Durham, North Carolina

The Eno and the Occoneechi, related to the Sioux and the Shakori, lived and farmed in the area which became Durham. They may have established a village named Adshusheer on the site. The Great Indian Trading Path has been traced through Durham, and Native Americans helped to mold the area by establishing settlements and commercial transportation routes.

In 1701, Durham's beauty was chronicled by the English explorer John Lawson, who called the area "the flower of the Carolinas." During the mid-1700s, Scots, Irish, and English colonists settled on land granted to George Carteret by King Charles I (for whom the Carolinas are named). Early settlers built gristmills, such as West Point, and worked the land.

Prior to the American Revolution, frontiersmen in what is now Durham were involved in the Regulator movement. According to legend, Loyalist militia cut Cornwallis Road through this area in 1771 to quell the rebellion. Later, William Johnston, a local shopkeeper and farmer, made Revolutionaries' munitions, served in the Provincial Capital Congress in 1775, and helped underwrite Daniel Boone's westward explorations.

Large plantations, Hardscrabble, Cameron, and Leigh among them, were established in the antebellum period. By 1860, Stagville Plantation lay at the center of one of the largest plantation holdings in the South. African slaves were brought to labor on these farms and plantations, and slave quarters became the hearth of distinctively Southern cultural traditions involving crafts, social relations, life rituals, music, and dance. There were free African-Americans in the area as well, including several who fought in the Revolutionary War.

Prior to the arrival of the railroad, the area now known as Durham was the eastern part of present-day Orange County and was almost entirely agricultural, with a few businesses catering to travelers (particularly livestock drivers) along the Hillsborough Road. This road, eventually followed by US Route 70, was the major east–west route in North Carolina from colonial times until the construction of interstate highways. Steady population growth and an intersection with the road connecting Roxboro and Fayetteville made the area near this site suitable for a US Post Office, which was established in 1827. (Roxboro, Fayetteville and Hillsborough Roads remain major thoroughfares in Durham, although they no longer exactly follow their early 19th century rights-of-way.)

Durham's location is a result of the needs of the 19th century railroad industry. The wood-burning steam locomotives of the time had to stop frequently for wood and water and the new North Carolina Railroad needed a depot between the settled towns of Raleigh and Hillsborough. The residents of what is now downtown Durham thought their businesses catering to livestock drivers had a better future than a new-fangled nonsense like a railroad and refused to sell or lease land for a depot. Eventually a railway depot was established on land donated by Bartlett S. Durham in 1849.[12]

Durham Station, as it was known for its first 20 years, was just another depot for the occasional passenger or express package until early April 1865 when the Federal Army commanded by Major General William T. Sherman occupied the nearby state capital of Raleigh during the American Civil War. The last formidable Confederate Army in the South, commanded by General Joseph E. Johnston, was headquartered in Greensboro 50 miles (80 km) to the west. After the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia by Gen. Robert E. Lee at Appomattox, Virginia on April 9, 1865, Gen. Johnston sought surrender terms, which were negotiated on April 17, 18 and 26 at Bennett Place, the small farm of James and Nancy Bennett, located halfway between the army's lines about 3 miles (4.8 km) west of Durham Station.

As both armies passed through Durham, Hillsborough, and surrounding Piedmont communities, they enjoyed the mild flavor of the area's Brightleaf Tobacco, which was considered more pleasant to smoke or chew than was available back home after the war. So they started sending letters to Durham to get more.[13]

The statue of the bull in the city center

Early view of first Duke tobacco factory and family home, Durham, 1883

Separate "white" and "colored" entrances to a cafe in Durham, North Carolina, 1940

The community of Durham Station grew slowly before the Civil War, but expanded rapidly following the war. Much of this growth attributed to the establishment of a thriving tobacco industry. Veterans returned home after the war, with an interest in acquiring more of the great tobacco they had sampled in North Carolina. Numerous orders were mailed to John Ruffin Green's tobacco company requesting more of the Durham tobacco. W.T. Blackwell partnered with Green and renamed the company as the "Bull Durham Tobacco Factory". The name "Bull Durham" is said to have been taken from the bull on the British Colman's Mustard, which Mr. Blackwell (mistakenly) believed was manufactured in Durham, England. Mustard, known as Durham Mustard, was originally produced in Durham, England, by Mrs Clements and later by Ainsley during the eighteenth century. However, production of the original Durham Mustard has now been passed into the hands of Colman's of Norwich, England.

