STATESVILLE, N.C. — Community leaders in Statesville want to preserve the history of Morningside School which gave Black students an education and opportunities.
“It was a beacon of hope for young Black children,” said Natasha Lowe, a member of the Statesville Black Historic District Committee.
Lowe’s family members got their education there after the high school was established in 1942 for Black students.
The school was integrated in 1968, which was when it had its last graduating class.
“I had my grandmother, Nellie Davis, Nellie Moser Davis, all of her siblings, and my mother, aunts, and uncles. So, I have plenty of family that actually attended Morningside,” Lowe said.
The Statesville Black Historic District Committee started a petition this month to save the legacy of the school, Lowe said.
The building is being used as an administrative office by the Iredell-Statesville Schools District.
It will soon be empty.
Lowe said they want to repurpose the building to create economic opportunities.
However, they also want the school to be recognized as a national and state historic landmark.
“There’s not a lot of our history left -- Black history,” Lowe said. “If we don’t save it, we won’t have anything, and we need to preserve our past.”
“Where I grew up, in a Black community, we all went to school here and learned here,” said resident Ricky Rucker.
Rucker said he hopes the petition will give his kids the opportunity to see history stand tall.
“I’d like to be able to ride out here one day in the building, still be standing and say, ‘That’s where your aunt went,’ or ‘your great aunt went,’” he said.
Community members plan to share the petition with the Iredell-Statesville School Board, the state superintendent, and city officials.
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