Commissioned by the Samuel DuBois Cook Center on Social Equity at Duke University, this exhibition looks at the key themes behind the success of Black Wall Street in Durham, North Carolina: capital, courage, and connection. Visitors have the opportunity to hear from people who experienced Black Wall Street and Hayti, Durham's Black business district under segregation, first-hand through listening stations and videos.

Through an interactive touchscreen, they are able to explore many of the Black businesses in Hayti that were lost to the City of Durham's Urban Renewal program in the 1960s. The exhibition ends with the current moment, marked by the decline of Black business nationally, and points to lessons from the Black Wall Street era as a path towards addressing the racial wealth gap through meaningful support for entrepreneurs today.

Check out the digital version of the Finding Freedom through Entrepreneurship exhibition here.

Exhibit Design & Fabrication

Design Dimension Inc.

Media Production

Dr. Jim C. Harper, II

Omari Collins

David Lyke Dagostino