Brit Bennett Hayti Heritage Center

Hayti Dialogues: In Conversation with Brit Bennett

Thursday, May 7, 2026, 6:30 PM

Hayti Heritage Center

Brit Bennett is the author of the dazzling coming of age novel The Mothers and the National Book Award nominated novel, The Vanishing Half. Already a much buzzed about social commentator, well-known for her powerful personal essays, Bennett is one of today's most exciting new voices in literary fiction. Her lectures are as compassionate and memorable as her writing and give audiences a window into her craft while exploring broader themes of race, familial legacy, and injustice in connection with her work.

At Hayti, Brit Bennett explores the intricate constructions of self-determined towns that forged their own destinies and the personal choices that define race, family, and legacy.

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition

By Ashley Strahm • June 4, 2026

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition Saturday, June 20, 2026, 7-11 PM Hayti Heritage Center, Free, Open to all Open Stu is a living documentary project born right here in Durham. Co-created by artists Derrick Beasley and Marcella Zigbuo Camara, it's a space to cultivate and document Black creative community — rooted in the tradition of Scurlock's studio portraiture, the Kamoinge Collective, and the pop-up gatherings of the Harlem Renaissance. On Juneteenth, it comes home to Hayti. Come sit for a portrait with Derrick. Explore archival ephemera curated by Marcella. Let the DJ move you. Grab a drink. Stay a while. This is your invitation to be seen, documented, and celebrated — right where you belong. Free and open to all.

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upcoming

Open Stu: Juneteenth Edition

Moonchild: The Life and Music of Yusuf Salim - Durham Premiere

Brandee Younger

Keith Knight Moderated by Mark Anthony Neal

Branford Marsalis Quartet

Hayti Heritage Film Festival

Hayti Dialogues: A Conversation with Melissa Harris-Perry

YahZarah

Monét Noelle Marshall

Co-presentation with ADF

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cultural commitment