As Durham Station's population rapidly increased, the station became a town and was incorporated by act of the North Carolina General Assembly, on April 10, 1869. It was named for the man who provided the land on which the station was built, Dr. Bartlett Durham. At the time of its incorporation by the General Assembly, Durham was located in Orange County. The increase in business activity, land transfers etc., made the day long trip back and forth to the county seat in Hillsborough untenable, so twelve years later, on April 17, 1881, a bill for the establishment of Durham County was ratified by the General Assembly, having been introduced by Caleb B.Green, creating Durham County from the eastern portion of Orange County and the western portion of Wake County. In 1911, parts of Cedar Fork Township of Wake County was transferred to Durham County and became Carr Township.[2]

Overlooking the newly renovated American Tobacco Campus

Looking west along Parrish Street, home of what was then known as Black Wall Street

The rapid growth and prosperity of the Bull Durham Tobacco Company, and Washington Duke's W. Duke & Sons Tobacco Company, resulted in the rapid growth of the city of Durham. Washington Duke was a good businessman, but his sons were brilliant and established what amounted to a monopoly of the smoking and chewing tobacco business in the United States by 1900. In the early 1910s, the Federal Government forced a breakup of the Duke's business under the antitrust laws. The Dukes retained what became known as American Tobacco, a major corporation in its own right, with manufacturing based in Durham. American Tobacco's ubiquitous advertisements on radio shows beginning in the 1930s and television shows up to 1970 was the nation's image of Durham until Duke University supplanted it in the late 20th century.

Prevented from further investment in the tobacco industry, the Dukes turned to the then new industry of electric power generation, which they had been investing in since the early 1890s. Duke Power (now Duke Energy) brought in electricity from hydroelectric dams in the western mountains of North Carolina through the newly invented technology of high voltage power lines. At this time (1910–1920), the few towns and cities in North Carolina that had electricity depended on local "powerhouses". These were large, noisy, and smoky coal-fired plants located next to the railroad tracks. Duke Power quickly took over the electricity franchises in these towns and then electrified all the other towns of central and western North Carolina, making even more money than they ever made from tobacco. Duke Power also had a significant business in local franchises for public transit (buses and trolleys) before local government took over this responsibility in the mid- to late 20th century. Duke Power ran Durham's public bus system (now the Durham Area Transit Authority) until 1991.

The success of the tobacco industry in the late 19th and early 20th century encouraged the then-growing textile industry to locate just outside Durham. The early electrification of Durham was also a large incentive. Drawing a labor force from the economic demise of single family farms in the region at the time, these textile mills doubled the population of Durham. These areas were known as East Durham and West Durham until they were eventually annexed by the City of Durham.

Early advertisements of Tobacco products made in Durham

Much of the early city architecture, both commercial and residential, dates from the period of 1890–1930. Durham recorded its worst fire in history on March 23, 1914. The multimillion-dollar blaze destroyed a large portion of the downtown business district. The fire department's water source failed during the blaze, prompting voters to establish a city-owned water system in place of the private systems that had served the city since 1887.[14]

Durham quickly developed a vibrant Black community, the center of which was an area known as Hayti, (pronounced HAY-tie), just south of the center of town, where some of the most prominent and successful black-owned businesses in the country during the early 20th century were established. These businesses — the best known of which are North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company and Mechanics & Farmers Bank — were centered on Parrish St., which would come to be known as "Black Wall Street." In 1910, Dr. James E. Shepard founded North Carolina Central University, the nation's first publicly supported liberal arts college for African-Americans.

