On Saturday, February 11, 2017, several members of Concerned Citizens of Tillery (CCT) traveled to Raleigh to join with the other many thousands who came to participate in the HKonJ. It was great weather for a march and the energy was high as participants hosted their signs on various issues. CCT was one of the first organizations to join the march back in 2006 and has had some representation in the marches from the organization  in  most of the marches since that time.

CCT is grateful to the contributors who supported the building fund during the CCT 33rd Holiday Fellowship Hour and Kwanzaa Celebration:

BREAKING LAND                        $10.00 TO $25.00
 
Cassandra Alston
Bradenton, FL
In Memory of My Uncle and Aunt
Matthew & Florenza Moore Grant
Tillery Farms Unit #50/51
 
Cora Bendetto
Battleboro, VT
 
Eula B. House
Tillery, NC
 
Amy & Bob Lang
Henrico, VA
 
Mary J. Harvey McGee
Tillery, NC
In Memory of My Mother Della Harvey Johnson Williams
 
Glenn Silver
Raleigh, NC
 
Ernestine Smith
Tarboro, NC
In Memory of Willie F. Smith
Marilyn S. Wilkins
Enfield, NC
 
Mazolla Wilkins
Enfield, NC
 
 
TILLING THE SOIL                    $26.00 TO $50.00
 
Emily Eidenier
Durham, NC
In Memory of Dr. Steve Wing
 
Iva Gregory
Adrian Dominican Sisters
Seattle, WA
In Memory of Gary R. Grant’s Parents
Matthew & Florenza Moore Grant
Tillery Farm Units 50/51
 
Andrew Kelly & Lillian Kelley Cannon
Wilmington, DE
In Honor of Andrew & Beatrice Kelley of Preston, Maryland
 
 Andrew Weinhold
Durham, NC
In Memory of Steve Wing
 
​
PLANTING SEEDS                       $51.00 TO $100.00
 
Willie Mae T. Jones-Brown
Randallstown, MD
In Memory of Geely & Dora Davis
 
Quincy Howell
El Paso, TX
 
Veronica Phillips
Brooklyn, NY
In Memory of My Mother the Artist
Louise Hines Phillips
 
Catherin Smith
Pittsburg, PA
 
 
CULTIVATING THE CROPS      $101.00 TO $500.00
 
Levy & Betty White
Scotland Neck, NC
In Memory of Our Parents
Jim and Julia Johnson White & Ben & Elizabeth Presley Pernell


HARVESTING THE CROPS $501.00 UP
 
Ricky & Bernita Whitaker Demery Family
Greenville, NC
In Memory of Our Mothers
The late Mildred Hedgepeth Whitaker and In Honor of Mary Demery

Thanks To Our Supporters
 
BREAKING LAND   $10.00 TO $25.00
 
Randolph Alexander
Willow Grove, PA
In Memory of Ada Conigland
 
Gracie J. Alston
Halifax, NC
 
Louis D. & Rolelian E. Alston
Tillery, NC
Tillery Farms Unit #12
In Memory of George W. and Victoria J. Edmonds
 
Perline Baggett
Halifax, NC
In Memory of Edith Miles
 
Katie T. Baker
Roanoke Rapids, NC
In Memory of Dorothy Martin
 
Delores Harvey Amason
Descendent of Tillery Farm Unit #23
 In Memory of Leroy E. & Joeanna Harvey
 
Nathaniel & Loal Ausby
Garysburg, NC
 
Cora Edmonds Bridgers
Virginia Beach, VA
 
Bernice Pittman Foster
Halifax, NC
In Memory of Annie Gary Pittman
 
Charles Pete Grant
Franklin, VA
In Memory of Uncle Matthew (Matthew Grant)
Howard Grant, Jr.
Woodland, NC
In Memory of Uncle Matthew (Matthew Grant)
 
Linda H. Grimes
Woodbridgge, VA
In Honor of My Mother Hazel B. Hendricks
 
Willie J. Hargrove, Jr.
Manson, NC
In Memory of Dea. Willie Hargrove, Sr.
 
Frankie B. Harvey
Rich Square, NC
In Memory of Frank W. Ballance, Sr.
 
