Historical marker planned for Franklin Street to honor 'Chapel Hill 9'

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (WTVD) -- The Town of Chapel Hill has dedicated a site for a permanent historical marker recognizing the Chapel Hill 9.

The Chapel Hill 9 was a group of young men from Chapel Hill's all-black Lincoln High School that held a sit-in at Colonial Drug Store on Feb. 28, 1960.

Harold Foster (18), William Cureton (18), John Farrington (17), Earl Geer (16), David Mason Jr. (17), Clarence Merritt Jr. (17), James Merritt (16), Clyde Douglas Perry (17) and Albert Williams (16) are the men who made up the Chapel Hill 9.

"I'm thankful in my life that we were able to bring about a change..and it was kind of in a non-violent way," Williams said. "You gotta learn to respect one another; learn to appreciate one another, and you can bring about a change yourself."

The historical marker will be installed in 2020, the 60th anniversary of the event, outside West End Wine Bar--which occupies the building where Colonial Drug used to be.

Thursday afternoon the town unveiled a rendering of what the marker will look like.