Coleman Center staff and Panola community members are developing placemaking and memory-keeping projects that center the North Sumter School in the Panola Community of Sumter County. The North Sumter School was established in 1933 and was built primarily for the education of African-American children in the then legally segregated Alabama Black Belt.
In January 2018 Coleman Center staff and Sumter County-based artist Linda Munoz lead North Sumter community members in a three panel mosaic workshop. The central panel pictured the second North Sumter School building (shuttered in May 2018). Participants brought keepsakes that were included on two side panels. In addition to skill sharing this workshop was an opportunity to gather former students and educators memories of the North Sumter School, assess the possibility of future community-centered programming, and strengthen community connection.
Through this project we hope to continue our ongoing engagement with the Panola community. In doing so we support their commitment to deepen understanding of their school, community self-determination, and authorship in rural west Alabama.