Theresa L. Harvey
Tillery, NC
In Memory of Ronald Shields
 
Kathleen Hines
Durham, NC
In memory of Johnella Eason Hines
Tillery Farm Unity #43
 
Virginia Hines
Roanoke Rapids, NC
In Memory of Edith Miles
 
Barbara A. Johnson (Tillery)
Newark, NJ
In Memory of John H. Tillery
 
M. Jeannette Lee
Mt. Pleasant, SC
 
Catherine Savage Lockley
Roanoke Rapids, NC
In Memory of My Mother & Father Lee Jasper & Mable Savge
Formerly of Tillery Resettlement Farm Unit 39
Dezell Mallary
Roanoke Rapids, NC
 
Teresa Oliver
Waldorf, MD
In Memory of Beatrice Turnage
 
Dorothy Watkins
Enfield, NC
 
Maezolla Wilkins
Enfield, NC
In Memory of My Daughter Beverly K. Wilkins Stephens
 
Reginald “Reggie” Pender
Dawson Community, Scotland Neck, NC
In Memory of Roscoe Pender & Ella Pender
 
Robert & Brenda Pierce, Jr.
Enfield, NC
 
Bettie Powell
Enfield, NC
 
Shirley A. Johnson
Roanoke Rapids, NC
 
Lula Sledge
Roanoke Rapids, NC
In Memory of Edith Miles

Glenn Silver
Raleigh, NC
 
Ernestine Smith
Tarboro, NC
 
Henry Taylor
Tillery, NC
In Memory of My Beloved Wife Eva Dilly Taylor
 
Charles Tillery
Tillery, NC
 
Hilda Clark Walden
Tillery, NC
In Memory of My Son-In-Law Gerson James Smith

James Walker
Norfolk, VA
In Memory of Uncle Matthew (Matthew Grant)
 
Adell B. Wilson
Enfield, NC
 
 
TILLING THE SOIL   $26.00 TO $50.00
 
Ms. Chevelle Borbago
Philadelphia, PA
In Honor of Cary White, Jr.
 
Clare Donaher
Washington, DC
 
Stuart Foreman
Tillery, NC
IN Memory of My Mother Annie M. Foreman

Flora Lu
Felton, CA
In Honor of Steve Wing
 
Gwendolyn Sumner
Descendent Tillery Farm Unit #100
Crowells Community – Halifax, NC
In Memory of Maggie Crowell

John Smith
New Beginnings Funeral Home
Scotland Neck, NC
 
Southern Bank
Red Oak, NC
 
Cheryl Walden Tillery
Tillery, NC
In Memory of Rufus & Patsy Faulcon Walden
Tillery Farms Unity 56
 
PLANTING SEEDS   $51.00 TO $100.00
Crowells Missionary Baptist Church, Rev. Gregory Evans, Pastor
Crowells Community, Halifax, NC
 
Evangelistic Church of Deliverance, Bishop William Cheek
Weldon, NC
In Memory of Willie Lee Parker & Valerie Cheek Whitaker
 
Ethel Ray Demery
Richmond VA
 
Napoleon & Dalphne Hill
Whitakers, NC
 
Rosalind Jones_Johnson
Yeadon, PA
In Memory of Umphrey “Pat” Tillery and Mazie Hawkins Jones
 
Roy (President of the Open Minded Seniors) & Rosea Jones
Enfield, NC
In memory of My Brother Calvin Jones
 
Deborah A. Eason
Glenarden, MD
In Memory of my Mother Jean Walden Eason

James Parker
Tillery, NC
In Honor of My Father Will Parker and My Sister Lucille Parker Cheeks
Tillery Farms Unit #22
 
 Bruce E. Purvis
Fort Washington, MD
In Memory of All the Persons That Have passed On.
 
Jumangie Shaiquan Smith
Raleigh, NC
In Honor of My Mother Gwendloyn D. Walden Smith
Descendent of Tillery Farms Unit #56
 
William & Ann Smock
Berkeley, CA125
 
Audrey Stanley
Roanoke Rapids, NC
 
Rosa Solomon Stubblefield & Family
Enfield, NC
In Memory of Mr. & Mrs. William Solomon, My Parents
Farmers who struggled through many years raising a family of 10 children on a small farm.  However, whether large or small, it takes seeds to grow.
 
Shirley & Joseph Taylor
Randallstown, MD
In Honor of Laura Foreman
 
Mary E. Tillery
Severn, MD
 
Thelma Carson Watkins
Middletown, DE
In Memory of Geneva Guye Maye & Helen Maye Carson
Aunt & Cousin of Florenza Moore Grant
Tillery Farms Unit #50/51
 
 
CULTIVATING THE CROPS   $101.00 TO $500.00
 
Col. Wardell G. & Helen Marrow Baker
Richmond, VA
In Memory of Parents Booker T. & Ruby Marrow & Brother Billy Ray Marrow
Tillery Farm Unit #76
 
