He donated land to the railroad, which named the subsequent depot Durham Station.
The town grew slowly before the Civil War, but grew rapidly following the war; the present city charter dates from 1869. Much of this growth can be attributed to the establishment of a thriving tobacco industry. Soldiers, both Union and Confederate, were encamped at Bennett Place, just outside the town during surrender proceedings. During their long encampment, they liberally sampled the area's Brightleaf Tobacco, which purportedly had a milder flavor than other tobacco varieties. After returning to their homes, numerous orders were mailed to Green's tobacco company requesting more of the Durham tobacco. W.T. Blackwell would partner with Green, and rename the company the "Bull Durham Tobacco Company". The name "Bull Durham" is said to have been taken from the bull on the British Coleman's Mustard, which Mr. Blackwell (mistakenly) believed was manufactured in Durham, England.

20th Century

Looking west along Parrish Street, towards CCB (SunTrust) Building

The rapid growth and prosperity of the Bull Durham Tobacco Company, and Washington Duke's Duke & Sons Tobacco Company, would result in the rapid growth of the city of Durham. While the tobacco industry dominated the city's economy initially, it was soon rivalled by the establishment of multiple textile mills, particularly in East and West Durham. Much of the early city architecture, both commercial and residential, dates from the period of 1890 - 1930.
Durham quickly developed a vibrant African-American community, the center of which was an area known as 'Hayti' (pronounced HAY-Tie), just south of the center of town, where some of the most prominent and successful black-owned businesses in the country during the early 20th century were established. These businesses — the best known of which are North Carolina Mutual Insurance Company and Mechanics & Farmers' Bank — were centered on Parrish St., which would come to be known as "Black Wall Street".
Durham's fortunes declined during the mid-20th century. Textile mills began to close during the 1930s, and competition from other tobacco companies (as well as a decrease in smoking after the 1960s) reduced revenues to Durham's tobacco industry. Although the region benefited significantly from the establishment of Research Triangle Park in 1958, Durham did not experience the same early increases in housing development as neighboring Raleigh and Cary. Suburban flight also contributed to the slow but progressive decline of downtown Durham as a retail and economic center.
With a strong African-American community, a strong Civil Rights movement developed in Durham. Multiple sit-ins were held, and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited the city during the struggle for equal rights.
This strong community was not enough to prevent the demolition of portions of the Hayti district for the construction of the Durham Freeway during the late 1960s. The freeway construction also resulted in the loss of large parts of other historic neighborhoods, including Morehead Hills, West End, and West Durham. Combined with large-scale demolition using Urban Renewal funds, Durham suffered significant losses from its historic architectural base.
Durham's growth began to rekindle during the 1970s and 1980s, with the construction of multiple housing developments in the southern part of the city, nearest Research Triangle Park, and the beginnings of downtown revitalization. In 1975, the St. Joseph's Historical Foundation at the Hayti Heritage Center was incorporated to "preserve the heritage of the old Hayti community, and to promote the understanding of and appreciation for the African American experience and African Americans' contributions to world culture."St. Joseph's Historical Foundation at Hayti Heritage Center. A new downtown baseball stadium was constructed for the Durham Bulls in 1994, and a large-scale historic renovation of the American Tobacco Company (formerly Bull Durham) complex commenced in 2003.

Education

Colleges and universities

★ Duke University - private research university

★ North Carolina Central University - historically black university

★ Durham Technical Community College - public two-year accredited institution
Public education in Durham is provided by Durham Public Schools. Durham owns 45 schools, including a school for hospitalized children. Durham also is home to the state-run residential high school North Carolina School of Science and Mathematics.