In 1924, James Buchanan Duke established a philanthropic foundation in honor of his father Washington Duke to support Trinity College in Durham. The college changed its name to Duke University and built a large campus and hospital a mile west of Trinity College (the original site of Trinity College is now known as the Duke East Campus).[15]

Durham's manufacturing fortunes declined during the mid-20th century. Textile mills began to close during the 1930s. Competition from other tobacco companies (as well as a decrease in smoking after the 1960s) reduced revenues from Durham's tobacco industry.

In a far-sighted move in the late 1950s, Duke University, along with the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University in Raleigh, persuaded the North Carolina Legislature to purchase a large tract of sparsely settled land in southern Durham County and create the nation's first "science park" for industry. Cheap land and a steady supply of trained workers from the local universities made the Research Triangle Park an enormous success which, along with the expansion resulting from the clinical and scientific advances of Duke Medical Center and Duke University, more than made up for the decline of Durham's tobacco and textile industries.

The Carolina Theatre was the first theater in Durham to admit African-Americans.[16]

As a result of its substantial African-American community, including many courageous activists, a prominent civil rights movement developed in Durham. Multiple sit-ins were held, and Martin Luther King, Jr., visited the city during the struggle for equal rights. The Durham Committee on Negro Affairs, organized in 1935 by C.C. Spaulding, Louis Austin, Conrad Pearson, and James E. Shepard, has been cited nationally for its role in fighting for Black voting rights. The committee also has used its voting strength to pursue social and economic rights for African-Americans and other ethnic groups. In 1957, Douglas E. Moore, minister of Durham's Asbury Temple Methodist Church, along with other religious and community leaders, pioneered sit-ins throughout North Carolina to protest discrimination at lunch counters that served only whites.

North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company Headquarters, which in 1965 became the tallest office building owned by African-Americans in the United States

Widely credited as the first sit-in of the Civil Rights Movement in North Carolina, on June 23, 1957, Moore and six others assembled at the church to plan the protest. The young African Americans moved over to the segregated Royal Ice Cream Parlor and took up whites-only booths. When they refused to budge, the manager called the police who charged them with trespassing. Unlike the Greensboro Four, three years later, the Royal Seven were arrested and ultimately found guilty of trespassing.[17][18][19]

Historic "Black Wall Street" in Durham

The six-month-long sit-in at a Woolworth's counter in Greensboro, NC, captured the nation's attention. Within a week, students from North Carolina College at Durham and Duke University staged a sit-in in Durham. About a week later, Martin Luther King Jr. met Moore in Durham, where King coined his famous rallying cry "Fill up the jails," during a speech at White Rock Baptist Church. Advocating non-violent confrontation with segregation laws for the first time, King said, "Let us not fear going to jail. If the officials threaten to arrest us for standing up for our rights, we must answer by saying that we are willing and prepared to fill up the jails of the South."

This community was not enough to prevent the demolition of portions of the Hayti district for the construction of the Durham Freeway during the late 1960s.[20] The freeway construction resulted in losses to other historic neighborhoods, including Morehead Hills, West End, and West Durham. Combined with large-scale demolition using Urban Renewal funds, Durham suffered significant losses to its historic architectural base.

The renovations of former tobacco buildings are central to the revitalization efforts in downtown Durham

In 1970, the Census Bureau reported city's population as 38.8% black and 60.8% white.[21] Durham's growth began to rekindle during the 1970s and 1980s, with the construction of multiple housing developments in the southern part of the city, nearest Research Triangle Park, and the beginnings of downtown revitalization. In 1975, the St. Joseph's Historical Foundation at the Hayti Heritage Center was incorporated to "preserve the heritage of the old Hayti community, and to promote the understanding of and appreciation for the African American experience and African Americans' contributions to world culture."[22] A new downtown baseball stadium was constructed for the Durham Bulls in 1994. The Durham Performing Arts Center now ranks in the top ten in theater ticket sales in the US according to Pollstar magazine. Many famous people have performed there including B.B. King and Willie Nelson. After the departure of the tobacco industry, large-scale renovations of the historic factories into offices, condominiums, and restaurants began to reshape downtown.[23] While these efforts continue, the large majority of Durham's residential and retail growth since 1990 has been along the I-40 corridor in southern Durham County.