James M. Bass
Bass Repair & Service, Inc.
Scotland Neck, NC
 
Dorothy White Cannon
Willow Grove, PA
In Memory of Almira & Bernard Clark
 
Dorothy White Cannon
Willow Grove, PA
In Memory of Johnnie & Hattie White
 
Faye Cannon Wooten, Karen Cannon Wooten, & Gerome Cannon & Families
In Loving memory of Our Grandmother Elizabeth White Williams
 
Evelyn S. Dawson
Weldon, NC
 
John & Gaby Espenshade
Littleton, NC
 
Gloria J. Jones
Baltimore, MD
In Memory of John Harold & Bertha Williams Tillery
 
Paul Ortiz & Sheila Payne
Gainsville, FL
In Memory of Dr. Leslie Brown
 
Shirley, Stephanie, Zollie, Jr. & Ashley Russell
Chesapeak, VA
In Honor of My Loving Husband & Our Precious Father Zollie Russell, Sr.

Your Children Zollie & Shirley Russell, Sr., Robert, Michael,
William, Jr. & Marie
Virginia and Maryland
In Memory of William & Elvenia Boone Russell
 
Dennis & Janet Whitaker
Crowells Community, Halifax, NC
In Memory of Daniel & Almetia Hedgepeth Whitaker
 
Cary White, Jr.
Scotland Neck, NC
In Memory of Hattie White & Almira Clark
 
 
HARVESTING THE CROPS $501.00 UP

Jacques H. Alexis
Halifax (Tillery), NC
In Loving Memory of My Wonderful Wife C. Erika Alexis
 
The Grant Children – Evangeline, Gary, Gloria, Bruce & Grandchildren
You were our warriors of fortune, indelible love, stewards of the land,
world citizens for justice,
Tillery Farm Unit #50/51
 
Mary Goins Demery & Children
Doris, Mollie, Ricky, Ceric, Harry, Jr., James & Daniel
Enfield, NC
In Memory of Harry Demery, Sr.
 
Leslie Hannon
Greensboro, NC
In honor of my great-great grandfather Isaac Quincy Deal, white sharecropper for John Tillery. Mr. Grant, thank you so much for all your work that you do for CCT. I'm proud to be a part of your organization! This rich African American history must be preserved!!!!

Waymon & Charla S. Hinson
Denison, TX
In Memory & Honor of Matthew & Florenza Moore Grant’s Family Carrying On The Grant Legacy
 
George C. &  Judith O. Parrish
Roanoke Rapids, NC
In Memory of Rep. John D. Hall
and Halifax County Commissioner Horace Johnson, Sr.
 
Fleming & Ernestine Peterson
Crowells Community, Halifax, NC
In Memory of William G. and Etta E. Debrule Staton
(Parents of Ernestine)
Tillery Farms Unit #111
 
The Taylor Children
Addie, Joseph, Jane, Willie, Delesta, Donnie, Doris, Samuel, James E., Daniel
& Grandchildren
In Memory of Our Parents William and Madlin Smith Taylor
And Their Dedication to the Tillery Resettlement Community
Tillery Farms Unit 13

33rd Annual Holiday Fellowship Hour
Celebrating Christmas & Kwanzaa
Monday, December 26, 2016
3:00 – 6:00pm
Tillery Community Center
321 Community Center Road
Tillery (Halifax), NC
 Questions or Clarification Please Call    (252) 826-3017   (252) 826-2234 or E-mail: [email protected]

HOLIDAY FELLOSHIP HOUR
CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS & KWANZAA
Bring a gift valued at no less than $5.00 for the Gift Exchange
Suitable for male or female,
(no name on or in the gift)
HAPPY HANUKKAH
MERRY CHRISTMAS
HAPPY KWANZAA
And a Prosperous, and Successful

The unveiling of a Mural of the New Deal Tillery Farms Resettlement is the highlight and focal point of a special program at the Tillery Community Center “Campus” on Saturday, November 12, 2016 sponsored by the Concerned Citizens of Tillery (CCT).  The unveiling and dedication of the Mural painted by local noted artist Napoleon Hill kicks off a major fundraising effort to repair and save historic structures on the “campus” of the Tillery Community Center, 321 Community Center Road, Halifax (Tillery), NC. These structures built in the mid 1930s have lasted over 80 years with minimum repair.

Starting at 11:00am, CCT’s award winning documentary We Shall Not Be Moved: The Story Of The Tillery Resettlement Community will be shown and a full discussion will follow.

Following the documentary showing, for a contribution of $10.00 one can have a “Healthy Southern Meal” including fried and baked chicken, collard greens, black-eyed peas, potato salad, rice, okra combo, candied yams and many other delicious items. 

