GREENSBORO, N.C. — Residents in a North Carolina neighborhood are nominating an area as a candidate for the National Register of Historic Places.
Earlier this year, the City of Greensboro awarded a $12,000 federal historic preservation grant to document historic buildings designed and built by African Americans in the Benbow Road Historic District.
The neighborhood features mid-century modern architecture and a history of Black architects.
Scott Wood lives in one of the historic homes. His house was known as a common meeting place for civil rights leaders like Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Thurgood Marshall.
“A lot of people sat in the board room," Wood says. "Not just more of your prominent people like Thurgood Marshall and Martin Luther King, but people who were boots on the ground people.”
Eric Woodard of Preservation Greensboro is spearheading the effort to get three houses and districts from the neighborhood listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The goal is to help bring a long-overdue appreciation of both the local and national contributions made by residents of the neighborhood.
"That will bring a certain degree of recognition to the houses, neighborhood," Woodard explains. "And with that recognition, we'll be able to also tell the story of the people who lived here - the civil rights icons."