The years immediately after the Civil War were a bittersweet moment for black people in Alamance County. Although released from slavery’s yoke, these newly emancipated citizens were soon consigned to the periphery of civic life as disgruntled whites imposed segregation mandates on education, business, housing, and even places of worship.
Yet, these dismal developments didn’t extinguish one source of light for the county’s black residents.
Since 1875, the Children’s Chapel United Church of Christ has been a beacon of hope for freed slaves and their descendants, who’ve managed to keep this storied institution alive long past the demise of Jim Crow segregation…