PANAMA CITY — It’s difficult to tell a story when most of the details are destroyed.
“Downtown, the Martin Theatre, you can see that today, right,” said Mathew Shack, a member of the African American Cultural Center’s graduate committee. “The Lincoln Theatre that existed at the same time, I can’t show you that; it’s gone.”
Established about 1907, the once-“vibrant” Glenwood community is absent of just about all its existing history. The community’s black-owned community swimming pool, skating rink, beauty school and businesses — including “the Lincoln” and “the Ritz” theaters — were destroyed or shut down during the integration era, according to Shack.
One-dimensional faces hang on walls on framed photos throughout the African American Cultural Center, which opened in 2007. None of the people portrayed could have imagined everything they’d built would become extinct and the black-settled area — once again, virtually segregated from the rest of the city - would be used to tell the story of low-income housing, potholed roads and failing schools.
However, when little is left, it’s a challenge to convince visitors at the center that since the early 1900s, Glenwood bred businesses, sheriffs, doctors, teachers, schools, athletic champions and a thriving culture.
“When you come in here, we want it to tell you a story,” Shack said. “We want this cultural center to tell the history of this community — walk through times and see it … a living history.”
Expansion needed
Every now and then, visitors trickle in carrying something to contribute to the story. About 50 to 70 visitors a month come in to view the simply called “theme” and “firsts” walls.
The center is collecting photos and artifacts from the area’s past to add to the historical timeline. Donations can be taken to the center, located at 1412 Martin Luther King Blvd., Monday through Fridays, from 1 to 5 p.m.
“That person on that picture has a story and that’s the story we want to capture,” said Carolyn Shack, Mathew’s wife and curator at the center. “It’s insignificant; it’s just somebody on the wall. But does that person have a story? Yes.
“This is their story and this is their contributions they made to this community which is making a difference now, because had it not been for these people, where would we be now,” she added.
Glenwood natives often are shocked that little is left of the previously tight-knit district, which extends from Harrison to McKenzie avenues and from Sixth Street to U.S. 231, according to Shack.
The center is funded through the Panama City Leisure Services department and operates on a varying $5,000 to $10,000 annual budget, said the director, Quillar Ceasar-Herbert. More money is needed to better document the history.
“We need an expansion,” she said, “to where we can do more for the community than what we’re doing now.”
The building has two rooms, but it’s not enough space to host guest speakers and large classes that may visit to share the area’s distinguished culture.
Trophies and paintings from formerly Rosenwald High school, recovered out of the school’s trash bins by a schoolteacher, now line glass encasings at the center. Hot combs, iron combs heated to straighten coils of hair, straight-edge razors, a meat grinder, butter churner and a church bench from the oldest church — New Judson, which still exists — are some vestiges of the past.
“We want to let people know what our culture was,” Shack said.
The future is looking brighter, he added. The center plans to feature more displays and videos documenting testimonies of people who lived in the area when it had once thrived.
WANT TO DONATE?
What: Photos and artifacts from the Glenwood area
When: Monday to Friday from 1 to 5 p.m.
Where: African
Why: To add to the center’s historical timeline
Details: AACC, 747-5941