SCHOOL OF URBAN MISSIONS

WIINSTON-SALEM, NC COHORT

EAST WINSTON
A THRIVING BLACK COMMUNITY

AN ESSAY SUBMITTED TO

DR. GARY PICKENS

IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT FOR COURSE

URBAN SOCIOLOGY

BY

KAREN A. CAUTHEN

APRIL 20, 2011

OUTLINE

I. INTRODUCTION II. HISTORY III. EAST WINSTON IV. CLEVELAND AVENUE V. 25TH STREET VI. OUTREACH VII. CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION In 1908 a black woman moved on the corner of Woodland Ave. and 8th Street, in what was primarily thought of as a “white neighborhood.” Unseen dividing lines prevented blacks from living on that side of town however, and she was driven from the neighborhood by very un-neighborly conduct. As time would progress more and more blacks migrated to East Winston. White supremacy, in the early 1900’s, threatened blacks. The Ku Klux Klan even marched in the area. Around 1920, the whites left in East Winston realized the local emergence of blacks were not going to leave and decided to sell their homes to blacks. Drastic changes took place in East Winston over the decades which resulted in what was once a largely white populated area had now become the largest of Winston Salem’s seven major communities. By the year 1960 East Winston had over 34,000 residents; a fourth of the city’s population. East Winston is still drastically changing as middle class houses are built and an influx of affluent Black Americans are moving into the area.

HISTORY As early as the 1940s, East Winston has been a predominantly black community. Originally a rural farming area in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it grew into a white community with two hospitals, a school, and train station. City Hospital was built in 1913-1914, the same year the city of Winston united with the city of Salem to become Winston-Salem. This hospital had a wing built, dedicated to black patients, in 1922. The Skyland School for whites was built in 1924, the Union Station in 1925, and the Junior League Hospital for Incurables in 1928; only the Union Station is still standing and today is owned by Davis Garage, an auto repair shop. As the tobacco industry grew and World War I opened up jobs for black workers, the black community began to surround the white community in East Winston. In the 1920’s a few whites began to sell their houses to blacks, but it was not until the early 1940’s when a black man, bought a house in the white community that a rush to sell ensued. In 1941 Jasper Carpenter, was the first black that purchased a home in the white community near City Hospital. As a result, a mass exodus of the whites moved from East Winston to what is presently known as University Parkway. Within the next twelve months, all of East Winston became a black community. “In the early 1960’s, along with its middle-class houses and businesses, East Winston still had a number of narrow, rutted dirt streets and alleys lined with small, modest frame houses.” Neighborhood’s where defined white or black by how many of that race lived in the area. “Most black neighborhoods were in the “bottoms” or the low-lying and marshy lands near streams.” Because of urban renewal projects by the city of Winston-Salem the slum character of East Winston was erased. The original neighborhood plans was modified by public housing developments and the city’s grid system of roads was converted to peculiar curving streets.

EAST WINSTON Today, red brick apartments, some single story, some two-story, known as housing projects, line Cleveland Ave.; a main thorough fare running North to South in the middle of East Winston. Parallel to Cleveland, but only half as long, is Highland Ave. with large beautiful homes in styles ranging from ranch to two-story, from colonial to split-level. At the southern and northern ends of Highland Ave. are government subsidized and section 8 apartments; the same style of red brick housing as on Cleveland. In addition, also running parallel to Cleveland Ave. are Jackson Ave., Cameron Ave., and Rich Ave. These streets like Cleveland Ave. and Highland Ave. are studded with a mixture of large homes, small single family dwellings and red brick apartments. Slicing across these are 2nd St., 3rd St., 4th St., etc. thru 25th St., with a few half streets thrown in for good measure. Nestled on almost every corner is a small church of one denomination or another and a convenience store. Tucked away off the main street, within a neighborhood, is a very large church giving witness to those of means. On the more traveled streets the smaller churches are right next door to each other, or just across the street. Small parks randomly dot the area of East Winston with no apparent thought as to location; such as the one at the beginning of an exit ramp leading to Hwy 52N. Most government offices and public programs dealing with assistance in some form or another are all within walking distance from bus stops set by city transportation.

