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Greensboro organizers seek $2 million to build Black Patriots monument downtown
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Summary
Organizers leading the Black Patriots Commemoration Project told GTN’s Talk City Greensboro they aim to raise $2 million — including $500,000 for the statue — to create a downtown monument and education program honoring African Americans who fought at the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse.
Organizers of a new memorial project in Greensboro are asking the public and local funders for support to build a monument honoring Black soldiers who fought at the 1781 Battle of Guilford Courthouse, project leaders said on Talk City Greensboro.
Benita Reed, a longtime documentarian of Gate City history, said the group’s fundraising target is $2,000,000, with roughly $500,000 earmarked for the monument itself and the remaining funds planned for site work, landscaping, contamination checks, insurance and an educational program. "We wanna put up a Black Patriot monument in Greensboro to honor the African Americans who fought in the Battle of Guilford Courthouse," Reed said.
Why it matters: Organizers and city liaisons say the monument would correct omissions in public history and provide a visible site for education and tourism. "We are majority-minority city, and we have to make sure that our history is told accurately and is always reflected in the city," said April Albritton, community partner and development officer for the city of Greensboro.
Partners and next steps: The Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro is handling fundraising, Reed said, and the group plans to submit a Mellon Foundation pre-proposal. Reed named sculptor David Newton as the artist selected to model the figures; she described a multi-figure composition with a 7– to 8–foot regimental soldier, a militiaman, drummer boy and a woman camp follower. Reed said Newton's next step is to create clay models and molds for each figure.
Site and programming: Organizers said they prefer a downtown Greensboro location to make the monument accessible and to connect it to parades and visitor traffic. They also plan interpretive materials and school curricula to help students and descendants research the Black patriots and their families. Reed added the Guilford Courthouse National Military Park has been "excited about our project" and has recently hosted programming that includes Black patriots.
Context and precedents: Joanna Winston Foley, who has worked on research into family representation at military parks, pointed to other successful local efforts — such as Valley Forge and Buffalo — where community groups raised funds, commissioned works and created annual commemoration programming.
Support and endorsements: Dawson read an endorsement from John Swain, director of the International Civil Rights Center and Museum, praising the project as a long-overdue tribute and saying it will enrich the community’s cultural landscape.
What’s next: Organizers said a project website is being developed to keep the public informed and reiterated that donations should be made through the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro’s designated fund for the Black Patriots Commemoration Project. The group said fundraising is the immediate priority to allow the sculptor to begin modeling and to support a potential groundbreaking if a downtown site is confirmed.
