Leslie Brown and “Upbuilding Black Durham”
This is quite the week for Leslie Brown, author of “Upbuilding Black Durham.”
On February 1st it was announced that Ms. Brown book on the history of the black community in Durham, North Carolina had won the 2009 Frederick Jackson Turner Award. This award, first given in 1959 as the Prize Studies Award of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association, has been given each year by the Organization of American Historians for an author’s first book on some significant phase of American history.
Today, Brown sat down with WUNC FM’s Frank Stasio for a discussion of her book and the history of Durham’s Black middle class including the important role of women and Black-owned businesses. (Audio download from The State of Things’ Archives)
On Sunday, February 8, 2009, at 3:00 p.m. Ms. Brown will read from her book in an event hosted by the Durham Public Library. The event will be held at the Hayti Heritage Center, 804 Old Fayetteville Street and is free to the public.
On behalf of the UNC Press, congratulations to this well-deserved attention to a fine author and an important story of class and community in our local area’s history!
— tom