What are the opening hours?

Monday 8am - 6pm Tuesday 8am - 5pm Wednesday 8am - 5pm Thursday 8am - 5pm Friday 8am - 5pm

The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History

Home
United States
Chapel Hill, NC
The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History

Founded in 1988, the Stone Center engages in the critical examination of African-American, African and African diaspora arts, cultures, and histories.

Mission: To encourage and support the critical examination of all dimensions of african-american and african diaspora cultures through sustained and open discussion, dialogue and debate, and to enhance the intellectual and socio-cultural climate at the university of north carolina at chapel hill and in communities beyond the campus boundaries.

09/10/2026

🎬 Join us today for Opening Night of the Stone Center’s Diaspora Festival of Black & Independent Film!

📅 Thursday, Sept. 10
⏰ 6:30 p.m.
📍 Sonja Haynes Stone Center
🎥 Three must-see films
💫 Free and open to all

Experience powerful cinema and storytelling celebrating voices from across the African diaspora.

👉 RSVP: https://go.unc.edu/filmfest2026

09/09/2026

Experience an unforgettable evening of film and conversation as we kick off this year’s Film Festival! RSVP link in bio

09/04/2026

🎬 Join us for the Headliner Film of the 2026 Diaspora Festival of Black & Independent Film!

🎥 Moving Masculinity
📅 Thursday, Oct. 1
⏰ 6:30 p.m.
📍 Hitchcock Room/Auditorium, Sonja Haynes Stone Center
✨ Free and open to all

Moving Masculinity is a film on memory, masculinity, race and Emotional Justice, narrated and directed by Esther A. Armah. Weaving poetry, sound, story and ceremony, it brings together Black men and boys aged 16 to 60 from myriad professions - from educators and artists to activists, writers and community leaders.

Learn more about the movie: https://www.movingmasculinity.com

Join us for an evening of compelling cinema and meaningful conversation.👉 Register now: https://go.unc.edu/filmfest2026

09/03/2026

🎬 Join us for Screening Two of the Stone Center’s Diaspora Festival of Black & Independent Film!

📅 Thursday, Sept. 17
⏰ 6:30 p.m.
📍 Sonja Haynes Stone Center
🎥 Four must-see films
✨ Free & open to all

Experience an evening of powerful cinema, storytelling, and conversation celebrating voices from across the African diaspora.

👉 RSVP: https://go.unc.edu/filmfest2026

08/26/2026

📅✨ September is shaping up to be an exciting month at the Stone Center!

From our Exhibition Opening to the Diaspora Festival of Black & Independent Film, there’s so much to look forward to this September! ✨Save the dates, mark your calendars, and join us for an inspiring month of community, culture, and conversation!

🔗 Explore our upcoming events:
https://stonecenter.unc.edu/upcoming-events

08/21/2026

🎬 Lights, camera, action! Join us for Opening Night!

The Stone Center’s Diaspora Festival of Black & Independent Film returns for another powerful celebration of cinema, storytelling, and voices from across the African diaspora.

Since 2004, the festival has brought audiences together for compelling films, engaging conversations, and thought-provoking dialogue with filmmakers, scholars, and our community.

✨ Opening Night
📅 Thursday, Sept. 10
⏰ 6:30 p.m.
📍 Sonja Haynes Stone Center
🎥 Three must-see films
💫 Free & open to all

Come experience an unforgettable evening of film and conversation as we kick off this year’s festival. We can’t wait to see you there!

👉 RSVP: https://go.unc.edu/filmfest2026

08/20/2026

🎙 New episode out now 🎙️

Dr. Rhon opens season three of Stone Written by unpacking a phrase that’s stuck with her all year: Black studies was “born moving.” Tracing the field's movement roots, she makes the case for the Sonja Haynes Stone Center as an academic and cultural institution and explores what it takes to sustain that mission today. Along the way, she reflects on Dr. Sonja Haynes Stone’s legacy, the false choice between movement and institutional stability, and why she's inviting listeners to become stewards of the Stone Center's future. Part reflection, part call to action, this episode sets the tone for a season about memory, purpose, and moving forward without losing who you are.

Listen now — link in bio.
https://stonecenter.unc.edu/podcast

08/17/2026

Happy FDOC, Tar Heels!

Welcome—and welcome back—to Carolina! As we begin the 2026–27 academic year, the Stone Center wishes all Tar Heels a wonderful first day of classes and a successful year ahead.

Whether you’re returning to campus or starting your Carolina journey, we hope you’ll make the Stone Center part of your year. Stop by, connect with our community, and discover the programs, exhibitions, events, and opportunities waiting for you.

Here’s to a great year, Tar Heels! 🎉

08/14/2026

Join us for REVERENCE: Hair Memory Through Images by Jamaica Gilmer

Reverence is a photographic testament to Black hair, honoring the stylists and barbers who become hair artists and the people in their chairs who become the muse. The exhibition celebrates the tradition, artistry, memory, and global histories found within Black hair spaces.

Artist and curator Jamaica Gilmer works across photography, ceramics, and film, using interdisciplinary storytelling to illuminate Black community, joy, and possibility.

Join us for the Exhibition Opening + Artist Talk:

📅 Thursday, September 24, 2026
⏰ 6:30 PM
📍 Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery, Sonja Haynes Stone Center, UNC-Chapel Hill

Jamaica Gilmer is the Pamela Nicole Cummings Visiting Artist for 2026. Learn more about the artist: www.jamaicagilmer.com

07/27/2026

Congratulations to Jamaica Gilmer! ✨ The Sonja Haynes Stone Center is proud to announce Jamaica Gilmer as the recipient of the 2026 Pamela Nicole Cummings Visiting Artist Fellowship.

Jamaica Gilmer is a relentless hope-architect, multifaceted artist, and curator working
across photography, ceramics, and film. Her most recent series, We are the Sun: A
Photographic Tribute to Black Community, celebrates the intergenerational wisdom of
ThirdSpace Action Lab in Cleveland, Ohio. She is the founder of The Beautiful Project
(TBP) and the lead curator of TBP’s past exhibition at the Metropolitan Museum of Art’s
Uris Center for Education, Pen, Lens, and Soul: The Story of The Beautiful Project. Her
work is featured in Kleaver Cruz’s recent book, The Black Joy Project: A Literary and
Visual Love Letter to How We Thrive. At the core of her organizing practice, Jamaica is
committed to telling sacred stories of possibility through interdisciplinary making.

Reverence: Hair Memory Through Images by Jamaica Gilmer is a photographic
testament to Black hair. Here, stylists and barbers become the hair artists, and the
Black people who sit in their chairs become the muse. This exhibition celebrates the
long-held tradition of being immersed in images while you wait for your turn in the chair.
Look-books filled with style options, walls adorned with even more—our global histories
presented as sacred exhibitions in everyday spaces.

📅 Opening: September 24, 2026
📍 Location: Robert and Sallie Brown Gallery, Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Research in Black Culture and History at UNC-Chapel Hill

Learn more about the artist: www.jamaicagilmer.com

We look forward to welcoming you to this extraordinary exhibition celebrating artistry, memory, and community.

Address

150 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC
27599

Opening Hours

Monday	8am - 6pm
Tuesday	8am - 5pm
Wednesday	8am - 5pm
Thursday	8am - 5pm
Friday	8am - 5pm

Telephone

+19199629001

Website

http://stonecenter.unc.edu/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The School

Send a message to The Sonja Haynes Stone Center for Black Culture and History:

Want your school to be the top-listed School/college in Chapel Hill?