The unveiling program of the Mural by local artist Napoleon Hill will begin at 2:00pm with several illustrious speakers.  Starting with Spencer Wood, PhD, an Associate Professor of Sociology at Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS where he has taught since 2007. He has published works broadly ranging on issues of democracy, the sociology of agriculture and food, rural community and development, the sociology of knowledge and science, social inequality, and racial inequality.  Wood will give some major history on the New Deal program of President Roosevelt and the transitioning impact from sharecropper to land owning.

Native North Carolinian Katherine Mellen Charron, PhD is an Associate Professor of History at North Carolina State University. Her M.A. is in Afro-American Studies and her Ph.D. in History is from Yale University. Her teaching and research expertise includes 20th century U.S., African American, southern, and women's history. She is the author of the award winning Freedom's Teacher: The Life of Septima Clark (2009). Dr. Charron will highlight the Early Civil Rights Efforts in Tillery and Halifax County.

Michael Stewart, Jr. was born in New Orleans, LA to Michael and Deborah M. Stewart Sr. He had the pleasure of spending his summers and holidays on his Uncle Sonny’s farm in Tangipahoa Parish, LA throughout his childhood. By middle school, with his God given talent, he would take up the piano and saxophone and would later be accepted at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts under the tootaledge of master teachers Edward and Kent Jordan, and Alvin Baptists.  Having pursued his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Howard University, Michael currently is teaching Political Science at Howard University on a graduate assistantship and writing his dissertation on the Political Impacts of Social Movements. PhD Candidate Mr. Stewart will focus on the Black Farmer Movement around the now historic Pigford vs. Glickman (1998) Class Action by Black farmers with much of its beginning in the Tillery Farms Resettlement.

Evangeline Grant Redding Briley, a second generation resettler, is one of those fascinating multidimensional individuals as a civil rights activist, writer, and humanist, who generates life as the proverbial wall flower or as a high flying Scorpio.  Understanding the racial pathology of the media and the power of self-definition, in 1974 Evangeline entered an entrepreneurial partnership with her brother, Gary R. Grant, by establishing Evan-Redd Productions Inc.  This led to her most notable television work, the award winning Heritage of Hope, financed by a first time grant to an independent company from N C Public Television.  Under the Evan-Redd label, two books were published:  nothing: the mentality of the black woman, used as a resource text in a reported 16 U S colleges and universities, and reviewed in several academic periodicals; and Something Special, by a local Southeast Halifax High School athlete, Anthony Debro. Briley will present on “The Women of the Resettlement.”

This auspicious cultural event promises to be a fantastic program with music by the OMS Chorus, keyboardist Charlie Hill, Jr., special poetry by former Congressman Frank Ballance, Jr., words from the Halifax County Arts Council and the artist himself Napoleon Hill.

The event is open to the public and there is no charge for admission.  CCT expresses great appreciation for the Halifax County Arts Council’s support of this Mural and the event.  Come be a part of this wonderful historic occasion as the CCT Family works to save historic buildings of a bygone era of true Family Farming.  There will be a Special Souvenir program for purchase.  All fundraising will go to protect and restore the historic buildings.

For more information, contact the CCT office at [email protected] or phone 252-826-3017.

SPENCER D. WOOD

Spencer Wood is an Associate Professor of Sociology at Kansas State University where he has taught since 2007. He received his PhD in Sociology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2006 where he minored in American History. He has published works broadly ranging on issues of democracy, the sociology of agriculture and food, rural community and development, the sociology of knowledge and science, social inequality, and racial inequality. He is a life member of the Rural Sociological Society and has a long-standing interest in rural communities. He is finishing a book that explores the links between Black landownership and the civil rights movement in Holmes County, Mississippi. This work was a key conceptual component of the recent documentary, Dirt and Deeds produced by David Schulman that aired on the Smithsonian Channel during the Spring of 2015. In addition, he is coauthoring, with Wayne Goins, a biography of blues legend, Jim O’Neal who stands at the center of the blues revival that began in the late 1960s. Spencer is a national expert on land tenure and especially Black land ownership. He serves on the board of the Black Farmers and Agriculturalists Association and is a member of the Executive Committee of the US Department of Agriculture’s North Central Region-Sustainable Agriculture Research and Education program where he chairs the technical review committee for the Research and Education competitive grants program. He is the Secretary for the Rural Sociological Society and also the new editor for the Society’s Rural Studies Series. At home he enjoys life with his wife Kit and two young boys ages 9 and 11.

​

​MICHAEL STEWART, JR.

