Speaking on West Campus Tuesday, former Durham Mayor Wense Grabarek encouraged students to work to achieve change and to explore history from different perspectives.
In an event sponsored by Duke Conversations and organized by sophomore Edgar Mkrtchian and Phi Delta Theta fraternity, Grabarek-who served as mayor from 1963 to 1971-described his role in the desegregation of Durham and the part he played as a three-time mayor of the Bull City.
Grabarek detailed the volatile situation he faced when he first entered office in May 1963.
At the time, Grabarek said, he was confronted by mass demonstrations and tension between white and black constituents.
In a matter of weeks, however, the former mayor said Durham was able to voluntarily desegregate-one year before Congress passed the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
What saved Durham was the city's "composite conscience and the heart it showed at that time," Grabarek said.
By desegregating, he said, Durham gained national notice, becoming a model in the South and even for Congress.
"Durham was being given the credit for setting the tone across the world," Grabarek said.
Now, Grabarek said, his job is to set the record straight for future generations.
"If history is to be a measurement of human progress, it needs to have merit," he said. "It needs to be true."
The former mayor discussed statements made in the recent documentary "Welcome to Durham" that he said implied that urban renewal and an expressway were "foisted" on the black Hayti community in 1962.
Grabarek said the image presented in the film was a gross misrepresentation of the truth.
"I am personally appalled and incensed that the history of Durham is being so unduly maligned by this documentary," he said.
Grabarek cited a document from October 1962 that he said indicated the freeway and urban renewal plan were supported by four predominantly black precincts around the Hayti area.
"Don't accept the words of someone just because they say it," he said.
Ultimately, Grabarek said his years as mayor were all about reconciliation and trying to do what was best for the greater good of his city.
"We've got to think beyond ourselves," he said.
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