Johnny Brewington and the Negro League.

During Black History Month two years ago, when they were still playing near Zebulon, North Carolina, as the Carolina Mudcats, the Wilson Warbirds highlighted throwback jerseys honoring the Raleigh Grays, a semi-pro Negro League team.

The Grays and the Raleigh Tigers, who played from the mid-1940s to early 1960s, had a Wilson connection —  Johnie Brewington, who briefly managed both teams.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 23 July 1941.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 15 May 1946.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 4 June 1946.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 20 June 1946.

When necessary, Brewington stepped behind the plate to play catcher.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 10 September 1946.

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In the 1920 census of South Clinton township, Sampson County, N.C.: farmer Cnelus Brewington, 36; wife Emma, 26, retail grocery merchant; and children Norward, 22, Mabel, 6, and John, 3.

In the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 912 East Nash, rented for $24/month, Frank Williams, 50, building mechanic; wife Emma, 36, public school teacher; and stepchildren Norwood, 21, odd jobs laborer, Mabel, 16, and Johnie Brewington, 14.

In the 1940 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 309 Elba Street, rented for $20/month, widow Emma Williams, 45, public school teacher; daughter Mable Brewington, 25, public school teacher; son Johnie Brewington, 24, new worker; and lodgers Walter Holmes, 35, veneer factory laborer, and Alice Bryant, 33, household servant.

In 1940, Johnie Marion Brewington registered for the World War II draft in Wilson. Per his registration card, he was born 3 February 1916 in Clinton, N.C.; lived at 309 Elba Street, Wilson; worked for Imperial Tobacco Company, Wilson; and his contact was mother Emma Williams.

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 23 July 1941.

Even as he managed the Grays, Brewington played football at North Carolina College (now North Carolina Central University.)

News and Observer (Raleigh, N.C.), 4 October 1941.

Johnnie Brewington enlisted in the United States Army on 26 January 1942 in Daytona Beach, Florida, and was discharged 4 August 1945, having achieved the rank of first sergeant in Company A, 184th Engineer Combat Battalion.

In the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 411 North Vick, John E. Dixon, 38, science teacher in city school; wife Mable E., 33, elementary educator in county school; sons John E. II, 6, and Levie, 4; mother-in-law Emma B. Williams, 50; and brother-in-law Johnie M. Brewington, 31.

Johnie Marion Brewington died 20 November 1964 at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Durham, N.C. Per his death certificate, he was born 3 February 1916 in North Carolina to Neal Brewington and Emma Moore; was never married; lived at 411 North Vick Street, Wilson; and was a merchant (“general work & sports”); was a World War II veteran; and was buried in Rest Haven cemetery. Emma Williams was informant.

Saint James Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).

Last week, a group led by Rev. William Barber gathered in Wilson to take their first steps on a three-day march to Raleigh. The mobilization event, dubbed This Is Our Selma Love Forward Together, draws attention to “unabridged voting rights; living wages and ending poverty; welcoming immigrants; embracing religious values of mercy, grace, empathy and not religious nationalism; supporting fully funded public education; guaranteeing health care for all; spreading love, not hate; keeping peace, not ICE raids and unchecked militarism; saving our environment instead of turning it over to the polluters; letting the people be in control, not a few millionaires and technocrats; and health care for all.” The marchers set forth from Saint James Christian Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway in East Wilson.

Per its website, in “1917, Saint James Church of Christ, Disciples of Christ was founded by George and Daniel Dupree (two laymen brothers who lived in the community). The church’s ministry began as a Sunday School. The Church’s name was changed in 1966 to Saint James Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). Our anniversary is celebrated on the fourth Sunday in the month of May. Saint James Christian Church has called five Senior Pastors: Rev. George Washington Little (1917-1920); Bishop Wilbert B. Parks (1920-1959); Rev. Amos Artis, Sr. (1959-1976); Rev. Dr. Charles E. Barnes (1979-2020); and Interim Pastor Rev. Mary Ann Glover (2020-2021). On December 1, 2021, the Reverend Dr. Della J. Owens was called to serve as the Senior Pastor.” The church’s history includes this photograph of an early church building.

The Dupree brothers lived in Pitt County, so it was not clear to me which community was indicated here. Researching Saint James’ history is complicated by by what appear to be related churches in neighboring counties that were also called “Saint James” and shared pastors; by the number of unrelated churches in Wilson and neighboring counties called “Saint James”; and by an apparent switch from Free Will Baptist to Church of Christ Disciples of Christ.

The first recorded Wilson County property purchased by the church was a one-acre lot in Saratoga township, adjacent to “Old Speight’s Chapel Church.”  Trustees Charles Ruffin Sr., Charles Ruffin Jr., and Howard Barrett handled the transaction for the church, paying $225 on 6 July 1946. Deed Book 325, page 48. It is not clear that a church was built here though, as newspapers references to Saint James place it in Fountain, a few miles into Pitt County. In fact, it appears that Saint James built its first church in Wilson only in the late 1990s, when the present building was constructed. Nonetheless, wherever it met, Saint James was active in Wilson County from at least the 1940s.

