Naomi C. McClean.
William S. Scales.
Mary Burns.
While these are names many may not recognize, they should not be forgotten. These were business owners, community leaders, and advocates–people who played an integral part in Winston-Salem’s Black history. Thanks to a local artist, many more will get to know their faces.
On Seventh Street in the northern district of the Innovation Quarter, you can find a mural. Captured in vibrant colors and black and white imagery, you can see faces, buses, buildings–a patchwork of images representing a vital part of the city’s history.
Local artist Leo Rucker painted the mural, titled “Depot Street Renaissance,” to represent the depth of Black history in and around the iQ. Rucker dug deep into local Black history, evoking a time when historic Black-owned businesses filled the streets around the R.J. Reynolds tobacco factories and the surrounding neighborhoods were home to many Black workers and their families.
The “Depot Street Renaissance” mural serves as an important reminder. Today, the iQ is a place where many people live, work, learn, and play, but it’s important to acknowledge and remember the people who lived and worked here before, to honor these pioneers who helped imbue this city with its entrepreneurial and innovative spirit. Take a look back at some of the businesses that made this part of town a blossoming Black business district.
The Origins of Historic Black-Owned Businesses in the iQ
The Winston-Salem Tobacco Historic District is considered by many to be the launching pad for the region’s rich Black history. Tobacco was king, and seemingly overnight, an astounding 39 tobacco factories sprung up with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company leading the way.1 The production of tobacco products required a lot of manual labor, and laborers were scarce. Companies like R.J. Reynolds Tobacco recruited factory workers from far and wide, and many came to Winston-Salem from states like South Carolina, Georgia, Virginia to work in these factories.1
The attraction of factory work largely accounts for Winston and Salem’s Black population boom, which increased 216% between 1880 (1,482) and 1890 (4,687).1 Once in Winston-Salem, segregation forced Black laborers to move into certain neighborhoods, with three areas developing on the east side Winston near the R.J.R. buildings–Fourteenth Street, Columbia Heights, and Depot Street.1
These new community members—many who were once enslaved or a generation removed from slavery—were authoring a new legacy. They possessed a vital drive that was an important component of their lives and led others to start businesses, plying skills and trades learned or passed down. Clothiers, meat wholesalers, grocers and other services planted roots and flourished here.
During that time, there were two hotspots for historic Black-owned businesses: the Krankies block and what is known today as Patterson Avenue.
The Historic Black-owned Businesses of the Krankies Block
Located between Third Street and Fourth Street, what is known as the Krankies Block (for Krankies Coffee shop located there) was once home to many black-owned businesses.
From the 1900s through the 1960s, a diverse mix of commerce grew in Winston-Salem and can best be described as a business melting pot. Food, fashion, personal and professional services, and beyond, this incredible area played home to all of those and more. Although occupying a small physical area, this area held a significant role in the commercial district that developed in and around this part of town.
Some of these historic black-owned businesses were important for what they provided socially, not just for what they sold. Establishments like barbershops, beauty shops, and salons were an important source of news for the community, ensuring everyone knew who was hiring or whose baby had taken their first steps. Businesses like Delight Barbershop, which served the community for three decades, were fixtures on the East Fourth Street side of the block. At a time when well-groomed, well-dressed appearances counted for a lot, those looking to get their clothes cleaned, pressed and repaired could join Black-owned Busy Bee Pressing Club.1
No city block is complete without a good place to eat. When R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company was the primary employer, Harry’s Café (opened in 1922) served as the lunch and dinner destination of choice for factory workers. Although it changed names several times throughout the early-1900s, the restaurant maintained a presence on East Fourth Street, eventually becoming the OK Lunch in the early 1950s.1
Black-owned businesses in the area provided other services, as well. For example, if you needed something crated, packed, hauled, shipped or moved, you depended on the capable hands of the Black-owned Jackson Transfer Company. The company opened for business in 1934 on North Patterson Avenue and was running full-page advertisements in the city directory. Records indicate that Jackson Transfer Company appeared to remain in business until at least 1959.1
The block also played a small role in the African American labor movement by housing the Tobacco Workers International Union, the Local 212 office, for a few years in the 1940s.
The Historic Black-Owned Businesses of Depot Street
One of the central veins running through the area was Depot Street, known today as Patterson Avenue in the Innovation Quarter. Many of the employees who worked at the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco plant lived in the Depot Street Neighborhood. While factory workers were a central part of the neighborhood, several Black doctors, lawyers, and bankers also proudly called Depot Street their home.