Major employers in Durham are Duke University and Duke Medical Center (39,000 employees, 14,000 students), about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of the original downtown area, and companies in the Research Triangle Park (49,000 employees), about 10 miles (16 km) southeast. These centers are connected by the Durham Freeway (NC 147).

Durham skyline seen from above the Durham Freeway

A brewery and restaurant in Downtown Durham with Hill Building in the background

Downtown Durham

University Tower is the tallest building in Durham located outside of the downtown area.

In recent years the city of Durham has stepped up revitalization of its downtown and undergone an economic and cultural renaissance of sorts. Partnering with developers from around the world, the city continues to promote the redevelopment of many of its former tobacco districts, projects supplemented by the earlier construction of the Durham Performing Arts Center and new Durham Bulls Athletic Park.[24] The American Tobacco Historic District, adjacent to both the athletic park and performing arts center, is one such project, having successfully lured a number of restaurants, entertainment venues, and office space geared toward hi-tech entrepreneurs, investors, and startups.[25] Many other companies have purchased and renovated historic buildings, such as Measurement Incorporated and Capitol Broadcasting Company. The American Underground section of the American Tobacco Campus, home to successful small software firms including Red Hat, was selected by Google to host its launch of the Google Glass Road show in October 2013.[26] The district is also slated for expansion featuring 158,000 square feet of offices, retail, residential or hotel space[27] The Durham County Justice Center, a major addition to downtown Durham, was completed in early 2013.

Many of the historic tobacco buildings elsewhere in the city have been converted into loft-style apartment complexes. The downtown corridor along West Main St. has seen significant redevelopment including bars, entertainment venues, art studios,[28] and co-working spaces,[29] in addition to shopping and dining in nearby Brightleaf Square, another former tobacco warehouse in the Bright Leaf Historic District. Other current and future projects include expansion of the open-space surrounding the American Tobacco Trail, new hotels and apartment complexes, a $6.35-million facelift of Durham City Hall, and ongoing redevelopment of the Duke University Central Campus.

In 2013, 21c Museum Hotels announced plans to fully renovate the Hill Building. The renovations added a contemporary art museum and upscale restaurant to the historic building. Additionally, a boutique hotel was built in this major renovation effort in downtown Durham. Skanska Construction is responsible for managing this project.[30][31]

In 2014, it was announced that downtown Durham would be the site of a brand new 27 story high building, tentatively named "City Center Tower", titled "One City Center" as of 2018. Along with other new buildings in downtown Durham, it was under construction in 2018.[32] Construction has already started, and the building will be at the corner of Main St. and Corcoran St. It will be directly across from Durham's current tallest building, but once completed, will be the new tallest building in downtown Durham and the 4th largest building in the Triangle. Originally scheduled for a 2016 opening, the building was then expected to open in May 2018.[33] This is an ambitious, $80 million project.[34][35]

In October 2014, a major new development, the Durham Innovation District, was announced. The development will span 15 acres and comprise over 1.7 million square feet of office, residential, and retail space.[36][32]

On April 10, 2019, a gas explosion rocked Kaffeinate, a coffee shop in Bright Leaf Historic District. The blast destroyed a city block and killed Kong Lee, the owner as well as injuring 25 others.

Durham is classified as a humid subtropical climate (Cfa) according to the Köppen classification, with hot and humid summers, cool winters, and warm to mild spring and autumn. Durham receives abundant precipitation, with thunderstorms common in the summer and temperatures from 80 to 100 degrees F. The region sees an average of 6.8 inches (170 mm) of snow per year, which usually melts within a few days.

