Hundreds of Duke University and Durham community members filled the narrow banquet hall inside Duke’s East Campus student center, September 27, for a presentation to honor the legacy of former Duke employees George W. Wall and his son George-Frank Wall. Originally, the ceremony had been scheduled to take place on the East Campus quad, but tornado warnings and high winds from Hurricane Helene meant the university couldn’t take chances.
Relocating the ceremony wasn’t going to damper the excitement, though.
“This dedication was scheduled to take place outside, and because of the rain and the tornado warning, the powers that be decided to bring it in here,” Adam Silver, chair of the Duke Board of Trustees and current NBA commissioner, told the crowd. “But I think the Wall family never had a doubt that the sun was going to come out for this ceremony.”
Earlier this year, Duke’s Board of Trustees voted to rename the student center—the East Campus Union, until now—the Wall Center for Student Life in dedication to the Wall family and their decades of service to the university.
Beginning in 1870, at the age of 14, George Wall, a formerly enslaved person, worked as a property steward for Trinity College in Randolph County. In 1892, Wall followed the school’s move to Durham at the request of university president John F. Crowell.
In the years that followed, Wall saved enough money from working overtime to purchase a plot of land for $50 near East Campus to build his family a one-story cottage. More working-class Black families eventually moved into the neighborhood that would come to be known as “Walltown” in honor of George Wall’s commitment to the burgeoning community.
His son, George-Frank Wall, followed closely in his father’s footsteps, helping with caretaking duties as a child before taking a more integral role after George Wall’s death. Both George and George-Frank forged deep relationships with staff and students during their decades working at the university.
Three descendants— Stephanie Joy Tisdale, Vanessa Wall Smart, and Talib Graves-Manns—gave remarks on behalf of the roughly 50 family members in attendance. Tisdale opened her remarks with an invocation from West African Yoruba culture about honoring ancestors, before reflecting on the history of slavery and its impact on the Wall family.
“George Wall is one of millions,” Tisdale said. “He represents one of the millions of human beings of African descent, born in captivity, forced to labor against their will, navigating the world as best as possible, all variables considered. The fact that this land continues to be called Walltown, almost 120 years later, speaks to an aspect of George Wall’s existence that I want to know more about.”
She continued by drawing connections between Walltown and other prominent Black institutions like North Carolina Central University and Hayti, linking their shared history as an important chapter in the “ever-evolving story of people of African descent” in Durham.
“George Wall is one of millions. He represents one of the millions of human beings of African descent, born in captivity, forced to labor against their will, navigating the world as best as possible, all variables considered. The fact that this land continues to be called Walltown, almost 120 years later, speaks to an aspect of George Wall’s existence that I want to know more about.”
Smart, a more soft-spoken storyteller than her cousin, shared stories about what life was like in the recent decades for Walltown residents.
“Not unlike many communities in Durham, in Walltown, there was a network, a sense of belonging, love, and, a safe space for its residents, whether related by blood or by the boundaries [of the neighborhood],” Smart said.
Many Black neighborhoods like Walltown built after Reconstruction had to be self-sufficient, relying on the skills and trades of people in the community, as Jim Crow laws prevented them from accessing resources like healthcare and education elsewhere. As Smart listed off names of people and places that played an important role in the neighborhood’s history, attendees in the crowd responded with “mmhmm’s” and celebratory finger-snapping.
Before his death in 1953, George-Frank left a $100 gift to the university, to be used as a scholarship fund, in recognition of his family’s contributions to the school. Graves-Manns, the last of the descendants to speak, said he smiles thinking about how that gift is “likely the first philanthropic endowment commitment from a Black person to Duke University.”
Graves-Manns moved to Durham in 2014 when he was chosen as the Google for Startups “entrepreneur-in-residence” for startup community hub American Underground. He was familiar with the area, having spent time visiting family in Walltown as a child. He drew parallels to his ancestor’s own entrepreneurial story of perseverance while also noting that George and George-Frank were driven by a different set of circumstances.
“It is important to remember that [George’s] decisions were likely driven by his need to survive,” Graves-Mann said. “The opportunities he faced were shaped by choices none of us have had to make; decisions about his physical safety, his freedom, and the future of his family.”
In 2018, Graves-Manns created Knox St. Studios, a community hub for “programs that strengthen entrepreneurs and create ownership opportunities,” in the same neighborhood where his family’s legacy began, something that Graves-Manns said was a no-brainer when he came to Durham a decade ago. He charged the audience to make the same investment in their community that he and his great grand uncle George-Frank made in theirs.
“I challenge each of you to ask yourself, am I doing all that I can to lead the community better than it was when I found it,” Graves-Mann told the crowd. “Let this be a reminder that your contribution, no matter how big or small, has the power to change lives and communities. So I ask you, what will your legacy be? What is your $100 and where will you invest it?”
Over a hundred years after the founding of Walltown, the neighborhood is at a crossroads. Encroaching redevelopment has left a historically working-class Black community with only a handful of Black homeowners. An ongoing battle over the redesign of nearby Northgate Mall has neighbors worried about the impact on their property taxes. When Graves-Manns goes on runs on the path around Duke East Campus, he says he wonders what his ancestors would think about the million-dollar houses in place of the homes built by their family and friends.
Walltown: a historic community at a crossroads
These conversations are happening as Duke University celebrates its 100th anniversary. Attendees expressed excitement about the milestone in Duke’s relationship with the City of Durham but also did not shy from calling for further community investment.
“Our centennial is an opportunity to reflect on and continue to deepen the university’s commitment to purposeful partnerships here in our hometown of Durham,” said President Vincent Price. “Through our Strategic Community Impact plan, we’re advancing our commitments to support affordable housing and infrastructure, food security, early childhood education, college and career readiness, and strengthening [our] nonprofit capacity.”
A growing campaign called Duke Respect Durham, which city council Nate Baker championed during his campaign for office, calls for Duke to invest even more through direct payments to the city and county in lieu of paying property taxes, which, as a nonprofit, Duke does not pay. Price and others seem aware that their work to build lasting relationships with the Durham community is not over, and discussions are ongoing.
“We know that Duke would not be Duke without Durham,” Price said, “ and we are proud to be working in partnership with our Durham neighbors to ensure and advance the health and well-being of our community in the century ahead.”
Smart said she plans to continue telling the Wall family story so that future generations never forget that history.
“This recognition happened in God’s time, in due time, and I really believe it’s about time,” Smart said.
Follow Reporter Justin Laidlaw on X or send an email to [email protected]. Comment on this story at [email protected].
You must be logged in to post a comment.