We have featured the Apex StoryMap before . It was created to celebrate the sesquicentennial (150 years) of Apex and its surrounding communities and each link provides a virtual tour of the communities. The StoryMap brought the Justices and their neighbors in the black  Low End  community to my attention. Abraham Lincoln Justice and his wife Correnna were social activists in their community. They believed in helping their neighbors by providing financial resources, land for affordable housing that came to be called Justice Heights, donating building materials for the construction of the Apex First Baptist Church. They developed the Justice Cemetery to ensure their neighbors had an affordable burial option.  source All of these sites that the Justices invested their time and energy are highlighted and pinned on the Apex StoryMap. Visit the Low End link and you will find others among their neighbors who were equally community-minded. This profile illustrates the best of th...

In post Civil War Raleigh, a community grew out of the land that that had once been the Cannon Plantation. Simple homes were built and rented to freedmen and became the Fourth Ward Neighborhood.  The Fourth Ward is long gone.  The community was razed in 1971 to build roads that provided a faster access out of town taking out homes, churches, and local commerce in the process. The plight of the community and efforts to permanently protect and honor its memory is recreated in this recent article by Josh Shaffer in the N&O. The story is told by the reminisences of former residents. The haunting black and white photos speak volumes themselves. I refer you here to the  article .  In addition, this week is a week of celebration in recognition and remembrance of the Fourth Ward.  The week-long schedule of events has been arranged by Octavia Rainey, a Raleigh Historian and leader of the effort for permanent recognition. Full details of the events and instructions to...