History courtesy of stjamesdoc.org.

Lucama School observes Negro History Week.

Journal and Guide (Norfolk, Va.), 9 March 1929.

Kudos to the teachers of Lucama School!

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  • Cora W. Farmer — in the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 701 East Green Street, George Farmer, 55, porter for A.C.L.R.R.; wife Cora, 51, school teacher; daughters Lena, 20, teacher, and Janie L., 23, department store elevator girl; stepdaughter Cora M. Washington, 21 (marked as “absent”); mother-in-law Lou Miller, 75; and boarders Mildred Norfleet, 23, courthouse elevator girl; and Amos Moor, 35, hotel porter. [Janie, in fact, was Cora’s daughter and George’s step-daughter.]
  • Emma Williams — in the 1930 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 912 East Nash, Frank Williams, 50, building mechanic; wife Emma, 36, schoolteacher; and step-children Norwood, 21, odd jobs laborer, Mabel, 16, and Johnie Brewington, 14.
  • Lela M. Washington — in the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Washington Lelia (c) sch tchr r 305 Moore
  • Irene W. Lucas — in the 1928 Hill’s Wilson, N.C., city directory: Lucas Irene (c) sch tchr h 701 E Green [Irene Washington Lucas was the daughter of Cora M. Washington Farmer, above.]

 

Shout-out to Gary Redding for his daily Halifax County black history highlights!

You know I love a granular Black history, and Halifax County, N.C., Commissioner Gary Redding is pouring it in spades this Month. I’ve known Gary since he was five years old. He comes from a long line of social justice warriors, and I’m so proud of his work as an educator, lawyer, and community advocate in his home county. He is the embodiment of “servant-leader.”

Every day, Gary posts to Facebook a brief description of a Halifax County black history milestone with several attached photographs or newspaper clippings. I am struck by the vignettes themselves, but also by the similarities and differences between what happened in Halifax and Wilson Counties. Gary is building a vital archive for his community and for all of whose who believe in the power and importance of sharing our stories.

Thank you, Gary R. Redding!

Revolutionary love.

Slavery was not built for love.

Nonetheless, despite caprice and cruelty, love endured.

In 1866, when the State of North Carolina created a path for recognition of marriages made  before Emancipation, thousands of couples found their way to a justice of peace. The cohabitation register for Wilson County shows a column for the groom’s name and a column for the bride’s and a column that recorded the years they had been together.

Arch Daniel and Rena Daniel. 35 years.

Bob Rountree and Tempy Horne. 30 years.

Amos Taylor and Amy Barnes. 33 years.

Champion Simms and Deura Simms. 40 years.

Living miles apart, without bodily autonomy, under constant threat of sale and separation, disrespected and denigrated, these men and women chose to love — and whom to love. Today, we recognize these revolutionaries and honor their memory.

My great-great-grandparents, Willis Barnes and Cherry Battle, registered their six-year cohabitation in Wilson County in 1866.

Happy Valentine’s Day 2026!

We moved into 1401 Carolina Street just before my first birthday and left just before my tenth. I haven’t been inside this little brick house in nearly 50 years, but I can describe its every detail, inside and out. My deep connection to my community and its people was forged in those first ten years. Safe in the nest of my knowledge-seeking, passion-encouraging family, I flourished — a sensitive, inquisitive, observant child.

Today, Black Wide-Awake celebrates foundational love! Cheers to Beverly and Rederick Henderson and the East Wilson that made me!

Help for the road to the Negro cemetery.

In the aftermath of complaints by “prominent Negroes of the city” about the impassable condition of roads leading to Vick Cemetery, City Manager W.M. Wiggins appealed to the Wilson County Board of Commissioners to request the state highway commission to make “the road to the local negro cemetery” a state highway. The “town and state” had made some improvements to try to make the road passable in winter, and Wiggins believed the state would take over if asked.

…

Wilson Daily Times, 26 November 1937.

When I first posted about the complaints, I concluded that the road in question was what we now know as Martin Luther King Jr. Parkway/US Highway 264. I’m now revising my thoughts.

The eastward extension of Nash Street past town limits was already a paved state road by 1937 as shown on this 1936 Wilson County road map.

US 264 and NC Highway 58 were already 264 and 58. But there’s a tiny spur, a little dashed set of parallel lines, that represents the road that turned off 264 at Rountree Missionary Baptist Church and ran several hundred feet back to three cemeteries. This — now the eastern end of Bishop L.N. Forbes Street — was the muddy road to the Negro cemetery. It’s not clear whether City Manager Wiggins’ appeal was immediately successful, but a 1968 N.C.D.O.T. map labels this as S.R. (“state road”) 1546.

Is Bishop L.N. Forbes Street still a state road?