Communities pursue basic services

For decades, five predominantly black communities in Moore County have been pushed to the sidelines — practically ignored by neighboring cities and tagged as “extra-territorial.”

But recent weeks have brought national attention to residents of these neighborhoods, and the inequalities they face.

The communities — Jackson Hamlet, Midway, Waynor Road, Monroe Town and Lost City — lack services such as trash removal, police protection and access to county water and sewer lines.

Some of the communities have existed for up to a century.

Framed by affluent cities such as Pinehurst and Southern Pines, the people who call the country roads home helped build courses like Pinehurst No. 2, site of the 2005 U.S. Open, which will be held this week, and luxury hotels like The Carolina.

After years of exclusion and muted attempts to provoke change, residents are receiving aid from researchers, lawyers and students from the UNC School of Law’s Center for Civil Rights in bringing their plight to the forefront of the civil rights debate.

“I think the first step to solving this sort of problem is having a dialogue and educating people about the problem,” said Chris Brook, a 2005 law school graduate who began interning at the center last January.

“(The residents) have a lot of faith that if people are just educated about the problems then they’ll make a good-faith effort to solve them.”

The center began its work in Moore County in January of 2004, and its efforts have led to this week when area media attention is at its peak.

“I think the point about the U.S. Open is this is a time when the whole county is putting itself on show,” said Anita Earls, director of advocacy for the center.

“My clients say, ‘We’re proud too, but we think things aren’t as fair as they should be.’”

But the outskirts population is not attacking golf, tourists or city residents, Earls said.

“They’re just ordinary folks,” she said. “They’re not asking for handouts. They just want to be included in the communities.”

To gain access to county services for area residents, Brook worked with Jackson Hamlet community members and made a presentation to the Moore County Board of Commissioners.

“What I focused on was how it was economically feasible for the county to provide these services for these people,” Brook said, noting the community involvement was highlighted by 70 community members attending the meeting.

To put faces to these issues, recent law school graduate Trisha McWilliams began filming a documentary in the summer of 2004.

She said the purpose of the film, called “Invisible Fences,” is to allow residents to share life stories.

“The people who have been affected by the lack of water and sewer haven’t gotten a chance to tell their story until now,” McWilliams said.

Welcomed with open arms, McWilliams said she spent entire days with families, sitting around dinner tables and on front porches.

“They’ve lived this experience their whole lives, and they were wanting to express their concerns,” she said.

The documentary has been shown to students, media and researchers at various conferences — proving this modern-day segregation is not concentrated.

Earlier this month a group from Modesto, Calif., who live in similar situations, visited Moore County.

Liz Connolley, a second-year law student and summer intern at the center, helped organize the community exchange.

“It was really striking to see that this is a national problem and how similar their problems were and how similar the hopes and desires of each community members are,” Connolley said.

The students who have worked in Moore County said they have seen definite progress.

“It’s not only evoked discussion, but it’s started up a lot of conversation in Pinehurst about what can be done to solve these injustices,” Brook said.

But it is clear that their efforts cannot wane when cameras leave, said Ed Chaney, second-year law student at UNC.

“I think at this point forward we’re going to have to be very present and let people know that even though the US. Open has gone, the issues have not gone away and they’re here to stay.”

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.