Talk:Safe House Black History Museum

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About the Safe House Black History Museum

Mission

The Safe House Black History Museum, situated in Greensboro, Alabama, is a non-profit organization established in 2004. Dedicated to preserving the distinctive culture and history of the rural black belt South, the museum actively promotes African American heritage in the realms of arts, mass media, history, and genealogy.

Early Beginnings

Founded by Mrs. Theresa Burroughs, a prominent figure in the civil rights struggle and acquainted with many of its leaders, the museum focuses on safeguarding the narratives of Greensboro’s rich black history. Spanning from the era of slavery through reconstruction to the civil rights period, this history notably includes Dr. Martin Luther King’s visits to Greensboro.

Following one of Dr. King's mass meetings in Greensboro, the residents of the Depot neighborhood played a pivotal role in protecting him from the Klan. They provided refuge for Dr. King in a "safe house" overnight until he could be safely escorted out of town the next morning.

The Safe House Black History Museum, originally two wooden frame shotgun houses adjacent to a narrow city lot in the Depot neighborhood, underwent a transformation in 2011. Under the guidance of architect Samuel Mockbee, Auburn University's Rural Studio completed an iconic concrete and glass walkway named Freedom Lane. This structure connected and preserved the two wooden buildings constructed at the beginning of the 20th century for black cotton gin workers.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech from the bed of a pick-up truck in Greensboro, as no black church in the area would permit a speech drawing attention from the Klan. This incident occurred two weeks before his "Burning House Speech" and the fatal rifle blast that tragically ended his life. The residents of the Depot neighborhood, where the museum is located, sheltered him in the Safe House for the night until he could be safely escorted out of town toward Selma the next morning. The truck bed used during the speech is now on display at the museum. Notably, the 'Greensboro Watchman' disputed Mrs. Burroughs's account of the events.

Location

The Safe House Black History Museum is situated in west central Alabama, within a region commonly referred to as the “Black Belt.” This area earned its name from the once fertile black soil, now turned copper-red due to extensive single-crop cultivation of cotton, which depleted the soil of its rich minerals and dark color. The Black Belt is renowned for its historical significance, housing numerous black churches, antebellum civil war sites, and offering insights into the Mississippian indigenous culture, particularly the Tuscaloosa black warriors. The region's history, once the American South's frontier under Spanish and French rule, is steeped in conflict, folklore, and bloodshed. Specifically, the Museum is located in the Depot neighborhood of the City of Greensboro, Alabama.

Museum Programs


 * The Region’s Civil Rights History in Story and Film: With funding from the Alabama Humanities Alliance, the Museum produced two documentaries; “Let Us Give Praise to the Foot Soldiers Who Came Before Us (2020), and ‘Let Us Give Praise to the Women Foot Soldiers of Hale County, Alabama.” (2022) safehousemuseum.org
 * Videos About Theresa Burroughs, Founder of the Museum:
 * The Fullness of Time is an interview with Theresa Burroughs by the University of Alabama. (2008)
 * The Story Corp did a 3-minute animation about Theresa Burroughs, A More Perfect Union[1].
 * In 2019, the World Monuments Fund and the Alabama African American Civil Rights Heritage Sites Consortium produced Voices of Alabama which included an interview with Theresa Burroughs.

Exhibits:

The Museum boasts an array of exhibits including mug shots of civil rights foot soldiers from the 1960s, Klan paraphernalia, artifacts from the slavery era, books on the region and civil rights, crafts by local African Americans, modern and vernacular art prints, as well as original sculptures and paintings such as “Book Lady” (2019), “Katrina Woman” (2014), and “Struggle Images.” Additionally, the museum houses genealogy charts tracing the lineage of local Black Belt County families.

Genealogy Charts: From local Black Belt County families.

Early Black Belt History: Greensboro Timeline


 * 1500 - Chief Tuscaloosa Territory Mound Art
 * 1810 - Vine and Olive French Colony (confluence of cultures)
 * 1821 - The Epicenter of Black Enslavement and Rebellion
 * 1835- Indian Wars and Removal
 * 1861 - U.S. Civil War
 * 1867 – Hale County carved from 4 adjacent counties
 * 1867 - U.S. Freedman Bank Records, Hale County
 * 1867 - Black Reconstruction and White Redemptions
 * 1870 - Black Farmers and Sharecroppers
 * 1927 – Monument of Col. Stephen F Hale - Symbol of the Lost Cause
 * 1901 - Jim Crow to Civil Rights Battleground
 * Hale County Black Churches, and Schools
 * Depot Neighborhood & Cotton Industry
 * 1989 – Community Industrial Corporation incorporated as a 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit corporation in Alabama
 * 2004 – Safe House Black History Museum Incorporated as a 501c3 tax-exempt non-profit corporation in Alabama

Greensboro Antebellum Architecture, Slave Quarters, and Employment Sites

-       Magnolia Grove: A historic Greek Revival mansion now serving as a historic house museum, operated by the Alabama Historical Commission.

-       Greensboro Opera House: Built in 1903, this structure replaced an earlier opera house destroyed by fire. It housed retail stores on the ground floor and a theater with offices on the upper levels.

-       Greensboro Presbyterian Church: Dating back to 1823, this church's present building incorporates the slave quarter section, preserving a tangible link to the area's history.

References


 * Gothic Literature
 * Lee, Harper. “To Kill A Mockingbird.” [1947][2] Southern Gothic was first written as the “Watchman” after “The Greensboro Watchman.”
 * Cinema Gothic
 * “Gone With the Wind.”
 * “Uncle Tom’s Cabin”
 * “Forest Gump”
 * African American Literature
 * Booker T. Washington
 * Caver, Joseph. “From Marion to Montgomery.” [2019][3] History of Tullibody School
 * Bryan Stevenson. “Just Mercy.” [2015][4]

Burroughs safehouse (talk) 00:45, 19 June 2024 (UTC)