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Client Spotlight: At Phyllis Wheatley Community Center It's More Than a Name
By Dana Gillespie 'Twas mercy brought me from my Pagan land, Phillis Wheatley, On Being Brought from Africa to America Born in Senegal, Africa in 1753, Phillis Wheatley was sold into slavery at the age of seven to John and Susannah Wheatley of Boston. A frail child, as she grew Phillis began to display a remarkable talent of learning to read and write English. At the age of twelve she was reading the Greek and Latin classics, and passages from the Bible. At thirteen her first poem was published in the Newport Mercury. In 1773 she became the first African American woman to have a book published. Today she is credited with simultaneously founding two literary genres: Black American literature and Black Women literature In leading the Phyllis Wheatley Community Center in Minneapolis, its Executive Director Barbara Milon believes it is important to remember Phillis Wheatley who she was and what her experience was. Her life, says Barbara, shows that "in spite of what's happening on the outside, there's something within that can help you prevail." Phyllis Wheatley Community Center was founded in 1924 during a tumultuous racial climate rooted in fear, prejudice and racism. Phyllis Wheatley Community Center was called the "greatest settlement house in the U.S. for Negroes," and its founder W. Gertrude Brown, touched the lives of generations of African-Americans. In his autobiography, Overcoming, W. Harry Davis recalled that Ms. Brown built a center that would train young black people for leadership in the community, for college and professional positions. In doing so, Ms. Brown and Phyllis Wheatley Community Center "helped shape our attitudes about white people in a way that kept us from becoming racists." For many years, Phyllis Wheatley was the one place where visiting African-Americans could stay in Minneapolis because the hotels were segregated. Among the guests: W.E.B. Dubois, Marian Anderson, Langston Hughes, Paul Robeson, Ethel Waters, and many more. During the Northside riots of the 1960s, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center was a safe port in the midst of a racially segregated city. Says former Board President T Williams, "it was the one place in Minneapolis where people could gather irrespective of their differences they felt safe coming to Phyllis Wheatley Community Center." According to Director of Development Steve Gustafson, that reputation is still strong today. "Phyllis Wheatley is a safe place, a comfortable place. It's an open place for honest discussion. It's an organization very much about helping." From its founding, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center contributed to the educational, economic and social benefit of the community and continues to do so today. And the story of Phillis Wheatley, the former slave and poet, is the story of everyone who walks through its doors. "Phyllis Wheatley Community Center is about hope," says Barbara Milon, "and that hope is how we relate to people so that they can make those connections and realize they have options." Today, with a mission to provide comprehensive, quality programs in lifelong learning, child development and family support for the Greater Minneapolis Community, Phyllis Wheatley Community Center offers integrated programs that can serve an individual's needs from infancy through their senior years. Programs address the needs of children, youth, families and elders and provide guidance and assistance to help individuals and families empower themselves. The organization is currently undergoing a capacity-building effort to determine how to best meet the needs of their ever-changing and diversifying community. Creation In Common is thrilled and honored to be working with them on this effort and looks forward to sharing news of their progress. |
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