What ever happened to Seneca Village in New York? Does anyone remember Parish Street in Durham, North Carolina? What about Rosewood in Levy County, Florida? On Saturday, February 22, First Lady Vivian Pruitte, in-house coordinator for the First Jurisdiction of Virginia, led an investigation into various black communities – all of which were at one time thriving and prosperous. The presentation came as part of the Virginia One Black History Program, “America’s Lost Communities: The Forgotten People.”
“You may or may not know, but at one time there existed many prominent black communities in the United States,” began First Lady Pruitte to the sizeable congregation who came from throughout the Jurisdiction to participate in the program. Sharing photos and maps of actual communities, she continued to explain that many of these black towns were at one time self-governing and filled with black businesses, banks, hospitals, schools and professionals.
“I bet you didn’t know that Seneca Village was torn down for the construction of Central Park!” exclaimed First Lady Pruitte. Other well-known landmarks, including Wall Street and the Arlington National Cemetery, were at one time the location for thriving black communities.
Under the leadership of Bishop Ted Thomas, Sr., jurisdictional prelate, General Board Member of the Church Of God In Christ and former educator, strong emphasis is placed on educating the saints of God. The Black History Program is just one example of his commitment to passing down the history of African American people.
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Pausing after each slide to share highlights, the program took an interactive approach as participants chimed in and asked First Lady Pruitte questions about the blacks living in the towns.
“I’m from Mound Bayou in Mississippi!” one of the women in the audience proudly called out. Many more in the congregation had a personal connection to several of the towns highlighted in the presentation.
“Residents were casting ballots in every election, explained First Lady Pruitte about Mound Bayou. “The city had a proud history of credit unions, insurance companies, a hospital, five newspapers and a variety of businesses owned, operated and patronized by black residents.” She went on to say that while most of the state experienced violent racial tensions, this particular black community observed no racial codes.
Unfortunately, an atmosphere of peaceful racial autonomy was short-lived for many of these communities as jealousies over the prosperity of blacks erupted. As a result, many of these prosperous towns were demolished and sold for state-sponsored projects, intentionally crippled economically, or worse, were subjected to race driven riots and lynchings that went unpunished.
At the conclusion of the program, Missionary Naomi Kim Thomas led the congregation in the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice.” With godly pride, the saints rose to their feet and paid tribute in song to the black Americans who helped pave the way for economic prosperity for all. By all accounts, the Virginia One Black History Program was a great success – for while the former black communities were lost, they were no longer forgotten.