This is a finding aid. It is a description of archival material held in the Wilson Library at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Unless otherwise noted, the materials described below are physically available in our reading room, and not digitally available through the World Wide Web. See the Duplication Policy section for more information.
Size | .5 feet of linear shelf space (approximately 200 items) |
Abstract | Materials collected by journalist Carol Wills on Lumbee activist Eddie Hatcher primarily concerning Hatcher's 1988 trial for holding hostages at the The Robesonian newspaper office in Robeson County, N.C. Materials include letters from Hatcher to Wills, 1988-1989, written from the Robeson County Prison and Wills's notes and writings about the trial. |
Creator | Wills, Carol |
Curatorial Unit | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Library. Southern Historical Collection. |
Language | English |
The following terms from Library of Congress Subject Headings suggest topics, persons, geography, etc. interspersed through the entire collection; the terms do not usually represent discrete and easily identifiable portions of the collection--such as folders or items.
Clicking on a subject heading below will take you into the University Library's online catalog.
Back to TopCarol Wills worked for The Independent in Durham, N.C., during the time that Eddie Hatcher was on trial for holding hostages at the The Robesonian newspaper office. Eddie Hatcher was a Lumbee activist in Robeson County, N.C. He and Timothy Jacobs said they held hostages at The Robesonian to draw attention to racism, drug trafficing, and poverty in Lumberton and the county. In October 1988, Carol Wills jointed a "Witness for Justice Team" sponsored by the Fellowship of Reconcilliation to visit Robeson County, N.C., to observe Hatcher's trial. Hatcher and Wills developed a close relationship over the next ten years. Wills corresponded with Hatcher and collected materials about trials. He had been incarcerated many times for his activism and was stabbed and infected with HIV in the 1980s while in prison. In 2001, Hatcher was convicted of murder and died in prison in 2009.
Back to TopThe collection contains letters from Eddie Hatcher to Carol Wills, 1988-1999, written from the Robeson County Prison. There are Wills's notes and writings about the Hatcher case, letters from Eddie Hatcher's supporters, and an unpublished work written by Eddie Hatcher about Jesse Helms in 1997. There are also materials about Hatcher collected by Carol Wills including newspaper clippings regarding his incarceration, trial, and acquital in 1988 among other items.
Back to TopCarol Wills's groupings of materials have, for the most part, been retained.
Folder 1-5
Folder 1Folder 2Folder 3Folder 4Folder 5 |
Eddie Hatcher materials, 1980s-2009Contains articles by Carol Wills about Eddie Hatcher, artwork by Hatcher, clippings about Hatcher's trial, an article by Hatcher, letters to Carol Wills from lawyers and judges involved in the trial, and Wills's personal notes about Hatcher. |
Folder 6 |
"God Did Not Make Jessee Helms", 1997Typescript of unpublished work by Eddie Hatcher. |
Folder 7-8
Folder 7Folder 8 |
Letters from Eddie Hatcher to Carol Wills, 1989-1999Primarily letters written from the Robeson County Prison. |
Folder 9-10
Folder 9Folder 10 |
Robeson County clips, 1988-1989Clippings about Eddie Hatcher's trial and other events in Robeson County. |
Folder 11 |
Robeson Defense Committee, 1990Letters from Eddie Hatcher and the Robeson Defense Committee to Carol Wills. |
Oversize Paper Folder OPF-5668/1 |
Julian Pierce materialsPierce was a Lumbee Indian candidate for Superior Court judge in Robeson County; he was murdered in 1988. Includes a photograph of Julian Pierce's funeral, an Independent Weekly article about the funeral, and a article about Pierce. |