HAYTI REIMAGINED:
PARTNERING FOR THE FUTURE ust shy of 130 years ago, the foundation was laid for St. Joseph AME Church in the Hayti District of Durham, North Carolina. Here, formerly enslaved black men and women created an independent and self-sufficient community that flourished from the 1880s until the 1940s. Urban renewal in the 1950s destroyed much of the Hayti business district, resulting in massive permanent displacement of its thriving community. However, the brick building that stands today, overlooking the very freeway that divided the district, is a powerful testament to black resilience, prosperity, and the importance of preserving the cultural health of blackness across the African diaspora. Today, the Hayti Heritage Center still holds true to its original design and purpose. Although it is no longer a church, it is still a sanctuary—a place where people of all backgrounds and experiences go to find refuge, to disperse joy, to promote healing, and to cultivate relationships. Hayti is a legacy. For generations, the Center has served as a welcoming space for local and international activists, artists, and performers including late congressman John L. Lewis, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., poet and activists Ruby Dee, author and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, singer
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and songwriter James Brown, as well as countless others. A community staple for visual and performing arts, Hayti offers a variety of programs and events that promote crosscultural engagement and understanding. African dance and drumming classes as well
HAYTI PHOTOS BY EARL BYNUM
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by Ayanna Albertson
as historic tours of the Hayti neighborhood have been available to all who desired to partake. Pre-COVID-19, the Center held a variety of in-person festivals, concerts, programs, and competitions throughout the year. A signature event for 26 years, the Hayti Heritage Film Festival attracts film producers and enthusiasts alike as a means to promote and elevate Southern Black Film. The Center also houses a monthly poetry competition called Jambalaya Soul Slam, also known as the Bull City Slam. Directed by poet,