Durham has an active and diverse local music culture. Artists' styles range from jazz, hip-hop, soul, folk, Americana, blues, bluegrass, punk, metal and rock. Popular bands and musicians include Branford Marsalis, Iron & Wine, Carolina Chocolate Drops, The Mountain Goats, John Dee Holeman, 9th Wonder, Red Clay Ramblers, The Old Ceremony, Megafaun, Curtis Eller, Mount Moriah, Hiss Golden Messenger, Sylvan Esso, Mel Melton, Hammer No More the Fingers, Yahzarah, G Yamazawa, and Jim Mills. Members of The Butchies, Superchunk, Chatham County Line, Alice Donut, and the Avett Brothers live in Durham.

Merge Records, a successful independent record label, has its headquarters in downtown Durham.[46] Other independent record labels include Jamla, 307 Knox, Churchkey Records, and Paradise of Bachelors. Roots label Sugar Hill Records was founded in Durham, by Barry Lyle Poss,[47] before it moved to Nashville in 1998. In 1996, the feminist / queer record label Mr. Lady Records was founded and operated in Durham until its demise in 2004.[48]

Duke University's radio station WXDU is an active participant in the community.

Durham has a rich history of African American rhythm and blues, soul, and funk music. In the 1960s and 1970s, more than 40 R&B, soul, and funk groups—including The Modulations, The Black Experience Band, The Communicators, and Duralcha—recorded over 30 singles and three full-length albums. Durham was also home to ten recording labels that released soul music, though most of them only released one or two records apiece. A few successful local soul groups from Durham also recorded on national labels like United Artists or on regional labels in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast.[49]

Durham is home to the nationally known Scrap Exchange, the largest nonprofit creative reuse arts center in the country, and the Nasher Museum of Art as well as a plethora of smaller visual arts galleries and studios. As a testament to the arts, downtown Durham sponsors an organically grown celebration of culture and arts on display every third Friday of the month, year round. The event has come to be known as 3rd Friday.

A selection of locally renowned galleries remain in business throughout the city. Galleries include but are not limited to local spots such as the Pleiades Gallery, the Carrack Modern Art, and Golden Belt Studios. Supporting a variety of local, nationwide, and worldwide talent, these galleries often host weekly events and art shows. The Durham Art Walk is another annual arts festival hosted in May each year in downtown Durham. The Durham Art Walk features a variety of artists that come together each year for a large showcase of work in the streets of Durham. A secondary magnet school, Durham School of the Arts, is also located in downtown Durham. It focuses on providing education in various forms of art ranging from visual to the performing arts.[50]

Public schools in Durham are run by Durham Public Schools, the eighth largest school district in North Carolina. The district runs 46 public schools, consisting of 30 elementary, 10 middle, 2 secondary, and 12 high schools. Several magnet high schools focus on distinct subject areas, such as the Durham School of the Arts and the City of Medicine Academy.[58] Public schools in Durham were partially segregated until 1970.

The North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics is a high school operated by the University of North Carolina in central Durham. The residential school accepts rising juniors living in North Carolina with a focus on science, mathematics, and technology.

There are several charter school options as well, including Research Triangle High School (a STEM school in Research Triangle Park), Voyager Academy (K-12), Kestrel Heights School (K-12), Maureen Joy Charter School (K-8), and most recently Excelsior Classical Academy (K-8).

