WILSON - Monsignor Jerry Lewis, archivist for the Diocese of Raleigh, visited the Wilson County Library Feb. 10 for an event that commemorated the 1949 visit to the area by poet and author Langston Hughes.
Among the places Hughes visited 75 years ago was St. Alphonsus Catholic School, which was located in Wilson.
In his remarks to those gathered at the library for the event, Monsignor highlighted the vital role of the Baltimore-based Oblate Sisters of Providence, who helped educate African American students at St. Alphonsus and other schools during that period.
In addition to sharing some photographs, Monsignor Lewis provided additional history and context of the Church’s mission to educate Black students. He spoke about the struggles of the Church and society to overcome racial divisions broadly and, specifically, overcome repressive Jim Crow laws in the South.
The event was part of a larger research project of N.C. State University, led by graduate student Kacey Cooper. Cooper, along with N.C. State professor Dr. Jason Miller, presented additional research about Hughes’ visit to North Carolina.
They shared that his visit included a fund-raising effort to purchase a book mobile for what was called at the time, the Wilson County Negro Library. Tammy Medlin of the Wilson County Library shared additional details of Hughes’ support of the library and education. She also shared several books that were from the library’s archives that were from that era and would have been circulated in the community via the book mobile.
Langston Hughes was an influential Black author, poet and playwright. He died in 1967 but remains a significant and enduring figure in American literature. Among his prolific works, which explored African American identity, struggles, and dreams, are the poems, "The Negro Speaks of Rivers,” "Harlem (Dream Deferred)," and “Freedom’s Plow.”
During his 1949 visit to the St. Alphonsus School, the students performed a reading of “Freedom’s Plow.”
For more information, please see this article from Catholic Review, written by Shannen Dee Williams, who recently spoke at the Diocese of Raleigh Eucharistic Congress:
Black history is Catholic history - Catholic Review
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