The Community Practice Lab supported Fairview community members in publishing their oral histories through the Southern Oral History Program’s interview database. The Histories and Future Visions of Fairview oral history collection spotlights the vibrant life of the Fairview community through everyday stories of challenges, connection, and community-building.
The Histories and Future Visions of Fairview project emerged in collaboration among Fairview Community Watch, Habitat for Humanity of Orange County, Food, Fitness, and Opportunities Research Collaborative (FFORC), and the CPL. Fairview Community Watch is an active group of resident leaders involved in many community-building efforts in Fairview, a historically Black neighborhood in Hillsborough, N.C.
CPL Community Engagement Fellow Sayoko Kawabata spent several months building community relationships in Fairview. During this time, Habitat contacted the CPL for support after hearing from residents who wanted to collect oral histories to create and preserve their community’s history. These oral histories would also inform an emerging strategic plan for community-led initiatives in Fairview.
Sayoko coordinated an oral history team in Fairview, which consisted of Dr. Jenny Womack, then a CPL consultant; team members from Habitat and FFORC; and Fairview community leaders. The team collected interviews from February to December 2022. They used a snowball sampling method, asking interviewees to recommend other community members they might reach out to.
In summer 2022, Sayoko and Habitat Intern Samara Perez received a Southern Oral History Project fellowship. The award allowed them to spend more time in the community, completing interviews as well as further building relationships.
Oral histories offer a rich opportunity to engage Fairview residents’ lived knowledge, informed by everyday experiences. The stories passed on through oral histories spotlight the vibrant life of Fairview while also offering nuance in the challenges it has faced. This perspective has been immensely helpful in informing the development of the Dorothy N. Johnson Community Center, which supports participation, intercultural engagement, health-oriented activities, and community cohesion.
The oral histories are available to the public through the Southern Oral History Program at https://go.unc.edu/fairvieworalhistories.