Wilson County Public Library

Lane Street Project: the sunny side.

Gravedigging news aside, today was lovely. 

The daffodils at Rountree never disappoint.

I sacrificed blood and boot trying get through the briers and wisteria to reach the base of the pole in Rountree Cemetery. I failed, but that’s okay.

I made a detour to Elm City Colored/Heritage Cemetery just to snap a photo of this marvel. Clarence B. Best at his best. I’m not sure why “avenging angel of death” was the motif the family settled on, but it makes for a compelling visual.

And then I pulled up to the house, and my sister’s car was in the driveway. All the way from New Jersey.

This evening I spoke at the library. I always relish these opportunities to share my research with folks who recognize and cherish the names and places I talk about. My family, two of my father’s classmates, my Wilson County Genealogical Society folks, the Lane Street Project Senior Force, Black Wide-Awake readers and followers, library staff, and so many others filled the room. Thank you.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another. 1 Peter 4:10.

“Dying Is But Going Home”: Wilson County’s African-American Cemeteries, February 25.

Each year, I cross my fingers that Wilson County Public Library will extend another invitation to me to speak during Black History Month. Over the past decade, I’ve talked about Dr. Joseph H. Ward, Wilson County’s enslaved people and free people of color, the Lane Street cemeteries, Rosenwald schools, African-American churches, Samuel H. Vick, Mary C. Euell and the Colored School boycott, the 500 block of East Nash Street, and researching African-American genealogy.

The call came again this year, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my research with the people for whom it most resonates. This February, I’ll be talking about historic black cemeteries throughout Wilson County. I surely hope you’ll join me.

Negro Library adds bookmobile.

The Wilson County Negro Library added bookmobile service for rural residents in 1950.

Wilson Daily Times, 29 November 1950.

——

  • Azalea Cowan 
  • Mateele Gay — Matteele Floyd Gay Robinson. On 2 August 1950 Matteele Floyd, 26, of Wilson County, daughter of Ambrose and Mattie Floyd, married Harold E. Gay, 30, of Wilson County, son of Albert and Annie Bell Gay, in Nash County, N.C.
  • Mary L. Wright — in the 1950 census of Wilson, Wilson County: at 625 East Green, Henry Wright, 51, farm mechanic; wife Lelia, 47; and children Mary L., 31, Ethel G., 23, and Roosevelt, 15; and grandchildren James H., 6, and Delois, newborn. 

Thank you, Wilson!

Crazy snow events in January and February wreaked havoc with plans, but Saturday I was able to wrap the last of four B.W.A. talks to home audiences. Big thanks to Wilson County Public Library, Wilson County Genealogical Society, and the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina for the opportunities to share Wilson’s rich African-American history.

And thank you, Portia Newman, for capturing the opening of my talk on the history of Wilson County’s Black churches!

Cueing up Black History Month!

Black Wide-Awake is for you, and the highlight of my February is always the opportunity Wilson County Public Library extends to share my work with a live audience of home folk.

This year I’ll not only be telling the story of the African-American church in Wilson County, but also offering a long-overdue workshop on African-American genealogy, offering tips for breaking down those brick walls we all struggle with.

Mark your calendars — I can’t wait to see you!

“Trained Teachers and Trained Leaders”: Wilson County’s Rosenwald Schools.

I have a bottomless well of names to say and stories to tell about Wilson County, and I always look forward to Februarys at Wilson County Public Library. WCPL walks the talk of inclusion daily and on many paths, and I deeply appreciate their invitations to speak with my home folk about our community’s rich legacy.

Come out on Thursday, February 8, to learn about Wilson County’s Rosenwald schools. Funded by community fundraising and Sears Roebuck magnate Julius Rosenwald, these two- and three-teacher schools became the hubs of their communities and forever changed the lives of their students.

Lane Street Project: even the simplest request goes unfulfilled.

Right after the May 11 public forum, the City of Wilson agreed, at my request, to deposit a copy of New South Associates’ GPR survey with Wilson County Public Library. Here’s Councilmember Gillettia Morgan‘s suggestion, sent via email attachment on May 31:

Has the City followed through with this simple request? 

No.

Today I left at the Local History Room a bound copy of my May 11 PowerPoint slide deck and notes. When the library inquired this morning, a city official said they’d drop off a copy of the GPR report “this week.” 

While we’re here: at the May 11 forum, the Mayor promised transparency and accountability from the City concerning Vick and indicated he wanted to “work together” to address its problems. None of that is happening. The last email I received from Councilmember Morgan is dated May 31. She has not responded to any I have sent since. However, she is ahead of councilmembers Johnson, Liles, Creech, Fyle, Bell, and Evans; the Mayor; the City Manager; the Assistant City Manager; and the Communications Director, who collectively have not responded to or even acknowledged receipt of a single email. (I have spoken with the Mayor by phone concerning the August 5 Vick Cemetery reconsecration. He did not initiate the call.)

I don’t vote in Wilson, and I have to abide by the Hatch Act, but I surely hope citizens will ask hard questions of candidates about their intentions for Vick Cemetery and remember both word and deed at election time.