The Alumni & Friends of Moore County Schools are raising money to return the land, formerly the Southern Pines Primary School, to the Black community and to develop in its place the West Southern Pines Center for African American History, Cultural Arts & Business! They only have until July 12th to meet our goal of $80,000 and we are trying to get the alumni and their friends to meet $20,000 of that!
History:
West Southern Pines was the one of the first incorporated Black townships in NC. In 1924, making an average 50 cents a day, the Black community raised $6,000 to buy & clear the land to build a Rosenwald School that we remember as the Southern Pines Elementary School. The deed to this day specifies that the land:
“…shall ever be devoted to the use of the negro education in and about the town of Southern Pines and West Southern Pines in recognition of the fact that the money was raised by the negros of said towns…”
In 1931 when the town of Southern Pines decided they needed the water from the area, they had the State legislature dissolve the township of West Southern Pines stating that "...the negroes were not capable of governing themselves " and that the town as a resort is " ... dependent upon the negroes as servants."
Today, the Southern Pines Land & Housing Trust has a plan to honor the deed and give the land back to the Black community as the West Southern Pines Center for African American History, Cultural Arts & Business. They even have the The School of Architecture at Taliesin (Frank Lloyd Wright's school) on board to design subsidized teacher housing as a recruitment incentive for Black Teachers- pro bono! But the local School Board is refusing to honor the deed and is instead setting the price to buy it back at $500,000!
The Trust is $80,000 away from their goal to buy the land and only has until July 12th to raise it. We are asking for donations to help them meet their goal so we can help the soul of our hometown.
Co-organizers (2)
