In 1950, less than six months after the official formation of Highland Church, the Session appointed Bill Thacker to the Committee on Negro Work in the city. As a Southern community in the early 50s, Winston-Salem was beginning to struggle with the issue of race relations which would divide the city as it did the nation. The church’s actions were often more in the area of compassion and nurture than one of challenging the structures that maintained the separation of the races in the city.
In their initial action, Mr. Thacker brought to them a recommendation that they should cooperate with the school board and local Black pastors to provide scholarships for Negro youth to an upcoming youth conference in Fayetteville at the cost of $15 each. Three elders immediately agreed to sponsor three youth.
Their interest in supporting the Negro youth soon led to their joining other Presbyterian churches in our community in July of 1950 to raise money to support the hiring of a director of religious education to work in the Carver School area. This led to the Men of the Church assuming the responsibility for paying the rent for a room in which the DRE could work and later to pledge towards the General Assembly’s project of building a church on Dellabrook Road which became the first African-American church in our city in the Presbyterian Church of the United States (Southern Presbyterian).
In 1959 it was still the youth who were encouraging the church’s involvement in the areas of race. The youth at Highland were involved in a youth group known as the Pioneers which had some programs on Christians and race relationships. As a result of that study, they decided to help the youth at Dellabrook organize a Pioneer youth group.
Then in April 1959, the Highland Pioneers invited the Dellabrook Pioneers to conduct a program at Highland and have supper together. When some parents questioned the propriety of having Black and White youth have a joint meal and program at Highland, the issue was taken to the Session. Elder Ted Blount made a motion which passed to support the youth in their efforts.
Later, in 1961, when the issue of Highland’ having a policy with respect to accepting or denying access to worship by Black Christians, the church was clear that a policy of openness to any who wished to worship was reflective of their faith. Jesus said, “… I was a stranger, you welcomed me…” (Matthew 25:35) and one can see signs of that same openness being exhibited in the Body of Christ.
It is not that Highland was a liberal church that was willing to challenge the structures of segregation. Rather they were a church that tried in often halting fashion to be faithful to the Gospel.
