Hidden among the fast food chains and gas stations on Fayetteville Street, the Hayti Heritage Center is often a discounted source of both the arts and education. Constructed to celebrate the local community's achievements, the center is also the home to St. Joseph's Historic Foundation, an educational resource that sponsors the annual Bull Durham Blues Festival.
The name "Hayti" originated with Dr. Aaron McDuffie Moore, the first black man to practice medicine in Durham. While working as a missionary in Haiti, Moore saw a vibrant black culture analogous to the one he knew in Durham. Upon returning, he named the African community the "Hayti District."
The center itself was founded in 1975 as part of an initiative to reform education in Durham by "providing programs, cultural art and historic preservation," said Dianne Pledger, CEO and president of the St. Joseph's Foundation.
Aside from education, one of the main goals of the institution is to promote artistic expression unique to black culture. There are currently two main visual exhibits on display at the center. The paintings of self-taught artist Nellie Ashford are featured in Piedmont Pioneers: Connecting the Regions featuring Nellie Rawls inside the main foyer.
Ashford explores the daily rituals and struggles of the rural black community through the use of acrylics, and her creations, including portraits of women washing clothes by the river and scenes of collective dancing, conjure up the powerful words of Zora Neale Hurston and Alice Walker.
One floor below in the basement is a gallery of handcrafted musical instruments from Charles "Wsir" Johnson. The Sounds I See: Diddley Bows, Uda Drums, Udungo Drums & More provides artifacts of African music and explores its continuing effects on American culture. Ranging from drums to flutes to stringed instruments, each is accompanied by an explanation of their origin and how they are made.
To complement its visual components, the Center also hosts theater and musical concerts. The Carpetbag Theater Ensemble will perform Linda Parris-Bailey's play, Between a Ballad and a Blues Nov. 21. The piece tells the story of acclaimed musician Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong and the tradition of black string bands as a part of American musical history.
The Hayti Center will also co-sponsor blues legend B.B. King's performance at the Durham Performing Arts Center Nov. 30, a booking that demonstrates the Center's influence and continuing efforts to promote art to Durham.
"[The center] is not just for people who reside in the [Hayti] community-it's for everybody in the city of Durham," said Wanita Massenburg, a member of the foundation's Board of Directors. "It is a huge and enriched culture that many come to support and witness."
The Hayti Heritage and the St. Joseph's Historic Foundation also have extensive ties to Duke.
"Many Duke employees have either served on the board of directors, volunteered at St. Joseph's sponsored events or generally supported the organization through financial contributions," Edward Gomes, associate dean for arts and sciences information science and technology at the University and chair of the foundation's Board of Directors, wrote in an e-mail.
The two institutions have collaborated on projects in the past. For example, the center has hosted Duke's United in Praise chorale and lectures featuring Duke professors.
Looking to the future, Pledger says the center hopes to have a permanent exhibition space for art by 2012 that will be similar to the Nasher Museum of Art.
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