-Feb 2010 – Hometown Legends Help Greenwood Terrace Residents Commemorate Black History Month
Posted on 05. Mar, 2010 by admin in News Archive
February 19, 2010 – A local civil rights icon and legendary R&B singer with a popular ‘60s group will help families at Greenwood Terrace commemorate Black History Month. James Mapp, former president of the Chattanooga branch of the NAACP, and Arthur Brooks, a founding member of the homegrown Impressions, will share their experiences with residents on Tuesday, Feb. 23, at 6 p.m. at Greenwood Terrace Apartments located at 3056 Dee Drive.
Mapp, a local realtor who remains active with the NAACP, made history when he filed a discrimination lawsuit against the former Chattanooga City Schools in 1960 that lasted 26 years. He also protested segregated lunch counters in Chattanooga during the Civil Rights Movement. Brooks helped found a singing group called The Roosters in Chattanooga in the late 1950s. The original members relocated to Chicago, added Jerry Butler and Curtis Mayfield to their lineup, and later became known as The Impressions. Some of their music served as inspirational anthems during the Civil Rights era. Brooks currently resides at Gateway Towers, which along with Greenwood, is one of the Chattanooga Housing Authority’s 17 public housing communities.
The Black History program at Greenwood is being hosted by the Neighborhood Networks Program. CHA was awarded a $400,000 Neighborhood Networks grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development in 2008 to create a technology center for the families at Greenwood.
“Every year in February our young people typically hear about the accomplishments of famous African-Americans who have passed on,” said Carol Johnson, manager of the Neighborhood Networks Program. “But we wanted to expose our youth to history-makers from right here in Chattanooga who are alive, and are willing to talk about their struggles and successes.”
Other scheduled speakers include Ruth Blackmon and Irma Harris, longtime Greenwood residents, and Cedric Collins with the Boys and Girls Club of Chattanooga located at Harriet Tubman Development, another CHA community. The Black History program will also include poetry readings and a play written by DaQuan Myles, an eighth-grade student at Dalewood Middle and Greenwood resident.