Public charter schools

★ Central Park School for Children (K-5)

★ Kestrel Heights School (6-12)

Private Schools

★ Agape Corner School (1-12)

★ Bethesda Christian Academy (K-8)

★ Bryson Montessori School (K-1)

★ Camelot Academy (K-12)

★ Carolina Friends School (P-12)

★ Cresset Christian Academy (K-12)

★ Duke School For Children (P-8)

★ Durham Academy (P-12)

★ Fellowship Baptist Academy (K-12)

★ Gorman Christian Academy and Early Learning Center (K-8)

★ Greenbriar Academy (P-11)

★ Hebrew Israelite Academy (1-11)

★ Hill Learning Center (K-12)

★ Ibad ar-Rahman School (1-12)

★ Immaculata Catholic School (P-8)

★ Lerner Jewish Community Day School (P-5)

★ Liberty Christian School & Daycare (K-12)

★ Montessori Children's House of Durham (P-6)

★ Montessori Community School (P-6)

★ Mount Zion Christian Academy (K-12)

★ Tabernacle of Life Christian School (2-12)

★ Triangle Day School (K-8)

★ Trinity School of Durham/Chapel Hill (K-9)
(P = Pre-Kindergarten)

Sports and Entertainment

Durham Bulls logo

Durham's most famous professional sports team is the Durham Bulls International League baseball team. A movie involving the franchise, ''Bull Durham'', was produced in 1988. The Bulls play in the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, south of downtown, constructed in 1994. Designed by HOK-Sport, the designers of Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, the stadium has 10,000 seats and is fronted by an office building, Diamond View I, built by the owner of the team, Raleigh's Capital Broadcasting. Construction of a second Diamond View office building and parking deck is currently under way. Now with one of the newest and most impressive stadiums in the minor leagues, the Bulls usually generate an annual attendance of around 500,000. Previously, the Durham Athletic Park, located north of downtown, had served as the team's homebase. It has been preserved for the use of other minor league baseball teams as well as for concerts sponsored by the City of Durham. The Durham Dragons, a women's fast pitch softball team, played in the Durham Athletic Park from 1998-2000.

NCAA Sports

Duke University offers 26 NCAA Division I sporting teams and competes in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Duke has won 3 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championships and is third in NCAA Final Four Appearances in Men's Basketball with 14.
North Carolina Central University offers NCAA Division I sporting teams and currently in transition to compete in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC).
NCCU has won CIAA championships in football, volleyball, and cross country for two consecutive years. NCCU won the 1989 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Championship.
The city also owns a national landmark downtown, the Carolina Theatre, which is operated by a nonprofit organization. The Carolina Theatre is the host of the North Carolina Gay & Lesbian Film Festival and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. The Full Frame Documentary Film Festival caters to documentary film makers all over the world. In addition, the American Dance Festival, a six-week series of dance performances, is held each summer at the Duke University Campus.

Points of interest

★ American Tobacco Trail

A dinosaur statue on the grounds of the Museum of Life and Science

★ Bennett Place

★ Brightleaf Square

★ Carolina Theatre

★ Catsburg Store

★ Duke University

★ Horton Grove (former slave cabins at Stagville Plantation)

★ North Carolina Museum of Life and Science

★ Sarah P. Duke Gardens

★ Durham Central Park

★ Historic Stagville Plantation

★ The Streets at Southpoint

★ West Point Mill

★ American Tobacco Company (shops, restaurants)

★ Ninth St. (interesting retail, bookshops, coffeeshops, restaurants)

Culture

Durham has a rich and vibrant art and cultural community. Events include jazz festivals, blues festivals, symphony concerts, art exhibitions, and a multitude of cultural expositions, including the American Dance Festival and the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. A centerpiece of Durham's culture is its Carolina Theater which shows both live performances as well as films, primarily independent releases. Durham features excellent culinary offerings, particularly for a city its size, with a wide selection of diverse and renowned establishments. These establishments are primarily concentrated in the Ninth Street, Brightleaf, and University Drive areas. There is a resurgence of restaurants in and around the downtown area, including several new restaurants in the American Tobacco District.
Durham hosts a yearly Gay and Lesbian Film festival which draws people from across the United States as well as an annual Gay Pride Parade. Durham is the home of the ''Independent Weekly a'' progressive weekly newspaper''.
The Durham Association for Downtown Arts (DADA) is a non-profit arts organization located in the downtown area. It was founded in 1998 and then incorporated in 2000. The organization's mission is a commitment to the development, presentation and fiscal sponsorship of original art and performance in Durham. DADA strives to support local artists working in a diversity of artistic media. Emphasizing community, DADA helps local residents gain access to these artists by providing free or low-cost venue admission.

