The Granville County Library System was recently awarded a $15,000 grant from the Council of Library and Information Resources to digitize and make available a trove of recorded interviews of African American educators by local businessman and historian James Eddie McCoy.

McCoy recorded more than 240 hours of conversations with the Granville County educators between 1981 and 2016 which “explore the challenges and joys of teaching during the decades of school segregation and the coming of integrated public schools,” according to a press release from Granville County Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood.

The grant funds will enable the library system to digitize and preserve McCoy’s interviews and circulate them to all users as early as 2025. Copies of the recordings will be deposited at N.C. Central University for students and researchers to access. The digitized content will be available nationally and globally through the library’s partnerships with DigitalNC and the Digital Public Library of America.

McCoy’s oral histories capture the story of Granville County’s African American educators, who, like their counterparts in other areas, did much more than teach reading, writing and arithmetic. They shared their history and worked to foster pride and self-esteem, stimulate civic awareness and encourage political engagement.

The preservation project began in September and runs through August 2025. Completed digitized materials will be turned over to the Granville County Library System as part of the 2025 celebration of Juneteenth, scheduled for Saturday, June 21, 2025, at the Richard H. Thornton Library.

As part of the celebration, two noted authors and scholars of the period are scheduled to participate. Dr. Jarvis Givens of Harvard University, author of “Fugitive Pedagogy” (Harvard University Press, 2021) and Dr. Leslie Fenwick of Howard University, author of “Jim Crow’s Pink-Slip” (Harvard Education Press, 2022) will be on hand and their books will be available for purchase.

Visit https://granville.lib.nc.us to learn more about the library’s branches, services and programs.

– information courtesy of Granville Cuonty Public Information Officer Terry Hobgood

Visitors to the Berea Branch Library of the Granville County Library System will get a special welcome thanks to the generosity and creativity of one local quilter. A floral queen-sized quilt that was hand appliqued and hand quilted by Pauline O’Neal, 95, of Henderson is on display in the library this summer. It was submitted for display by her daughter, Phyllis O’Neal of Oxford. Both women are Berea Library patrons.

The quilt was awarded “first premium blue ribbon” in the in-home furnishing category at the North Carolina State Fair in 2008. O’Neal’s amazing work was noted in the judges’ comments, which included “elegant colors, super applique.”

Special thanks to the Lord Granville Agricultural Association for lending a quilt rack for this display. If you have a quilt that you would like to include in their 16^th Annual Harvest Show, they are welcoming additions. For more information visit their website at www.lgaha.com.

The community is encouraged to come see the quilt along with all the Berea Branch Library regularly has to offer. The Berea Branch Library is located at 1211 US Highway 158, Oxford and normal operating hours are Tuesdays and Fridays, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and Thursdays 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. Those interested are also invited to attend meetings of the Quilt Club that meets regularly at the Stovall Branch Library located at 300 Main St., Stovall.

For more information about the quilt display, contact the Berea Branch Library at 919.693.1231. For more information about the Quilt Club, contact the Stovall Branch Library at 919.693.5722.

To learn more about the Granville County Library System and all programming, including special summer reading  events for adults and children, visit www.granville.lib.nc.us.