Several private schools operate in Durham,[59] such as Durham Academy, Carolina Friends School, and the Duke School. There are also religious schools, including Trinity School of Durham and Chapel Hill.[60]

In December 2007, Forbes.com ranked Durham as one of the "Top 20 Places to Educate Your Child;" Durham was the only MSA from North Carolina to make the list.[61][62]

Duke University has approximately 14,000 students, split evenly between graduates and undergraduates.[63] Duke's 8600 acre campus and Medical Center are located in western Durham, about 2 miles (3.2 km) from downtown. Duke forms one of the three vertices of the Research Triangle along with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and North Carolina State University. The university's research, medical, and teaching efforts are all among the highest-ranked in both the United States and the world.[64]

North Carolina Central University is a public, historically black university located in southeastern Durham. It was ranked the number 1 Public HBCU in the nation by U.S. News & World Report in 2010 and 2011. It was ranked the 10th best HBCU overall. The university was founded by James E. Shepard in 1910 as the National Religious Training School and Chautauqua to address the needs of the region's black population, and now grants baccalaureate, master's, professional and doctoral degrees. NCCU became a university in 1969 and joined the University of North Carolina system in 1972.

Durham Technical Community College is a two-year public institution that grants associate degrees.

Josh Whitesell

• Ernie Barnes, artist/painter[72]
• Kara Medoff Barnett, theatre producer, arts director
• Betty Davis, funk and soul singer
• Ben Brantley, The New York Times theater critic
• Michael Brooks, NFL player
• Kelly Bruno, world-record holding amputee runner and athlete; contestant on reality TV show Survivor: Nicaragua
• Shirley Caesar, pastor and gospel recording artist
• Roger Lee Craig,[73] Major League Baseball pitcher and manager
• James Buchanan Duke, industrialist, founder of The Duke Endowment and Duke University
• The Duffer Brothers, creators of the Netflix series Stranger Things
• Rick Ferrell, Hall of Fame baseball player[74]
• John Wesley Fletcher, pastor
• Tate Fogleman, NASCAR driver
• Penny Fuller, award-winning actress in numerous Broadway, film, and television productions
• David Garrard, NFL (2002–2013) quarterback
• David Gergen, advisor to presidents Ford, Reagan, and Clinton
• John H. Hager, former Virginia lieutenant governor (1998–2002) and the father-in-law of former First Daughter Jenna Bush Hager
• Brandon Hargest, singer for Jump5
• Brittany Hargest, singer for Jump5
• Biff Henderson, Late Show with David Letterman comedian and television personality
• Wilbur Hobby, labor leader and former president of the North Carolina AFL-CIO
• Alexander Isley, designer and educator
• John P. Kee, pastor and gospel recording artist
• Caitlin Linney, singer/songwriter
• Little Brother, hip-hop group
• John D. Loudermilk, songwriter ("Tobacco Road", "Then You Can Tell Me Goodbye")
• John Lucas II, NBA player and coach
• Crystal Mangum, accuser in the 2006 Duke lacrosse case,[75] who was later found guilty of fatally stabbing her boyfriend[76]
• Pigmeat Markham, comic actor and novelty musician
• Frank Matthews, drug trafficker during the late 1960s and early 1970s
• Clyde McPhatter, singer/songwriter, founding member of The Drifters
• LeRoi Moore of the Dave Matthews Band, contemporary jazz musician
• Anita Morris, actress (Ruthless People, The Hotel New Hampshire, nominated for a Tony for her work in Nine)
• David Noel, NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks[77]
• Ike Opara, Major League Soccer defender for Sporting Kansas City
• Bull City Red, blues musician
• Brian Roberts, Major League Baseball player, second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles[78]
• Rodney Rogers,[79] NBA (1993–2005) power forward
• Ben Ruffin, civil rights activist, educator, and businessman
• Don Schlitz, songwriter (Kenny Rogers's "The Gambler")
• Robert K. Steel, former Undersecretary of the Treasury
• Andre Leon Talley, Vogue editor, fashion luminary, and current judge of America's Next Top Model
• Grady Tate, American musician and singer
• Emilie Townes, dean of Vanderbilt Divinity School, former president of the American Academy of Religion[80]
• Dewayne Washington, NFL (1994–2005) cornerback
• Seth Wescott,[81] Olympic champion snowboarder
• Josh Whitesell, Major League Baseball first baseman of the Arizona Diamondbacks[82]
• T.J. Warren, NBA player for the Indiana Pacers
• Walter Lee Williams, one of the FBI Ten Most Wanted Fugitives[83]
• Morgan Wootten, head basketball coach at DeMatha Catholic High School and member of the Basketball Hall of Fame