Movies filmed in Durham

★ Brightleaf 1950 The movie is set in Durham, but was filmed on a soundstage in California.

★ Three In The Attic 1967

★ Brainstorm 1981

★ Weeds 1987

★ The White Girl 1987

★ ''Bull Durham'' 1987

★ ''The Handmaid's Tale'', a 1990 film

★ Once Around 1990

★ Billy Bathgate 1991

★ The Program 1992

★ Painting Churches 1992

★ The Portrait 1993

★ Getting In 1993

★ Bandwagon 1994

★ Margaret 1994

★ The Immortal 1994

★ Chesterfield 1995

★ Kiss the Girls 1996

★ Clowns 1999

★ ''The Rookie'', a 2002 film

★ Scenic 2003

★ Majolie & Chouchou 2003

★ Duchess of Durham County 2006

★ Welcome to Durham, USA, Upon its release and subsequent screenings at several film festivals, Welcome to Durham created serious buzz and press with a relevant issue that few had touched upon.
For a complete listing of all television, video and commercials filmed in Durham visit http://www.durham-nc.com/film/film_history.php

Famous natives and residents

Born in Durham

★ Major league baseball pitcher Roger Lee Craig.^[1]

★ Hall of Fame baseball player Rick Ferrell.^[2]

★ Current major league baseball player Brian Roberts, second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles.^[3]

★ Olympic champion snowboarder Seth Wescott.^[4]

Residents of Durham

★ Branford Marsalis has been a resident of Durham for several years. The Branford Marsalis Quartet's 2006 album, Braggtown was titled after Braggtown Baptist Church, which sits in the neighborhood of Bragtown, located in northeastern Durham, just north of Highways 70/85.

Associated with Durham

★ Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Doug Marlette lived in Durham as a child.^[5]

Politics

The area is predominantly Democratic. Durham is an activist communuity and politics are lively, visible, and often contentious, and like many communities, often dealing with issues of race and class. The shifting alliances of the area's political action committees since the 1980s has led to a very active local political scene. Notable groups include the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, the Durham People's Alliance and the Friends of Durham. Compared to other similarly sized Southern cities, Durham has a larger than average population of middle class African-Americans and white liberals. Working together in coalition, these two groups have dominated city and county politics since the early 1980s.
Key political issues have been the redevelopment of Downtown Durham and revival of other historic neighborhoods and commercial districts, a 45% reduction of crime, a 10 year plan to end homelessness, initiatives to reduce truancy, issues related growth and development. Naturally, a merger of Durham City Schools (several inner city neighborhoods) and Durham County Schools in the early 1990s has not been without controversy.

Recent Issues

In 2005, racial tensions flared over the school board for the Durham Public School.Racism Charges Leveled In Durham School Board Meeting When a black principal at a local middle school was accused of unfairly targeting black students for punishments, local parents and leaders in the black community approached the school board to request the principal be punished. When the school board initially voted not to punish the principal, the group of petitioners and others began to become vocal about the issue of the racial divide of the school board which had a one seat white majority. When one member of the school board visited the school with one of the concerned parents, they were removed from the school by the police for interrupting the school day and ordered not to return. Over the next several months, the school board meetings were marred by shouted insults, including racial epithets, from the public forum as well as between members. In an attempt to control the presentation of issues, the Superintendent attempted to institute new rules for discussions at school board meetings, but this only caused more strife. Tied into this was a proposal to change the way the Durham County School Board is elected, from a district-based system to at-large elections, resulted in an adversarial relationship between board members and primarily black parents. Petition Drive To Change Durham Schools Elections Fails The proposal was seen as potentially reducing African-American representation, although Durham frequently elects African-Americans in at-large races such as mayor and County Commissioner.
During this same course of time three crosses were burnt in the area, leading some to question if the burnings were related to the school board issues. However, citizens from all communities turned out in the hundreds for candlelight vigils after the cross burnings. There were also several incidents of vandalism (spray-painting) related to the Ku Klux Klan — seemingly, both by and against — and Ku Klux Klan pamphlets were found distributed in several neighborhoods as recently as June 2007. [1]
Also in 2005, Reverend Fred Phelps's group came to protest the Durham School of the Arts's presentation of The Laramie Project; counter-protesters supporting the high school students were said to outnumber them 10-1.Westboro Baptist Church protest in Durham, NC
In 2006, racial and community tensions were stirred following allegations of a sexual assault by three white members of the Duke University lacrosse team were made by an African American woman who was hired as a dancer during the 2006 Duke University lacrosse case.

