Aya Shabu: Highway Through the Heart

On her group walking tours around Durham’s Hayti District, performance artist Aya Shabu brings Black history to life, transporting visitors back to Hayti in its heyday. Once known as a Black Wall Street, the community was founded by freed people from Stagville and other nearby plantations. But eventually it was torn apart by urban renewal and construction of Highway 147, leaving residents dealing with displacement, air pollution, extreme heat conditions, and economic loss.Today, as development and gentrification pressures mount, residents like Aya celebrate what came before, while fighting to make sure they have a voice in what comes next.  

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