INC NEWS - FW: Resolution of support for state highway marker: Royal Ice Cream sit-in

[Melissa Rooney]

Sounds good to me :)
Melissa

--- Pat Carstensen <pats1717 at hotmail.com> wrote:

> 
> Hi -- I think individual neighborhoods and INC may
> want to support a marker for the Royal Ice Cream
> sit-in.  THo maybe we would do it with a few fewer
> whereas's (-:
> 
> Forwarded message from John Schelp is below.
> 
> Regards, pat
> > 
> > Fifty years ago, seven Durham citizens
> participated in
> > a sit-in at an eatery called the Royal Ice Cream
> > Parlor. This incident is considered by many
> historians
> > as an important precursor of the modern civil
> rights
> > movement in North Carolina. 
> > 
> > We are having success in asking the BoE, Council
> and
> > BOCC to endorse the resolution. The support has
> been
> > strong and widespread.
> > 
> > We feel it's important to have a state highway
> marker
> > erected at the site. The events of 50 years ago
> need
> > official recognition from the state.
> > 
> > We are asking the InterNeighborhood Council to
> endorse
> > the resolution below for a state marker.
> > 
> > Thank you very much for your consideration.  
> > 
> > all best,
> > 
> > John Schelp
> > (group of supporters for the Royal Ice Cream
> marker)
> > 
> > *****
> > 
> > Resolution of Support
> > 
> > for the 
> > 
> > December 17, 2007 Appeal
> > 
> > to the 
> > 
> > Highway Historic Marker Advisory Committee
> > 
> > at the 
> > 
> > Office of Archives and History 
> > NC Department of Cultural Resources
> > 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the Royal Ice Cream Parlor Sit-in
> occurred in
> > Durham, North Carolina on June 23, 1957 and
> whereas
> > this direct action protested the institutionalized
> > racial segregation that existed in the Southern
> Region
> > of the United States of America; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the social, legal, and educational
> > implications of the actions of seven Durham
> citizens
> > foreshadowed the civil rights movement that would
> > unfold in North Carolina during the decade of the
> > 1960s; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, in retrospection, civil rights veterans,
> > historians, and students increasingly point to the
> > pivotal nature of the Royal Ice Cream Parlor
> sit-in;
> > and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, in 2003, Durham’s R. Kelly Bryant
> > meticulously researched, prepared, and submitted a
> > formal application for an official state historic
> > marker to be cast and erected near the site of the
> > Royal Ice Cream Parlor; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the Highway Historic Marker Advisory
> > Committee of the North Carolina Archives and
> History
> > Department denied the Bryant request in 2003,
> citing a
> > lack of historical significance; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, several recent publications have
> increased
> > the comprehensive awareness and the significant
> > linkage of the 1957 events in Durham to the
> broader
> > history of civil rights in North Carolina; and 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the 2006 publication of the Encyclopedia
> of
> > North Carolina edited by UNC-CH Professor-Emeritus
> > William S. Powell makes several references to Rev.
> > Douglas Moore and the Royal Sit-in.  This
> reference
> > source also carries a famous photo of the Royal
> Sit-in
> > participants.  This photo is from the collection
> of
> > Virginia Williams, who was one of those
> participants. 
> > The photo is a permanent part of the Durham Civil
> > Rights Heritage Project, which is associated with
> the
> > North Carolina Collection at the Durham County
> > Library; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the 2002 edition of A History of
> > African-Americans in North Carolina by Jeffrey J.
> > Crow, Paul Escott, and Flora J. Hatley mentions
> that
> > the 1957 Durham sit-in “presages” the modern civil
> > rights movement in North Carolina.   Jeffrey J.
> Crow
> > currently directs the Office of Archives and
> History
> > and serves as the Deputy Secretary of the
> Department
> > of Cultural Resources; and 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the 2005 book Our Separate Ways: Black
> Women
> > and the Black Freedom Movement in Durham, North
> > Carolina by Christina Greene devotes several pages
> to
> > the Royal sit-in and its significance to later
> direct
> > action in other cities in North Carolina and
> across
> > the South; and 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, The Durham Herald-Sun, The Raleigh News
> and
> > Observer, The Triangle Tribune, The Durham News,
> The
> > Carolina Times, The Independent Weekly, Bull City
> > Rising, Bull’s Eye, Barry Ragin’s Blog, other
> blogs,
> > Time-Warner Channel 14, WRAL-TV, WTVD-TV, other
> > television stations, radio, websites, Preservation
> > Durham, The Duke Center for Documentary Studies,
> The
> > NCCU Office of Archives and Public Life, Durham
> > Technical Community College, The North Carolina
> > Collection at the Durham County Library, and
> > word-of-mouth have helped to raise the collective
> > consciousness of the importance of the Royal
> Sit-in;
> > and 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the 50th anniversary year is a noteworthy
> > milestone that serves to honor the courage and
> > commitment of the Royal Seven and people of all
> > ethnicities and cultures who have worked to
> eliminate
> > racial segregation and other human barriers; and 
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the 50th anniversary year of the 1957
> Royal
> > Sit-in brings special motivation and inspiration
> for
> > improved interpersonal relations for the younger,
> > middle, and older citizens of Durham and the
> entire
> > world; and
> > 
> > WHEREAS, the audience members at the recent 50th
> > anniversary commemoration of the Royal Sit-in
> > encouraged R. Kelly Bryant to appeal the earlier
> > denial by the Historic Marker Committee;
> > 
> > NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED
> > 
> > That we do hereby support, encourage, and endorse
> the
> > efforts of R. Kelly Bryant, Virginia Williams, and
> > others in their December 17, 2007 appeal to the
> > Highway Historical Marker Advisory Committee at
> the
> > Office of Archives and History for a
> state-sponsored
> > marker that commemorates the 1957 Royal Ice Cream
> > Parlor Sit-in in Durham, North Carolina.
> > 
> > 
> > 
> > 
> 
=== message truncated ===



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