PLACES AND SPACES SPECIAL SECTION
Preserving Our Culture Helping to Save the Siloam School
By Angela Lindsay
C
Photo courtesy of The Charlotte Museum of History
harlotte sits on a mountain of African American history — but you may have to dig below the surface to uncover much of it. That is, in part, because many of the buildings and sites that once stood as symbols of African American pride and progress in the city have been torn down.
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For example, the Good Samaritan Hospital was torn down in 1996 to make way for Bank of American Stadium. The Brooklyn neighborhood — a self-sustained, thriving Black community in Second Ward — was gutted due to “urban renewal.” These are just a couple of examples of the many Black sites that have not only been demolished but could be on the verge of being altogether forgotten. Fortunately, another structure known as Siloam School could be spared the same fate because dedicated citizens and entities are at work trying to preserve this important and historic site. The Siloam School was built around 1920 as a school for African American students who lived in the rural Mallard The Siloam School is one of thousands of Rosenwald-era schools built in the South during the Jim Crow era. It was included in the National Register of Historic Places on September 28, 2007.
