Education

P.T. Williamson, the “father” of Williamson and Springfield Schools, honored.

Wilson Daily Times, 18 January 1960.

At “Williamson Community Day,” the Springfield High School Adult and Young Farmer’s Club honored Paul T. Williamson, the merchant/farmer who had been so instrumental in establishing Williamson Elementary, Williamson High, and, finally, the consolidated Springfield High School.

Williamson would surely have been proud of the alumni who recently formed Springfield Community Center for Arts, Education, and Civil Rights Legacy to redevelop the abandoned school building. Their aim is to preserve history while creating new opportunities in the community. See this recent abc11.com spotlight on the project. [Quick note: Springfield was not the first high school in the area. That was Williamson, which opened ten years earlier in 1941. However, when Speight and Williamson High Schools opened in 1951 as the direct result of pressure applied by the black community, they were top-notch facilities.]

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!

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!

Celebrating Dr. and Rep. Jones!

This audacious try happened two years ago, but the clip is making the rounds again this Black History Month. Abe Jones, who represents part of Wake County in the North Carolina General Assembly, is a Harvard University and Harvard Law School graduate, and I wanted to know a little more about him. Imagine my surprise to find that Jones was born in Wilson!

A quick bit of research informed me that Jones was born to Frissell W. Jones and Pauline Gallop Jones during the brief period that Frissell Jones taught diversified occupations, math, and English at Darden High School. Jones left Wilson to teach at Saint Augustine’s College, and Abraham Penn Jones was born soon after.

Dr. Frissell W. Jones modeled excellence for his son, and we celebrate both!

Greensboro News and Record, 18 January 2006.

Drs. Barnes and Yancy lead battle for equal education.

Pittsburgh Courier, 4 February 1950.

The suit Dr. Boisey O. Barnes and Dr. Darcey C. Yancey filed eventually led to the construction of a new elementary school in East Wilson. Barnes died in 1956, and the school was named in his honor.

Black History Month 2026.

February is generally business as usual for Black Wide-Awake, but this year is the 100th anniversary of Dr. Carter G. Woodson‘s Negro History Week, and folks are ripping down exhibits, so I’m going to go a little harder on the promotion, research, preservation, interpretation, and dissemination of Black history, culture, and genealogy of Wilson County, North Carolina. I encourage you to do the same for a place you love. I wish there were a B.W.A. equivalent for every county in these United States. Starting one may not be your path, but you can search out your local history organizations, your cemetery preservation groups, your musicians and poets and playwrights, and show them and their work some tangible love this month. Discover your community’s historic heroes and shout their names!