This past January Cameron Village Shopping Center’s name was changed to the Village District. The shopping center library’s name was changed as well from Cameron Village Regional Library to Village Regional Library. We believe a library should be better representative of academic aspirations and reflect history and hope to petition the Wake County Commissioners to change the name to Oberlin Village Regional Library.
#1: The Village Regional Library Name Doesn’t Connect to History
- The Cameron Village Regional Library was renamed to the Village Regional Library because of the Cameron family’s connection to slavery. They were one of North Carolina’s largest slaveholding families.
- Furthermore, the new name, Village Regional Library, doesn’t represent any pieces of history and we are hoping to find a connection that is reflective of the history in our city.
#2: Oberlin Village Reflects the Academic Aspirations of Oberlin Community
- We learnt through our research that Oberlin Village was likely named by James E. Harris, a former apprentice born in Granville County, North Carolina. He is believed to have studied at Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio, which was likely named after Jean Frederic Oberlin, an abolitionist who helped found an abolitionist center, which would become Oberlin College. After the Civil War, he returned to Raleigh to further promote freed African American independence, which is likely when he proposed the name.
- Furthermore, Dr. James Shepard, another resident of Oberlin Village, helped to establish North Carolina Central University.
- The name “Oberlin” has academic aspirations tied to it, which is extremely fitting for a library.
#3: The Name Oberlin Village Ties the Past to our Future
- Because of the rich history behind Oberlin Village and the change that we hope to bring for the present and future, we believe the name Oberlin is a way to tie the history of the past to the change of the future.
If you want more information, you can find resources here: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PA0mSMJlc0h5s2X0qZA6kWT_h77aqB-rv66vQ6WhSkA/edit?usp=sharing
Sign the petition https://chng.it/CqD7s9TnGH!
