97.9 The Hill WCHL and Chapelboro.com are your headquarters for local news and local voices in Chapel Hill-Carrboro. Every weekday morning, 97.9 The Hill’s Aaron Keck chats with government officials, UNC scholars, business and nonprofit leaders, area musicians, and others in our community as they share their thoughts, their experience, and their expertise on the central issues of today. Click here to listen back to all of Aaron’s conversations – and tune in to “This Morning with Aaron Keck” at 7:30 a.m. on 97.9 The Hill to hear those conversations live.
Aaron chats with religious historian Andrew Gardner, whose new book “Binkley: A Congregational History” explores the history of Chapel Hill’s Binkley Baptist Church.
Click here for more information on the book, just published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Binkley’s history includes the church’s well-known role in the local civil rights movement, as well as a high-profile fight over LGBTQ rights in the 1990s. Gardner’s study examines the church’s flaws as well as its successes – flaws and successes that extend not just to the church as a whole, but also to the individuals who defined it, including Rev. Robert Seymour.
Listen:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe:
Related Stories
‹
![]()
On Air Today: Erasing Medical Debt, with Binkley Baptist ChurchBinkley Baptist Church has launched a medical debt relief fund in honor of their longtime pastor, looking to erase $1 million of local debt.
![]()
The Morning News: VinFast, Binkley Baptist, UNC BasketballIn today's news: local officials take action against the EV maker VinFast, and UNC men's basketball adds a preseason exhibition against USC.

Longtime Binkley Baptist Pastor Marcus McFaul Set to Retire in SeptemberSenior Minister Marcus McFaul, who has led Binkley Baptist Church for 12 years, plans to retire from church duties and move back to Texas.

Orange County Approves More Than $500,000 for Community Climate Action Grant ProgramEarlier in December, the Orange County Board of Commissioners approved more than $500,000 in various grants through the county’s Community Climate Action Program. Eight programs around the county will receive funding. Three different organizations will use the money to install rooftop solar panels: Binkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill, the Hillsborough United Church of Christ […]

Chick-fil-A Considers Drive-Thru at University Place; Binkley Baptist Urges for ChangePart of the extensive redevelopment of University Place mall in Chapel Hill may include the addition of a Chick-fil-A location with drive-thru lanes. But a popular church directly neighboring the property is asking for some of the plans to be reconsidered. Ram Realty, the development company who purchased University Place in 2018, is […]
![]()
On Air Today: Marcus McFaul and Reesy AlstonBinkley Baptist Church in Chapel Hill and the local NAACP Youth Council are co-sponsoring a service and vigil on Saturday to commemorate one year of weekly Black Lives Matter vigils. To spread the word and further discuss racial justice, Binkley Baptist Pastor Marcus McFaul and NCAAP Youth Council leader Reesy Alston join 97.9 The Hill's Brighton McConnell.

Banners at Binkley Baptist Church Burned Over Friday NightThe Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in Chapel Hill reported banners on its property were vandalized on Friday night. According to Senior Minister Marcus McFaul, three of the church’s banners placed along Fordham Boulevard near Willow Drive were burned, including ones that said “Black Lives Matter” and “Vote.” McFaul said he returned to the church Friday […]
![]()
Binkley Baptist Holds Virtual Service Celebrating Life of Robert SeymourChapel Hill’s Binkley Memorial Baptist Church held a virtual memorial service for its first pastor and local civil rights activist Robert Seymour on Sunday. Live-streamed on the church’s social media accounts, the service honored the pastor who passed away on October 11 at 95 years old. Friends, family and community members eulogized the former reverend […]
![]()
Robert Seymour, Civil Rights Activist and Chapel Hill Pastor, Dies at 95Local pastor and longtime civil rights activist Rev. Robert Seymour has died at age 95. Seymour became the first pastor at Chapel Hill’s Binkley Memorial Baptist Church in 1959. During the 1960s, he fought for racial integration of both his church and the wider community, a stance that earned him a dubious reputation among more […]

Chapel Hill Community Rallies Around Black Lives Matter Movement Following Assault on ProtesterEvery week since the death of George Floyd, members of the Binkley Baptist Church community gather along Fordham Boulevard in Chapel Hill and hold up Black Lives Matter signs for passing drivers in a peaceful protest. On July 3, an act of violence interrupted the protest. A resident at a nearby complex walked over to the church’s demonstration, […]
›