Front Page of the Ebony Images Yearbook in 1977.

Digital NC is happy to announce the new additions of the Ebony Images Yearbook from the Black Student Movement at UNC-Chapel Hill. The yearbooks include the years 1977 and 1978. From organizations to the black faculty, the Ebony Images Yearbook gave a glimpse into the lives of black students and faculty on the campus of UNC.

Black Ink was a newspaper written for and by black students on the campus of UNC. Here is a snapshot of the organization in the 1977 Ebony Images Yearbook.

The Black Student Movement on the campus of UNC is a well-known organization that has been around since 1967.  Founded on a mission to embrace a culture distinct from the dominant culture at UNC, the goals of the Black Student Movement are to strive for the continued existence of unity among all its members, to voice the concerns and grievances of its members to the University, to offer outlets for expressing Black ideals and culture and to ensure that the Black Student Movement members never lose contact with the Black Community.

Still active today, you can learn more about the Black Student Movement at UNC by checking out their website here.

To see other materials from UNC-Chapel Hill, check out their partner page.

Mrs. Ruth Wiley, June 19, 1985.

Thanks to our partner, Rockingham County Public Library, batches containing various materials including Madison-Mayodan High School yearbooks, newspaper clippings of school classes, a hand-written history of The Black Community Heritage of Madison, and 14 issues spanning 1947 to 1997 of Rockingham County’s magazine The Advisor are now available on our website.

One highlight from this batch is the hand-written history of The Black Community Heritage of Madison. Although the material includes history of Black individuals in Madison from around the first recorded migration (~June of 1775), it focuses more heavily on after the Civil War. The work is split up into major topics such as churches, businesses, education, and civic organizations. 

In the education section, the document traces the beginning of the Madison Public School System to Mary Black Franklin. Franklin began teaching members of the community in her home and in other various places in the community that would allow her to use the space. The number of students she taught continued to grow until the first public school was founded in a two room building. Eventually, a larger building later named the “Old Hall” was purchased to give the school more space. The school was only in operation six months out of the year. Students were allowed to attend the first three months of school for free, but parents would have to pay a tax for their children to finish the final three months. This system led to the creation of the Madison Public School System.

To learn more about the Rockingham County Public Library, please visit their website.

For more yearbooks from across North Carolina, visit our yearbook collection.

To view more content from Rockingham County Public Library, please visit here.