Immigration policy

Since 2003 the city has had a sanctuary city policy. A city council resolution mandates that police officers "...may not request specific documents for the sole purpose of determining a person's civil immigration status, and may not initiate police action based solely on a person's civil immigration status ..." Councilman and mayoral candidate Thomas Stith III proposed that jail personnel inquire into the immigration status of anyone convicted of felonies or driving-under-intoxication. ^[6]

Passenger transportation

★ 'Private vehicle:' Most travel in Durham is by private vehicle on public streets.

★ 'Air:' Raleigh-Durham International Airport is just east of Durham on I-40.

★ 'Major highways:' I-40, I-85, and U.S.15-501. Also, State route 147, the Durham Freeway.

★ 'Passenger rail:' Amtrak's Carolinian and Piedmont train offers daily service to Charlotte and Raleigh, where connections can be made to Miami, Washington DC and New Orleans.

★ 'Public transportation:' Within Durham, the Durham Area Transit Authority (DATA) bus system. The Triangle Transit Authority operates buses that serve the region and connect to municipal bus systems in Raleigh and Chapel Hill.

★ 'Trails:' The American Tobacco Trail's northern terminus is in downtown Durham.

★ 'Bicycle:' All public buses are equipped with bicycle racks.

Law and government

Durham operates under a council-manager government. The current mayor is Bill Bell.
City council members are Cora Cole-McFadden (Ward 1), Howard Clement, III (Ward 2), Mike Woodard (Ward 3), Eugene A. Brown, Diane Catotti, and Thomas Stith, III.

Geography

Durham is located at (35.988644, -78.907167).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 245.8 km² (94.9 mi²). 245.1 km² (94.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.7 km² (0.3 mi²) of it (0.29%) is water.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census year	Population

1890	5,485
1900	6,679
1910	18,241
1920	21,719
1930	52,037
1940	60,195
1950	73,368
1960	84,642
1970	100,768
1980	100,831
1990	136,611
2000	187,035
2005	208,816

As of the census of 2000, there were 201,726 people, 74,981 households, and 43,563 families residing in the city. The population density was 763.1/km² (1,976.4/mi²). There were 80,797 housing units at an average density of 329.7/km² (853.8/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 45.50% White, 43.81% African American, 0.31% Native American, 3.64% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.75% from other races, and 1.94% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.56% of the population.
There were 74,981 households, out of which 28.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.2% were married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.9% were non-families. 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 3.01.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 14.1% from 18 to 24, 35.6% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 9.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females there were 92.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $41,160, and the median income for a family was $51,162. Males had a median income of $35,202 versus $30,359 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,526. About 11.3% of families and 15.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.4% of those under age 18 and 13.2% of those age 65 or over.

Sister Cities

★ Arusha, Tanzania

★ Durham, England

★ Kostroma, Russia

★ Toyama, Japan

★ San Ramón, Nicaragua

References

1. Roger Lee Craig
2. Rick Ferrell
3. Brian Roberts Statistics
4. Rick Ferrell
5. Cartoonist Doug Marlette dies in wreck
6. Matt Dies, "Durham may tweak checks for immigrants," "News and Observer" September 6, 2007 http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/694361.html

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