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Miss Anna Easter Brown (1879-1957) is named for the day she was born, which fell on Easter Sunday. Brown attended Howard University in the early 1900s, a time when the thousands of African American students pursuing higher education in the United States usually attended Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) like Howard. In 1908, Brown and eight other African American women (“The Divine Nine”) founded Alpha Kappa Alpha at Howard University in Washington, D.C. In total, nine juniors and seniors and sixteen sophomores were the first members of the sorority. Alpha Kappa Alpha was the first African American Sorority in the United States. Brown became the first treasurer of the sorority. After graduating in 1909, Brown earned her graduate degree at Columbia University. She passionately taught history to students for over fifty years. After teaching at a few other schools, Brown moved to Rocky Mount, where she was a teacher at Booker T. Washington High School, a school for Black students. Miss Anna Easter Brown was an advocate for equal rights for African Americans. She was a dedicated servant to civil rights and devoted much of her life to help the circumstances of African Americans. She even created an exhibit about Black history that she traveled with and displayed all over the United States. It gained the nation’s attention during the exhibit's 25th anniversary and was featured in the National Urban League’s magazine Opportunity. Brown was actively involved with the NAACP, American Red Cross, and the National Teacher’s Association. The historical marker located here once stood outside of Brown’s home. The house is no longer standing, but fortunately, some pictures show what her house looked like.

Miss Anna Easter Brown Home Historic Marker

This historical marker is dedicated to Miss Anna Easter Brown (1879-1957), an accomplished educator, historian, and founding member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. An active member of the community, Brown lived in a home that was once located here.

Miss Anna Easter Brown Historical Marker

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This tour is comprised of eight important historical locations in the history of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Each location is dedicated to African American residents or visitors and their contributions to their community and to their nation. 

Dred Wimberly was born in 1848 on a plantation belonging to James S. Battle. [2] Battle was a prominent planter, judge, and manufacturer who owned hundreds of slaves and nearly twenty thousand acres of land. He played a significant role in a Supreme Court case involving one of his slaves, State v. Negro Will. [1]Leading up to 1865, Wimberly worked for Kemp Plummer Battle in the Tarboro/Battleboro area. After the Civil War, Battle told the slaves working on his plantation that they could leave or stay on as paid workers. Wimberly, due to his relationship with Battle and the practicality of staying to work in a familiar setting, chose to stay. [2]Battle, who lived in Raleigh, placed Wimberly in charge of the supplies needed to run the plantation. One of his jobs was to deliver goods and supplies to Battle’s home. At some point, Wimberly decided to move to Rocky Mount. There, Wimberly was asked to run for the General Assembly by the Republican Party. Wimberly was quoted, in later years of his life, saying, "I got into it when I wasn't looking . . . I hesitated at first and asked them to look around a lot more. They nominated me anyhow and I was elected." [2]Wimberly was elected into the General Assembly once again in 1887 before obtaining a seat in the Senate in 1889. He remained close to Kemp Battle and helped Battle secure funds needed for the University of North Carolina. Wimberlyexplianed "I voted for Dr. Battle's appropriation because Dr. Battle had said voting for the University would help everybody. It might somehow help the colored folks too." Wimberly and other Black legislators supported the motions to improve roads, highways, and establish the North Carolina College of Agriculture and Mechanical Arts (known today as North Carolina State University). Decades later, Wimberly and his fellow Black legislatures were discussed in an editorial, in Raleigh’s News &amp; Observer. “They upheld education when no one else did. They laid the foundation for the common schools where the schools had few or no friends." [2]Wimberly retired from the legislature but remained active in his party’s politics. Before settling back down to spend the remainder of his life with his family in Rocky Mount, Wimberly did something quite interesting. He moved to Washington, D.C., for a couple of years, where he worked as a custodian in the House of Representatives. [2]Dred Wimberly passed away in Rocky Mount in 1937. The historical marker here signifies the location of Wimberly’s home.

This historical marker designates the former home of Dred Wimberly (1848-1937). Wimberly was born into slavery, and after the Civil War, he became a political leader. He served as a Republican in the State House of Representatives and as a State Senator. He spent his final years at this home.

Dred Wimberly Historical Marker

"Around the Y" (originally called the "Wire") is an area in Rocky Mount, North Carolina, that developed around the nearby railroad. The community that settled and worked here was comprised of African Americans. The area is named for the "Y" shape formed by the two railroad tracks. They run parallel and then curve away from each other. Many of the African American inhabitants of Rocky Mount, who initially settled in the area were the descendants of enslaved persons and faced Jim Crow segregation laws and the Great Depression. The “Y” was one of the communities where Black people could live, work, and socialize while the railroad created jobs for the people living near the “Y.” In addition to jobs connected to the railroad, the tobacco and cotton industries were also sources of employment. Despite the obstacles they faced, the community showed resilience and contributed greatly to Rocky Mount's economy. The historical marker here pays homage to the African American community and their important role in Rocky Mounts's history.

