community engagement

Thank you, Councilmember Kellum.

A couple of months ago, I went a little off-topic to ask Wilson’s new council members to set new standards for communication with their constituents (and others with vested interests in community affairs). I don’t know if Susan Kellum saw my post, but, one way or another, she heard my cry. Kellum has demonstrated a refreshing and unprecedented willingness to listen to community concerns and made herself available for last week’s meeting even though she had a tight schedule. 

Here’s what I wrote in January: “… a timely post from a council member, especially about issues directly concerning the people who put them in office, is both efficient and effective and allows for comments and quick feedback from community members. No one is expecting council to spill state secrets on Facebook, but the dense fog that shrouds Wilson’s workings needs to dissipate, and these kinds of posts are absolute sunshine.” Thank you, Susan Kellum, for championing hard conversations and for keeping the community informed.

Lane Street Project: a point of privilege.

I’m taking a point of privilege to appeal to Wilson’s new council members to set new standards for communication with their constituents (and others with vested interests in community affairs).

Lord knows the town in which I vote has some serious problems. But many of us are heartened by the examples new council members have set for information-sharing and responsiveness. Two in particular, Ward A’s Eric Friedly and Ward B’s Shean Atkins, maintain robust social media accounts at which they post PSAs, share news about their community interactions and otherwise update residents about projects, issues, and opportunities. (These accounts are separate from their personal Facebook pages.) This kind of open communication is refreshing. And easy.

Sure, we can search the City’s webpage for the rare update. However, a timely post from a council member, especially about issues directly concerning the people who put them in office, is both efficient and effective and allows for comments and quick feedback from community members. No one is expecting council to spill state secrets on Facebook, but the dense fog that shrouds Wilson’s workings needs to dissipate, and these kinds of posts are absolute sunshine.

Lane Street Project: what to expect on a service day.

So, you and your friends, family, or coworkers have decided to observe the spirit of the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday or Black History Month by joining a Lane Street Project service day! Thank you!!

What can you expect at a clean-up day?

When you arrive, seasoned volunteers will be there to greet you. They’ll ask you to sign a waiver and invite you to add your name to a contact sheet to get more information about LSP activities. You’ll receive a brief orientation about our work, including do’s and don’ts, and will learn of the history and significance of Odd Fellows Cemetery. You’ll be asked what kind of tasks you’d like to engage in. (Remember: all ages and abilities are welcome!)

To help you decide how you might best contribute, here’s what you’ll see and where we’ll need the most help the first four service days.

  • Mowing and weedwhacking the front section

Ordinary lawnmowers and weedwhackers will work for this section, which contains the Dawson, Tate, Hines-Barnes, Mincey, and Vick family plots, among others. Be careful cutting around the headstones, as the soft marble is easily damaged by trimmer string.

  • New growth elimination

Inside the tree line, you’ll see light-colored twigs sprouting waist-high. These are new wisteria vines. Wisteria infests Odd Fellows Cemetery. We’ve made tremendous progress in eliminating the older growth — some of the vines were as thick as a man’s arm! — but cutting back new growth is a perennial task. Weedwhackers fitted with cutting disks are the best option for cutting these sprouts, which will then need to be raked to tarps for easy transport to the curb. There may also be dead tree limbs that can easily be dragged away. Place any brush in neat piles of lengths of about 6 feet for claw truck collection by the city’s Sanitation Department.

Removing the heavy canopy of wisteria has exposed the cemetery to increased sunlight, which spurs other new growth like these tiny pines. Cute as they are, they have to go. Weedeaters will make short work of this task.

On the other hand, never cut the yucca! These tough little plants were placed by families as grave decoration, and may be seventy to one hundred years old.

Privet, the green bushes seen above, are also highly invasive. They should be pulled up by the root if small or otherwise cut very low. Pruners, loppers, or hedge trimmers are best for this job.

  • Fence clean-up

We use the fence between Odd Fellows and Vick Cemeteries to post information and seasonal decoration. The little orange streamers that bear the names of all known Odd Fellows burials are torn and faded, as are flowers placed at the beginning of last season. A few small vines have also begun to grow through the wire. If you’d like to help remove them, please bring scissors or other small snipping tools.

