I want to thank Sharon for posting a conversation starter in Thursday’s chat list. In case you didn’t see it, Sharon wanted to know why the newly unveiled mural at Horton Middle School only depicted one race.
Sharon grew up in Chatham County and knew that HMS became an integrated school in the 1970s. But for those who don’t know, prior to that Horton was a school for Black students in Chatham county. That’s because in most of the south, including Chatham county, Black students were not permitted to attend public schools with white students. I don’t know how old Sharon is, and I am not a native North Carolinian, but I am a native southerner and I am old enough to remember separate water fountains, separate restaurants, many supposedly “separate but equal” fixtures of society. Whether or not we want to admit it, the Black community existed alongside the white community, but separately.
The mural at Horton celebrates the achievements of local heroes who quietly went about their various vocations: delivering babies, operating a grocery store, educating citizens, establishing a county fair—all vital to sustaining a community that was barely acknowledged by the county’s white population.
The Chatham News and Record published a very nice article about the mural, which I hope Sharon has read. It explains in detail the different elements of the new artwork.
So, to answer Sharon’s question, “why was only one race depicted?”
my answer would be, because the time is right to celebrate and commemorate the lives of local people who might not appear in the pages of a history book, but who were vital to the community nevertheless.
From: Jennifer Gillis
Sent: Thursday, June 22, 2023 at 08:03:40 AM EDT
Subject: Thank you, Sharon