This historical marker recognizes the African American community built in this area of Rocky Mount, North Carolina. “Around the Y” is the name of the area that developed around the nearby railroad. The shape created by the two tracks imitates the alphabetic letter “Y.”

"Around the Y" Historical Marker

Walter “Buck” Leonard was an African American professional baseball player. He played in the “Negro Leagues” from 1933-1950. He was born in 1907 in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Leonard was not able to receive his high school diploma until he was fifty-two because Rocky Mount did not have a school for African Americans when he was a youth.His baseball career earned him a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He was inducted in 1972. For the entirety of his career, which lasted fifteen years, he played for the Homestead Grays. The Grays played in four consecutive “Negro World Series.” Of the four, the Grays won twice in 1943 and again in 1944.Sporting News placed Leonard as #47 of the 100 Greatest Baseball Players and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972. The Baseball Hall of Fame website states, “League statistics have Leonard batting .320 for his career with a .519 slugging percentage over 1,675 plate appearances.”“Buck Leonard was as smooth a first baseman as I ever saw. In those days, the first baseman on a team in the Negro Leagues often played the clown. They had a funny way of catching the ball so the fans would laugh, but Leonard was strictly baseball – a great glove, a (heck) of a hitter, and drove in runs.” -Eddie Gottlieb, booking agent.

A historical marker is located here commemorating Baseball Hall-of-Famer Walter “Buck” Leonard (1907-1997). This location is dedicated to the birthplace of Buck Leonard. The famed athlete played for the Homestead Grays in the “Negro Leagues” as a first baseman for the entirety of his fifteen-year career. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1972. Leonard passed away in 1997.

Buck Leonard Historical Marker

Thelonious Monk (1917-1982) was born in Rocky Mount in 1917, and he lived in this community for almost five years before moving to New York in 1922 with his mother and siblings. The Grammy Hall of Fame inductee helped develop the "bebop" class of jazz music, and he was featured on the cover of Time Magazine in 1964.While in Rocky Mount, Monk lived close to the railway. Between 1917 and 1922, the years Monk lived in the South, Rocky Mount was a busy town due to its thriving tobacco industry. Railroads were an important part of this industry and essential to the town's earlier economic success. There is an area known as the "Y" where two railroad tracks curve into the shape of the letter it is named for. People who lived in the area called the neighborhood "Around the Y." Sam Stephenson published an article about the musician that asserts the South influenced the famed jazz musician’s music more than most realize. Stephenson stated Monk "was almost five years old when he left here, and certainly he was well old enough to remember, there would be train whistles all throughout this neighborhood all day long and all night long... There aren't any train whistles in New York City." Monk lived only one block away from the “Y” and it has been proposed that his song “Little Rootie Tootie” is inspired by the train whistles he heard day and night. The song even features a train whistle.As you reflect on this historical marker, you may enjoy listening to a couple of Monk's songs. You can find two of them, including "Little Rootie Tootie," below.

This historical marker is dedicated to jazz legend Thelonious Sphere Monk (1917-1982) who was born in Rocky Mount. Monk only lived here for around five years before moving to New York in 1922 with his family. The marker shares information about the pianist's music career as well as his family tree with roots in the experiences of the enslaved.

Thelonious Monk Historical Marker 

Booker T. Washington High School was built for African American secondary school students during the time of segregation. The brand-new school was opened to African American students in 1927 and continued to educate them until 1969. [2] After desegregation, Rocky Mount Senior High School, once the school for white students, became, for a time, Rocky Mount’s only high school. The school colors of both schools (royal blue and gold for Booker T. and Black and gold from RMSH) were combined to create new representative colors symbolize the union of both groups. Similarly, the mascots of both schools, the lions and the Blackbirds, were combined to represent the union of the two schools. The result was the gryphon – half bird, half lion. These choices were made by the students. To this day, Rocky Mount High School’s mascot is the Gryphon/Griffin and their colors are navy blue and gold. [2] Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was invited to Rocky Mount, NC by Reverend George Dudley of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church on behalf of the Voters and Improvement League. Dr. King accepted Reverend Dudley’s invitation. In November of 1962, Dr. King arrived in Rocky Mount. In the gymnasium of Booker T. Washington High School, he delivered his “I have a dream” speech for the first time. In the following year, Dr. King went to Washington where he delivered his speech again – this time to the nation. [1] W. Jason Miller, English professor at N.C. State University re-discovered an "old reel-to-reel" tape of King's "I have a dream" speech. He found it in a Rocky Mount public library. Upon finding this historical gem, Miller had it restored, greatly improving the sound quality, by a professional archivist in Philadelphia. [1] A historic marker dedicated to Dr. King’s 1962 speech is located in walking distance from Booker T. Washington Community Center. It is also located on this tour. Booker T. Washington High School is still standing today – it is now Booker T. Washington Community Center.

