Durham, RTP and Raleigh recieve funding from North Carolina Humanities Council

The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, has awarded $57,486 in grants for projects in the humanities. All funded programs are free and open to the public.
Projects supported by the North Carolina Humanities Council are vital to its commitment to serve as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. Through grants and public programs, the Humanities Council facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage.
The Durham Library Foundation will receive $9,916 for Bull City Soul Revival, a collaboration of musicians and scholars to showcase the history of soul in Durham. This month-long community project debuts March 27. It includes a display of artifacts, lecture/discussion and the gathering of oral histories, some of which will be broadcast via television or the Internet. Dwandalyn Reece, curator of music history at the National Museum of African American History and Culture at the Smithsonian Institution, will overview the historical context of soul music and its national legacy. Bull City Soul Revival culminates in live performances that pay tribute to Durham’s musical traditions, past and present.

The North Carolina Museum of History Associates in Raleigh will receive $9,649 for Al Norte al Norte: Latino Life in North Carolina, a yearlong photography exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of History, opening May 4. Bilingual descriptions will accompany photographs by the Pulitzer Prize-winning José Galvez, and selected artifacts will complement photographic content. Galvez, José Villalba, Sandra Gutierrez and David Moore will explore with guests North Carolina’s distinctive Latino history and culture in a four-part lecture series.

The North Carolina Folklife Institute in Durham will receive $9,400 in support of Blazing the African American Music Trail, providing digital training for members of eight eastern North Carolina counties in support of the African American Music Trail, a heritage tourism initiative. Scholars will offer community partners instruction in digital technology and ethnography to create Internet-destined documentation of North Carolina’s distinctive African American musical traditions, events and venues.

The Apprend Foundation of Research Triangle Park will receive $3,500 for the development of a mobile tour of the Thomas Day (1801-61) furniture exhibition at the historic Union Tavern, home and shop of the acclaimed free African American cabinetmaker. The downloadable audiovisual tour will create an enhanced visitor experience with the interactive exhibit. The tour will incorporate new research on Day’s family and social circle and explore his lasting legacy as an artisan/entrepreneur in antebellum America.


The North Carolina Humanities Council, a statewide nonprofit and affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, serves as an advocate for lifelong learning and thoughtful dialogue about all facets of human life. It facilitates the exploration and celebration of the many voices and stories of North Carolina’s cultures and heritage. In addition to grants, awards and publications, the council offers the Road Scholars speakers bureau and the library discussion series Let’s Talk About It. The Humanities Council hosts Museum on Main Street, a traveling exhibition in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution and rural communities statewide; supports the Teachers Institute, a professional development program for the state’s public school educators; and presents Literature and Medicine, a scholar-facilitated book discussion group for hospital staff to reflect on the larger mission of medicine. To learn more about these programs and how you can be a part, visit www.nchumanities.org. Find us also on Facebook and Twitter.