CLEVELAND AVENUE

Cleveland Ave. ripples like ribbon candy almost its entirety, like a constant barrage of speed bumps. There are potholes and dips that make it almost impossible to exceed the 35mph speed limit without causing serious damage to a vehicle. Most people do, however, go over the speed limit to enjoy the facsimile of a rollercoaster ride. Cleveland starts at 25th St., winding then straightening, uphill then downhill, until it is split by Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr. A turn left onto Martin Luther King, Jr. Dr., then, a right turn back onto Cleveland Ave. finishes its run of the entire length of East Winston at 2nd St. There are a hodgepodge of buildings lining Cleveland Ave.; public housing, single family homes (large and small), businesses, medical offices, a library, parks, churches, and more churches. Mostly public housing and churches fill this area. A right or left off of Cleveland Ave. onto any of the numbered streets crossing it is simply more of the same. On every corner a church or small convenient store; a park at the end of every street; a beauty shop two doors up and a grocery store three doors down; doctor’s office, dentist, banks, and pharmacies. Everything in walking distance, except the mega conglomerates like Wal-Mart, Home Depot, the “Mall,” Cosco, etc. Even recreation centers, ball parks, and swimming pools are close by.

25TH STREET A drive down 25th street, as long as Cleveland Ave. if not longer, reveals houses that look like a two year old mixed up her older sisters precious and well taken care of collectable replica houses with her own very loved and somewhat abused doll houses. One house shows off a beautiful chain link or picket fence surrounding a well manicured and decoratively landscaped yard; painted shutters on all sides, and a front porch with columns and railings boast hanging ferns and potted plants. Next to it is a lovely old structure in much need of paint and new siding and no shutters with a yard that looks like a youth, growing his first beard. One house has a sign in the yard promoting daycare services; another on further down advertises a beauty shop. Both sides of the street are decorated with these inner mingled well kept and worn down houses. A sidewalk runs the full length on both sides of the street. A reflection of times past, when people walked to where they were going, because cars, then, were like IPads today, not everybody had one. Weeds grow in between the cracks in the sidewalk and down the center of unpaved rutted driveways. Beautiful shade trees fill almost every yard just beckoning you to pull up a chair and sit awhile. Their limbs full of leaves hiding the houses from the sun like an umbrella in a rain storm. Like most streets in East Winston there is a convenient store and a church on almost every corner, and a park within walking distance.

CONCLUSION Like all communities inside a city East Winston is not without its flaws. Among the historic neighborhoods lurk drugs, prostitution, and organized crime. Despite these evils, East Winston is still a thriving black community. With recent incentives over the past ten years from the government, the city of Winston-Salem has made major renovations to East Winston that is still going on today. Two of the larger public housing projects were torn down and new beautiful modern townhomes and apartments were built. Old worn down homes unsafe to inhabit were destroyed and new single family homes were built in their place. Businesses along main streets such as Liberty St., Cleveland Ave., and Trade St. downtown, have been revived with new face lifts and renovations to keep them from closing. Old gas stations have been replaced with new ones, and new stores have sprouted up within walking distance to local neighborhoods. All in all, East Winston has flourished and blossomed in good and bad times, and continues to grow today.

SOURCES CONSULTED

Books

Bricker, Michael. Winston-Salem: A Twin City History. Seattle: The History Press, 2008.

Davis, Lenwood J., James H. McLaughlin, and William J. Rice. African Americans In Winston Salem/Forsyth County. Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers, 1999.

Rawls, Molly Grogan. Winston-Salem. Charleston: Arcadia Publishing, 2008.

Tursi, Frank V. Winston-Salem: A History. Winston-Salem: John F. Blair Publisher, 1994.

The Changing Face of Forsyth County: A Guide to its Heritage and History. Winston Salem: The Forsyth County Public Library, 2004.

Websites

MDNH. " Population and Demographics." Area Connect Free Yellow Pages, White Pages and Guides. http://www.winstonsalem.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm (accessed January 24, 2010).

Urban Mapping, Inc. "East Winston neighborhood in Winston Salem, North Carolina (NC), 27101, 27105 subdivision profile - real estate, apartments, condos, homes, community, population, jobs, income, streets." Stats about all US cities - real estate, relocation info, house prices, home value estimator, recent sales, cost of living, crime, race, income, photos, education, maps, weather, houses, schools, neighborhoods, and more. http://www.city-data.com/neighborhood/East-Winston-Winston-Salem-NC.html (accessed January 24, 2010).

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[ 1 ]. “African Americans in Winston Salem/Forsyth County” Lenwood J. Davis, William J. Rice, James H. Mclaughlin 1999 The Donning Company Publisher, Virginga Beach Va.
[ 2 ]. Lenwood J. Davis, James H. McLaughlin, and William J. Rice, African Americans In Winston Salem/Forsyth County ( Virginia Beach, VA: The Donning Company Publishers , 1999) 38
[ 3 ]. Ibid
[ 4 ]. "East Winston neighborhood in Winston Salem, North Carolina,” Urban Mapping, Inc., 27101, 27105 subdivision profile
[ 5 ]. The Changing Face of Forsyth County: A Guide to its Heritage and History. Winston Salem: The Forsyth County Public Library, 2004