Laura Wall
HISTORY
lasting LEGACY A unique record collection is a window into the life of a dedicated public servant by FINN COHEN
A
town council meeting is an unlikely spot for serendipity, but one night in Southern Pines in 2010, a thread began that would eventually link gospel, punk rock, and civic service. For about four years, Suzanne Coleman had been performing an often-overlooked privilege of democracy — “I’m one of those concerned citizens who attend council meetings,” she says — and was frequently joined by
only one other resident: Veola McLean, a woman 18 years her senior. That fateful night, McLean asked Coleman to drive her back to her small house in West Southern Pines. There, Coleman walked into a museum of sorts — one of Black culture. “She collected art. She collected sculpture. She traveled to Africa and brought back beautiful garments from Senegal; baskets and hand-carved statues in different sizes. She had glass cases
filled with dashikis, a whole closet full of African garments,” says Coleman. McLean housed it all in a 20-foot by 30foot addition built on to her home, plus 21 separate storage units. “You name it, she collected it: artwork, material from Obama’s campaign, memorabilia from Martin Luther King Jr., Reggie Jackson, Jackie Robinson,” says Coleman. McLean, who died in February 2021 at the age of 89, was a retired Air Force staff sergeant. But she was many other The Art & Soul of Raleigh | 41
