Greensboro

American Visions, April-May, 1995 by Michael L. Pina

A few steps away from the African-American Atelier, past the booth that sells tickets to area shows and sporting events, is the Mattye Reed African Heritage Center, an African art gallery affiliated with North Carolina A&T. The gallery was started in 1970 by Mattye Reed, a university administrator who needed a place to store the 6,000 art pieces she and her husband had collected while traveling throughout Africa. Before long, Reed acquired even more art and more space was needed, so a downtown location was found to house the expanding collection. Today, the two galleries combined are the largest collection of African art in the southeastern United States--and they ensure that Greensboro's enduring appeal is not limited to sit-ins. Works from Sudan, Ethiopia and Ghana will be found at the Reed Center in 1995.

Are you ready for a break from the museum and gallery circuit? Turn your mind to food. When it comes to dining, North Carolina is best-known for its barbecue spots, including Stamey's Barbeque, a 65-year-old institution that the locals swear by. Black-owned restaurants include Robinson's Restaurant, one of the oldest soul food establishments in town; Salt Marsh Willie's, which is found in the Ramada Limited motel; and Parker Brothers, which is near North Carolina A&T.

Now that you are refreshed and re-energized, it's time to think about a jaunt outside the city. Just east of Greensboro, in Sedalia, is the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Memorial State Historic Site. Driving into the entrance brings to mind visions of a quaint, backwater college campus; but don't be misled. The Palmer Memorial Institute, which was located on the site for 70 years, was one of the premier black preparatory schools in the South. And Charlotte Hawkins Brown (1883-1961) was one of black America's leading educators. Today, more than 1,000 of the school's alumni are alive; they--and their predecessors--have through the years contributed much to the nation.

The school had humble beginnings. Eighteen-year-old Charlotte Hawkins, fresh from a Northern education and as yet unmarried, taught a handful of students in the basement of a rural North Carolina church before raising money from sympathetic whites to establish a real school. By the 1930s, 90 percent of her students were headed toward college and the Palmer Memorial Institute was recognized as one of the outstanding black schools in the South. Even by the 1960s, when segregated school systems were disappearing, many African Americans still sent their children to Palmer.

Today, the 350-acre site has 14 buildings., only one of which is open to the public. Inside is a visitors center and a 12-minute video that explores the history of the school through interviews with Palmer alumni. There is also an exhibit that gives a picture of what it was like to attend Palmer--a strict dress code, lessons in etiquette and choir rehearsals were the norm. The exhibit highlights more than Brown's concern for old-fashioned propriety, however; shining through is her determination that her students not only should be well-educated, but also should leave Palmer committed to improving the lives of other black Americans.