Cool Timeline
John Bond, III
John P. Bond, III became the highest Black in Winston-Salem’s city government when he was promoted to deputy city manager. Other Blacks would follow including Alexander Beaty, who became the Assistant City Manager. Alexander Beaty Al Beaty, a former assistant city manager, retired in 1994 after more than 20 years..Read More
Carl Matthews
On February 8, 1960 Carl Matthews sat down at the S. H. Kress Lunch counter which would begin the sit-in-movement in Winston-Salem. On Feb. 23, 1960 eleven African-American students at Winston-Salem Teachers College and 10 white students at Wake Forest joined the protest. From Winston-Salem Teachers College were Royal Joe..Read More
Lillian Lewis
In 1960, Dr. Lillian Lewis, a professor of biology, became the first African American elected to the local school board. Her swearing in was covered by Jet in its December 29, 1960 issue. Dr. Lewis taught and several positions in the school system. Dr. Lewis was a member of Alpha..Read More
Integration
After the 1954 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional, still most Black students in Winston-Salem went to all-Black schools and White students did the same. In efforts to achieve a fully integrated school system, busing was initiated which assigned and transported students outside their..Read More
Lester Ervin
On March 1, 1951, the city of Winston-Salem hired and formed the city’s and the state’s first integrated Fire Company housed at Engine Company #4 on Dunleith Avenue. Lester Ervin was one of the original eight firefighters hired. Four thousand dollars was allotted for the care and maintenance of the..Read More
WAAA Radio
[smartslider3 slider=5] WAAA signed on the air October 29, 1950 as the first Black programmed radio station in North Carolina and with an all Black format. The station was first located on the corner of Church Street and Third Street “in the heart” of the downtown’s black business district over..Read More
Kenneth R. Williams
Kenneth R. Williams Kenneth R. Williams won an alderman seat in 1947 and became the first African American to defeat a white opponent in a twentieth-century election in a Southern city. He was the first African-American elected to the city council since 1900. However seven- nine African Americans had served..Read More
Urban League
The Winston-Salem Urban League was founded in 1947 through the efforts of Mr. James G. Hanes who was concerned about negative race relations. Originally name the “Community Relations Project,” the organization became the Winston-Salem Urban League in 1953 and was chartered in as an affiliate of the National Urban League..Read More
Naomi McLean
Miss Naomi C. McLean opened Winston-Salem’s first Black public stenographic office in 1939, and the first Black business school in 1941. Both were located in the Bruce Building on Patterson Avenue. The school was equipped with all modern machines, plus a piano, and offered a complete secretarial course. Day and..Read More
Kate B. Reynolds Hospital
[smartslider3 slider=13] The Kate B. Reynolds Hospital opened in 1938 with one hundred beds for the treatment of black patients and the education of black medical students. On May 15, 1938 a “city-Wide Negro Appreciation Service was held at the Bowman Gray Memorial Stadium to honor the hospital’s donors and..Read More