Part of Fayetteville Street in Durham could soon honor 20th century trailblazers

The Durham City Council is moving forward with an honorary designation for part of Fayetteville Street, near North Carolina Central University.

The designation would run from Lawson Street to Timothy Avenue, and still has to be approved by a state committee.

It would honor Dock Jackson Jordan and Carrie Thomas Jordan, who were trailblazers in the early 20th century in Durham.

Their great-great nephew, Delaitre Jordan Hollinger, has pride in his ancestors.

He spoke to City Council on Thursday.

"It is something that means everything to the jordan family to finally see them recognized," Hollinger said.

Professor Dock Jackson "D.J." Jordan was born in Georgia and attended college in South Carolina. He was a delegate in the 1894 Republican convention in Georgia and served as the Vice President of Morris Brown College for about eight years.

He also served as President of Edward Waters University in Jacksonville for two years and President of Kittrell College from 1909 to 1912.

In 1912, President James Dudley of the Agricultural and Technical College in Greensboro, now NC A&T, asked him to serve as Director of National Teachers Training School and Dean of History and Pedagogy.

Hollinger said his ancestor was distinguished across the country as a public speaker.

In 1917, Jordan wrote an open letter to President Woodrow Wilson about equitable treatment of African Americans at home and abroad, which sparked controversy.

"He questioned why African Americans should be asked to give their lives in this world war when they had no rights at home, when they could be wantonly killed and murdered at home," Hollinger explained.

Jordan resigned from his post at NC A&T in 1918 and moved to Durham for a job at North Carolina Central University.

"He was the only professor of history at NC Central from 1918 until 1939," Hollinger said.

Jordan was also a Trustee of Emmanuel AME Church. He passed away in 1943.

Carrie Thomas Jordan was born in 1870 and graduated with a degree from Morris Brown College in 1889. She began her career teaching in Atlanta and serving as a public school principal. She then taught at Hillside High School in Durham, before being appointed as the Jeanes Supervisor and Superintendent of Colored Schools.

During her time in that position, she fundraised to construct 12 new schools and hold commencement exercises for African American students.

"It was an event really to celebrate the accomplishments of black children in Durham," Hollinger said.

Durham Mayor Pro Tem Mark-Anthony Middleton is also in favor of the designation, which would be on part of Fayetteville Street in front of NCCU.

"They really speak to who we are, to the DNA of Durham," Middleton said. "It all hinged on education for them. So what better place to have their names emblazoned than right there in the shadow of North Carolina Central University."

Middleton and Hollinger both acknowledged that many of the Jordans’ contributions have gone unnoticed by many; Hollinger believes that’s because they were ahead of their time in pushing for equality.

"Because Dock Jordan was not an accommodationist, but rather considered a radical for his time, I believe that’s a significant part of why their stories have not been told as they should, because during the time in which they lived, it was not popular to do the things they were doing," Hollinger said.

"They were doing things that we would not ordinarily think of black folk doing at that time in our country," Middleton said.

Hollinger hopes young people will be inspired by the dedication, the way the Jordans inspired young people through their work decades ago.

"The Jordans both instilled pride and a sense of community belonging and a sense of service in African Americans," Hollinger said.