The Booker T. Washington Community Center is arguably one of the most significant historical locations in Rocky Mount, North Carolina. Before it became a community center it was once Booker T. Washington High School. At the time the school was built and opened (1927) schools were segregated. Booker T. was the designated school for African American high school students. In 1962, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. visited Rocky Mount. Before addressing the nation with his famous "I have a dream" speech, he first delivered it to members of the Rocky Mount community who gathered to hear him speak. This took place in the gymnasium of Booker T. Washington High School. 

Booker T. Washington High School (Community Center)

Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered many important speeches, and the most recognized of these is his address at the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 which is often referred to as the “I Have a Dream” speech. King had used many of the same lines of that famous speech in previous speeches made primarily to African American supporters in places like Rocky Mount. In fact, the knowledge of some of King's supporters of this speech and they way it had been received in places like Rocky Mount is what led King to add the lines to his planned remarks at the 1963 March on Washington. Supporters seated behind King during the Lincoln Memorial address encouraged King to "tell them about your dream" and the civil rights leader responded by adding a similar version of the same line he had made to smaller gatherings to his now-famous 1963 speech.Dr. King visited Rocky Mount after receiving an invitation from Reverend George Dudley of Mt. Zion First Baptist Church. Reverend Dudley wrote to Dr. King on behalf of the Voters and Improvement League. On November 27, 1962, Dr. King delivered a speech that included the refrain “I have a Dream” in the gymnasium of Booker T. Washington High School, Rocky Mount’s school for Black secondary school students during the time of segregation. King delivered his speech to around 1,800 people.Audio of the speech Dr. King delivered in Rocky Mount was recently been re-discovered by North Carolina State University English professor Jason Miller on an old reel-to-reel tape that required restoration. In response to finding the reel, Miller is quoted, “I was scared to death it was going to crumble or fall apart or not be what it said it was because nobody had heard it.” [3] Miller sent it to George Blood Audio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to be restored. Miller then completed a transcript to the speech. The transcript can be found on his website which is linked at the bottom of this Clio entry.

This historical marker commemorates Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s visit to Rocky Mount, North Carolina in 1962. King was invited by a local church leader to support the Voters and Improvement League. At Booker T. Washington High School which is near this marker, Dr. King gave a speech that included the now-famous line "I have a dream." King would use the same refrain in several other speeches prior to his famous 1963 address at the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in Washington, DC.

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Historical Marker, Rocky Mount

Between 1948 and 1953, most of the homes and businesses within what is now the historic Lincoln Park District were constructed. The result was the first suburban neighborhood designed for middle-class African Americans in this area. The neighborhood grew quickly, attracting homeowners due to the homes' location, opportunity, and layout design. The “single-family minimal traditional-style” homes were designed by an architect from the neighboring town of Wilson, Thomas B. Herman. Almost fifty buildings were built between Ellison Drive, Leggett Road, and Carver Place.At the end of construction, Clarence E. Pittman and Annie Sue Pittman were the proud owners of their family home, a restaurant, and a motel in the Lincoln Park District. The Lincoln Park Restaurant and Motel is one example of a successful African-American-owned business in Rocky Mount during segregation. The Pittman’s business served an important role for African American travelers seeking safe places to stay and eat. The location was listed in The Travelers' Green Book. The Green Book was an important tool for African American travelers during segregation. It remained in print even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Green Book aided travelers in their search for safe places to lodge, dine, and shop while on the road. Today, many of the homes in the district continue to serve as single-family homes. While the hotel and restaurant closed, its historical significance remains.

This National Historic District was constructed in the mid-1900s and was home to many middle-class African Americans who sought homeownership. Almost fifty buildings contribute to the historic district today, including single-family homes and the Lincoln Park Restaurant and Motel. This Black-owned business was a safe haven for African Americans who traveled in the era of Jim Crow. In 2012, the Lincoln Park District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A historical marker is located outside of the former location of Lincoln Park Restaurant and Motel.

Civil Rights Tour of Rocky Mount, NC

Miss Anna Easter Brown Historical Marker

Introduction

Images

Backstory and Context

Sources