Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/16726
African-Americans served it. The stu- dents could buy school supplies at Woolworth’s, but not eat there.” Leaving the museum, I visited several other sites that were prominent in Greensboro’s history, including the Palmer Memorial Institute, founded by Dr. Charlotte Hawkins as a preparatory school for African-Americans. Located just east of Greensboro in Sedalia, the school is now the Charlotte Hawkins Brown Museum and is the first state his- toric site to honor an African-American woman. Maria Cole, the widow of singer Nat King Coles is one of its most well known boarders. Other stops included the African American Atelier Art Gallery, founded by Dr. Alma Adams, a North Carolina State representative and faculty member at Bennett College for Women. The non-profit art organization seeks to promote an aware- ness, appreciation and sensi- tivity to the visual arts and cul- ture of African Americans. Of Greensboro, Adams said, “There has been progress, but we still are trying to mend old wounds. A lot happened here that we are not proud of, but the opening of the Civil Rights Museum is a step in the right direction.” She noted, however, that the African- American community still has much to do. “Sometimes we get too laid back because we feel like we have come so far. But we can get too comfortable.” While in Greensboro, I checked out the Proximity Hotel, the only LEED Platinum-rated hotel in the nation. The hotel uses 40% less energy and 30% less water than comparable hotels. Owner Dennis Quaintance’s passion for sustain- able practices is evident everywhere from local food used in the restaurant’s bistro dishes to the geothermal energy used in the restaurant’s refrigeration equipment. I also dined at Lucky 32 Southern Kitchen, which features south- ern cuisine, served in an upscale environ- ment. If visiting, be sure to check out “The Life and Times of Fannie Lou Hamer,” performed by the Touring Theatre of North Carolina. The production features stellar acting and gives insight into the life and trials of one of the nation’s unsung heroines of the Civil Rights Movement. Leaving Greensboro, I headed off to the town of Old Salem where I got to sit in the pews of St. Phillips Moravian Church, the state’s oldest standing African-American church. Guides point- ed out graves of slaves buried on the grounds that date back to the church’s conse- Dianna Ward of Charlotte NC Tours, which stopped at prominent African- American neighborhoods like Cherry, Brooklyn and Biddleville, as well as sev- eral noted landmarks. These included Johnson C. Smith University, one of the first African-American institutes estab- lished after the Civil War in 1867, and the Latta Plantation, which gave an in-depth look at the everyday lives of planters and slaves in backcountry North Carolina. My visit ended with stops at the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African American Arts and Culture, named after Charlotte’s first African-American mayor. An architectural marvel, the museum hosts works by promi- nent African-Americans, includ- ing Romare Bearden and John Biggers. I also took in a Charlotte Bobcats game at the impressive Time Warner Cable Arena. As I cheered on the home team, it was humbling to know that the team owners, entrepreneur Sit-In participants at the lunch counter on Museum opening day, Feb. 1, 2010 From left to right: Joseph McNeil, David “Chip” Richmond Jr. - son of the late David Richmond, Franklin McCain, Jibreel Khazan (formerly Ezell Blair, Jr.) Photo Credit: Greensboro Area CVB/Dan Routh cration, December 15, 1861. It was here on May 21, 1865 that a Union Army chaplain announced to a full house of slaves that they had been set free two years before by the Emancipation Proclamation. I then set off for Charlotte, named as the growing fastest area in today’s “New South,” checking into the newly opened, 146-room Ritz Carlton. The hotel marks the brand’s first foray into the environmentally-sound LEED building benchmark for design and features a bi-level penthouse Wellness Center and the street-side BLT Steak restaurant. During my stay, I dined at Mez in the EpiCentre, one of Charlotte’s hottest mixed-use destinations for nightlife entertainment and dining. Mez features a movie-theater, bowling alley, and up- scale restaurant, that blends flavors that criss-cross the globe. A highlight of my visit was a “From Slavery to Freedom Tours,” hosted by Robert Johnson and basketball great Michael Jordan, were African-American men who had accomplished in the south what other African-Americans could only dream about. My journey ended at the Levine Museum of the New South, which fea- tures the award-winning exhibit, “Cotton Fields to Skyscrapers.,” The exhibit depicts life in Charlotte shortly after the Civil War and what the “New South” was to become. If visiting, historian Dr. Tom Hanchett will point out artifacts that include actual poll tax receipts used to keep poor Blacks and Whites from voting. Look also for photos of the first Blacks to hold textile industry jobs after being banned from that industry for years. Also check out the exhibit, “Changing Places: From Black and White to Technicolor.” The multi-part project explores how people in the region are responding to the grow- ing cultural diversity and change created by the influx of newcomers from across the U.S. and around the globe. Black Meetings & Tourism July/August 2010: www.blackmeetingsandtourism.com 35