The 1880 federal census reports that 79.6% of Winston’s tobacco workers resided within a twenty-one block area bordered by Main, Seventh, Depot and Belews Creek streets1 Many strategically leveraged the traffic of Fourth Street to make their small business dreams a reality, serving a community that did not have access to most public facilities and services due to segregation. The Depot Street neighborhood became the epicenter of the Black community.
In fact, in Winston-Salem, there were forty Black-owned businesses in Winston-Salem in 1895. Just 25 years later, there were 400 Black-owned businesses.1 Many of those historic Black-owned businesses called the Depot Street neighborhood home. Black-owned furniture stores, funeral homes, dry cleaners, pressing clubs, tailor shops, pharmacies, watch repair shops, florists, dentist practices, churches and even a school were established.
It wasn’t all business–some of those businesses were built for entertainment purposes. Though public entertainment options were sparse for Black people in the 1900s, the Rex Theatre opened its doors in 1912 as a reprieve for many. It likely had a broad selection of films that no doubt rivaled any other theatre in the city; however, the live entertainment kept the crowds coming. The theatre attracted talents from all over the country, including stars like Cab Calloway, bringing a lighthearted joy and balance to the community.1,3
The Depot Street Neighborhood was home to many more Black-owned or operated businesses, including1:
- A YMCA that opened in 1918 and held the first library open to the Black community.
- A Black-owned beauty school that relocated from Oklahoma to Winston-Salem in 1937 called La Mae Beauty College.
- Naomi McLean’s Stenographic School, which was the community’s first business school.
- The Boy and Girl Scouts Negro Division.
- A branch of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance Company.
- Brown’s Funeral Home, which is still operating today as Clark S Brown & Sons Funeral Home.
- Several establishments that could be found in the famous Green Book, including the Belmont Hotel and Model Pharmacy.4
Historic Black-owned Businesses as Innovators
While neighborhoods like Depot Street offered many of the things residents needed, transportation became a problem in these areas.
Mass transit arrived in Winston-Salem in the 1920s, but it wasn’t available to everyone. Due to segregation, the city’s trolley system did not serve predominantly Black neighborhoods. To fill that need, a group of Black drivers banded together to create a transportation system called Safe Bus Company in 1926.2
The Safe Bus Company served the community’s needs, helping Black citizens get to and from their destinations on time. Depot Street was home to their dispatcher’s office. Inside those walls, dispatchers coordinated pickups and drop-offs and ensured that 80 drivers were in place and on time when carrying their 8,000+ daily passengers. Safe Bus wasn’t just a name—it was a promise made to then-mayor Thomas Barber to operate in a safe, organized manner.2
At one point in the late 1960s, Safe Bus was the largest Black-owned and operated transportation business in the world. The company would later get purchased by the Winston-Salem Transit Authority, with its assets and routes integrated into the WSTA system in 1972.2
Continuing to Remember Black History in Winston-Salem
The historic Black-owned businesses of Winston-Salem played an important role in the development of downtown, making this area a vibrant business district..
There’s plenty more local Black history to discover. This month, the iQ is participating in one of the city’s newest celebrations of its local Black history through a digital installation–called Rooted in Race–which will be on display in Wake Forest Biotech Place. Created by Triad Cultural Arts in partnership with The Winston-Salem Foundation and the City of Winston-Salem, the digital installation focuses on segregation and integration milestones within the school system.
As part of this commemoration, the iQ is also hosting a lunch and learn event with Anita Justice, a community historian and preservationist. On March 13, join Justice to learn more about the development of the digital installation and its importance for the future of education. Learn more about the event and how to register here.
To view the Rooted in Race installation, visit the Wake Forest Biotech Place lobby off N. Patterson Avenue from February 24 to March 7 or visit the online installation from Triad Cultural Arts.
Learn more about the Depot Street Renaissance mural or life in the R. J. Reynolds Tobacco district.
References
1 North Carolina State Historic Preservation Office
2 https://www.nctransportationmuseum.org/safe-bus-company/
3 https://cinematreasures.org/theaters/52349
4 Winston-Salem’s Green Book Sites
(Cover Image: A Safe Bus Company bus and driver. Source: NC Digital)