The only known Wilson County grave of an African-American Spanish-American war veteran lies in Odd Fellows, about thirty feet from the fence. We know there are many World War I veterans buried here, too. Will anyone commit to replace our little flag and to remember our veterans on Memorial and Veterans Days?

  • Odds and ends

A shallow ditch partially separates the boundaries between Odd Fellows and Rountree Cemeteries. We cleared the worst of it last year, but need to tackle the regrowth.

Our Senior Force, led by Castonoble Hooks and Briggs Sherwood, has identified additional small trees for removal in the interior of Odd Fellows. This work will be done under their discretion and direction, depending on the skillsets and tools of volunteers and weather conditions.

If you’ve been out to Odd Fellows before, THANK YOU and WELCOME BACK!! If you’re a first-timer, THANK YOU — WE’RE GLAD TO HAVE YOU!

Photos by Lisa Y. Henderson, December 2024.

Lane Street Project: thank you, Barton!

Yesterday, for a second year, Lane Street Project hosted Barton College students observing the school’s annual Day of Service and Engagement. Here’s what our Senior Force stalwart Castonoble Hooks wrote about the experience:

“Yesterday Briggs [Sherwood] and I met with a history class from Barton College at Odd Fellows Cemetery. Wonderful experience was the impression I was left with after getting home. Still high off the energy generated by these robust youth, most of which are athletes across many disciplines (football, baseball, soccer, lacrosse, and track). Yet what I remember most about this cleanup was the reverent respect these youth showed me during my history presentation. It was incredible to witness the respect shown to both the story and the story teller. Their parents should be proud of the men and women they are becoming. The conditions made interior cleanup treacherous so we limited cleanup to the outside areas, which lengthened the presentation time which gave me (with Briggs egging me on) [time to recount] my view of what got us here today. They received it with reverence and respect and from the questions asked, understanding. It was indeed a remarkable experience for me. The Lane Street Project unites Wilson by righting a wrong together as community. Special thanks to [North Carolina House of Representatives] candidate Dante Pittman, who has on been ‘hands on’ with LSP FOR YEARS NOW!”

Photos courtesy of Dr. Lydia Walker and R. Briggs Sherwood.

Unmarked.

https://player.pbs.org/viralplayer/3040506231/

During this pandemic, my work for the recovery of East Wilson’s black cemeteries is a banked fire, but it still burns. Please watch this timely mini-documentary for a deeper understanding of what is at stake on Lane Street and why I care.

Hat tip to Debbie Price Gouldin. Thank you!

A.A.H.C.’s new director.

North Carolina Department of Natural and Cultural Resources issued this press release on 21 May 2019. Congratulations to Angela Thorpe, who hails from Pinetops, just east of the Wilson-Edgecombe County line! Her interests and experience speak directly to so much of what Black Wide-Awake is about, and I wish her every success as director of the African American Heritage Commission:

“N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources Secretary Susi H. Hamilton announces the appointment of Angela Thorpe as the director of the N.C. African American Heritage Commission (AAHC). Thorpe has served as acting director since September 2018.

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“Prior to become acting director, Thorpe served as associate director of the AAHC since 2017. In that role she led the development of a five-year organizational strategic plan, managed organizational partnerships and grants, led collaborative programming efforts with groups and institutions across North Carolina, and oversaw organizational messaging and digital communications strategy.

“She was the first African American historic interpreter at the James K. Polk State Historic Site in Pineville, N.C. and worked to attract diverse audiences through inclusive programming and leading community engagement initiatives.

“Thorpe’s family home is the small community of Pinetops, N.C., but she calls herself an Air Force brat and has lived in the U.S. and abroad. She returned to her roots after receiving a B.A. in history with a minor in African American Studies from the University of Florida and was awarded the M.A. in history from the University of North Carolina-Greensboro. As a graduate student she worked to connect marginalized communities with museums and was involved with the award-winning exhibit, “Warnersville: Our Home; Our Neighborhood, Our Stories,” at the Greensboro Historical Museum.

“Thorpe has written on museum professionals, public history and race for the National Council of Public History. She has also spoken on diversity and inclusion in museums and cultural institutions; community engagement; and African American heritage at conferences and symposia. She was awarded a Diversity & Inclusion Fellowship by the American Alliance of Museums in 2016.

“For additional information call (919) 814-6655. The N.C. African American Heritage Commission is a division of the N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources.”