These Black Winstonians have made impactful contributions in our city and beyond.
George H. Black
You can see the work of this famous brickmaker in some of Winston-Salem’s finest houses, churches, banks, businesses, hospitals, and across the Southeast.
Buster Greene
He served as the president of the Safe Bus Company, the largest Black-owned and operated transportation business in the world in the 1920s. (Fun fact: the city purchased assets of the company and used them to help build our current transit system.)
Peter Oliver
This Winstonian gained his freedom and returned to the town of Salem. He was known as a respected tradesman and trailblazer until he died in 1810. Get a first look at what the current Peter Oliver Pavilion project will look like.
Carl Wesley Matthews
The sit-in movement started in Winston-Salem when Matthews sat down at a whites-only lunch counter at the FW Woolworth’s store at the corner of West Fourth and Trade streets.
Victor Green
The author of the “Green Book” made history by creating an annual guidebook that helped Black roadtrippers to travel with ease between the North and South during Jim Crow.
Maya Angelou
The famous poet, author, and civil rights activist was a professor at Wake Forest University and lived at 3240 Valley Rd. where she would often host her grad students for dinners.
Dr. Rufus S. Hairston
Dr. Hairston was Winston Salem’s first African American pharmacist. His wife, Mary was involved in developing Winston-Salem’s first library for African Americans and later worked in the Winston-Salem State University library.
The “5" Royales
The quintet began as gospel group the Royal Suns in Winston-Salem in 1942 and were later inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. Try This: Peek at their mural on the corner of Trade and 8th streets.
Dr. Charlie Kennedy
This Winstonian was the first — and for 20 years — the only Black pediatrician in Winston-Salem. He opened a practice that served the community in the east part of the city.
Dr. Lawrence “Larry” Hopkins
Hopkins was more than brains. He led the Demon Deacons football team to their first back-to-back conference championships in addition to becoming a well-known physician in the community.
Want to take your learning even further?
- Take a Triad Cultural Arts tour and explore Winston-Salem’s historic and cultural sites, including the Shotgun houses and public artwork/murals.
- Attend the juried invitational reception at the Delta Arts Center on Friday, Feb. 20, from 6 to 8 p.m. and explore the artwork of BIPOC artists from NC.
- Watch a special screening of “Finding Your Roots” featuring Chris Paul, Sunday, Feb. 22, from 3 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Ace Exhibition Complex. Register in advance to save your spot.
This list is not comprehensive. Know anyone we should add to the list? Comment down below.
