BY DAWN BAUMGARTNER VAUGHAN

dvaughan@heraldsun.com; 419-6563

DURHAM -- It takes more than one historic marker to tell the story of Parrish Street in downtown Durham. There are now six pedestrian-scale free standing bronze and steel sculptures commemorating Durham's Black Wall Street. The final three were unveiled Friday evening in a ceremony attended by government and community leaders.

The sculptures note the contributions of black-owned businesses downtown anchored by N.C. Mutual Life Insurance Co., established in 1898, and Mechanics and Farmers Bank. They set up in the heart of downtown during a time of segregated commerce and Jim Crow laws. Their African-American leaders were more than just businessmen -- they also contributed to Durham's government, schools and community.

R. Kelly Bryant Jr., 92, worked on Parrish Street beginning in 1941, first for Mutual Savings and Loan, which became Mutual Community Savings Bank, and then for N.C. Mutual Insurance. Bryant said that many people from the region came to Durham to see how it was done.

"Things were happening here in Durham," Bryant said. "Durham had something unique. We had leaders who made sure we had political experiences, educational experiences, business and financial experiences." He said there was also a high rate of black homeownership.

"You look back at history now and wonder how they did it. If you have faith, dreams and fortitude, you can be a success and build on the experiences we had," Bryant said.

Chuck Watts, chair of the Parrish Street Advocacy Group, quoted W.E.B. DuBois from a 1912 article DuBois wrote about Durham. DuBois said that a black man could wake up in the morning in Durham on a mattress made by a black man, in a house built by a black man, put on a suit bought in a black-owned store, eat food sold by a black man and earn a living working for a black man.

One of the new markers, made by Liberty Arts, is called "Empowering and Diverse Opportunities," and features two arcs that join. It stands on the corner of East Parrish and Church streets. The marker says that the strategic leadership and funding by black entrepreneurs since 1935 were active participants in founding the Durham Business and Professional Chain, the Durham Committee on the Affairs of Black People, black newspapers and the election of African Americans to Durham County Commissioners, City Council and school board posts.

Another new sculpture, at the corner of Mangum and Parrish streets, features interlocking gears and a chain called "Financial and Professional Impact in Durham." It quotes N.C. Mutual leader John Merrick's 1898 admonition, "Let us think more of our employment," guiding Parrish Street to a place for a thriving community of African-American bankers, doctors, lawyers, accountants, architects, beauticians and artists.

Across the intersection, just onto Orange Street, a side street off Parrish Street, is the final sculpture, a bell titled "A Legacy of Community and Institutional Connections." It lists the beneficiaries of having a Black Wall Street, including White Rock Baptist and St. Joseph AME churches, Stanford L. Warren Library, Lincoln Hospital, John Avery Boys and Girls Club, N.C. College and Durham public schools.

Durham Mayor Bill Bell said he knows Parrish Street today isn't what it was in the 1920s or even the 1960s. He said the city wants to bring it back, not as it was before, but to make it more vibrant. The sculptures, Bell said, commemorate the work of people who have gone before us and is a start to get people talking when they come downtown.

U.S. Rep. David Price, D-N.C., said that history can be a burden, embarrassment, lesson and an inspiration. He hopes the sculptures will help Durham remember its past and charter a more positive course for the future.

To learn more about the Parrish Street Project, visit www.parrishstreet.org.