• Louis Austin (1898–1971), journalist, civil rights leader
• Samuel Beam, singer/songwriter from Iron & Wine, current resident
• Dan Bryk, singer, rock star
• Crystal Cox, track and field athlete; member of national team for the 2004 Athens Summer Olympics; contestant on reality TV show Survivor: Gabon
• John Darnielle, musician and novelist best known as the primary (and often solitary) member of the American band the Mountain Goats, for which he is the writer, composer, guitarist, pianist, and vocalist[84]
• Victor Dzau, scientist and academic
• Pura Fé, Native American singer
• Nnenna Freelon, jazz singer/composer
• Philip Freelon (1953–2019), architect, designer of the National Museum of African American History and Culture
• Heather Gordon (born 1967), artist
• Michael Hardt, philosopher and theorist of globalization, politics and culture
• Fredric Jameson, literary critic and Marxist political theorist
• Big Daddy Kane, hip-hop artist and actor[85]
• Mike Krzyzewski, head coach of the Duke men's basketball team and former head coach of Team USA
• Mur Lafferty, podcaster and writer
• John Malachi, jazz pianist[86]
• Branford Marsalis, resident of Durham for several years. The Branford Marsalis Quartet's 2006 album Braggtown was titled after Braggtown Baptist Church, located in northeastern Durham, just north of Highways 70/85.[87]
• The Mountain Goats, indie rock band
• Pauli Murray (1910–1985), civil rights and women's activist, attorney, author, poet and priest, lived here as a child with grandparents; in 1977 was the first black woman to be ordained as an Episcopal priest; in 2012 was named as an Episcopal saint (one of its "Holy Women, Holy Men")
• Mike Nifong, Durham County district attorney disbarred in 2006 for actions in Duke University lacrosse case that year[88]
• Rapsody, grammy-nominated female rapper
• Leah Roberts, former North Carolina State University student who abruptly left Durham in March 2000 and has remained missing ever since
• James E. Shepard (1875–1947), educator, founder and president of North Carolina College for Negroes (now North Carolina Central University)
• Jamie Stewart, art-pop musician best known as the frontman of Xiu Xiu[89]
• Sylvan Esso, grammy-nominated dance and electronic music duo
• Justin Tornow, dancer and choreographer
• LeRoy T. Walker (1918–2012), former United States Olympic president; former chancellor of North Carolina Central University (NCCU)[90]
• Wye Oak, musical duo composed of Jenn Wasner and Andy Stack
• James B. Wyngaarden, American physician, researcher and academic administrator.[91]

• Andrew Britton, novelist
• Grayson Allen, attended Duke (2014–18), NCAA champion, NBA player
• Carolina Chocolate Drops, folk band who cite their hometown as Durham
• Reverend Gary Davis, musician
• Whitey Durham, coach in the hit CW network drama One Tree Hill, set in the fictional Tree Hill, North Carolina; named after Durham
• Blind Boy Fuller (Fulton Allen), musician
• Grant Hill, attended Duke University (1990–1994), two-time NCAA champion, NBA player
• Mary Katharine Ham, Conservative journalist; grew up in Durham[92]
• Heather Havrilesky, author, essayist, and humorist raised in Durham[93]
• Kyrie Irving, attended Duke (2010–11), NBA champion, NBA player
• Christian Laettner, attended Duke University (1988–1992), two-time NCAA champion, NBA player
• David Lynch, film and TV director; lived in Durham as a child; parents met at Duke University[94]
• Doug Marlette, Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist; lived in Durham as a child[95]
• Freekey Zekey (Ezekiel Giles), rapper; spent almost three years in jail at Durham Correctional Center on drug charges before being released on November 20, 2006[96][97]
• Zion Williamson, attended Duke (2018–19), No.1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, NBA player