Michael Stewart, Jr. was born in New Orleans, LA to Michael and Deborah M. Stewart Sr. He had the pleasure of spending his summers and holidays on his Uncle Sonny’s farm in Tangipahoa Parish, LA throughout his childhood. By middle school, with his God given talent, he would take up the piano and saxophone and would later be accepted at the New Orleans Center for Creative Arts under the tootaledge of master teachers Edward and Kent Jordan, and Alvin Baptists. It was through these two experiences he developed an appreciation for rural and city life understanding that they both had a place. After graduating high school, as its most outstanding graduate, he went on to Washington, D.C. to study at the prestigious Howard University.

While at Howard, Michael earned numerous awards including the Trustee Scholarship, a Ronald E. McNair Fellowship, a Patricia Roberts Harris Fellowship and a Dacor-Bacon House Fellowship. He has studied aboard in South African and completed his senior thesis on economic development through micro-lending in developing countries. Upon graduating magna cum laude as the Most Outstanding Graduate in Economics, Michael was inducted into Phi Beta Kappa and earned dual degrees in Economics and Administration of Justice.

Having been afforded a Housing and Urban Development Graduate Fellowship, Michael decided to stay at Howard University to pursue a master’s degree in public administration and policy. Maintaining the theme of international development, he completed his Master’s these on Foreign Trade Zones as tools for local development. This research led him to realize that there were serious problems in the American economy regarding national growth and production and that trade alone presented a number of limitations. He received his Masters Degree in 2007.

Following this graduation, Michael began to shift his thinking from the international and national economies and began to opine the sources of power and prosperity within the black community. Never forgetting his rural experiences in Louisiana, he looked to agriculture as a source of economic and political development and decided to pursue a PhD to study this issue.

Currently, Michael is teaching Political Science at Howard University on a graduate assistantship and writing his dissertation on the Political Impacts of Social Movements. He is seeking to answer the question of “To what extent was the black farmer movement successful at achieving its objectives of eliminating discrimination at the USDA, seeking damages through the courts, and preventing black land loss?” His hypothesis is that the black farmer movement was marginally successful at achieving its objectives. By studying the movement using Kenneth Andrews' (2003) infrastructure model, his research seeks to demonstrate how unintended consequences of movement outcomes may have subverted its original goals and perhaps accelerated the decline of black farming and rural land ownership. This research looks at black farmer protests, its legal approach, and political system strategies as a repertoire of contention. It focuses on key figures, institutions, events, and organizations in order to build a more complete narrative.

​Michael lives in Southern Maryland with his wife Ann Marie and their son Micah. They are expecting a second son in October 2016.

SAVE THE DATE
Unveiling/Dedication Ceremony of
THE NEW DEAL TILLERY RESETTLEMENT FARM MURAL

Saturday, November 12, 2016
Tillery Community Center
REMEMBERING TILLERY HISTORY HOUSE
(A Project of Concerned Citizens of Tillery)
321 COMMUNITY CENTER ROAD
HALIFAX (Tillery), NC
252-826-3017 or 252-826-2234
 
The mural is painted by noted local artist 
NAPOLEON HILL
 
Participants include:
Spencer Wood, PhD, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS
Katherine Charron, PhD, NC State University, Raleigh, NC
Michael Stewart, PhD Candidate, Howard University, Washington DC
&
Former TV Producer, Author, and Anti-Death Penalty Activist Evangeline Grant Briley, Tillery Resettlement, NC

OTHER INVITED PRESENTERS
Anthony Wilson, News Anchor, WTVD ABC 11
Congressman G. K. Butterfield
NC State Senator Angela Bryant

Tillery, NC – Some members of the Concerned Citizens of Tillery (CCT) and friends traveled to Durham, NC to the Durham Performing Arts Center (DPAC) on Wednesday, March 16, 2016 to see the stage production of The Lion King.  Departing from the Tillery Community Center at 4:00pm and driven by Robert “Bob” Mack on the RRRC Eco-Tour Bus, and prayer for safe journey by CCT board member Doris Taylor Davis, the group made the trip in relatively ease as the traffic was really light until getting into Durham. Arriving just shortly after 6:00pm, everyone, especially the seniors, was happy that the bus could just pull up to the main door at the DPAC and unload.
            The show, based on all who attended, was absolutely fantastic.  From our eldest member ninety two year old Theresa Harvey to our youngest member Jasmine Whitaker, granddaughter to CCT Board member Rose Whitaker and Luther Whitaker, there were thrills, chills, suspense, yells and applauses all through the show.  Those who had a sense of fashion talked about the costuming and all talked about the music, dancing and the actors.  Certainly we cannot forget the tiered stage setting and its changes.  It was just an electrifying event and evening.  While there was much delight, Gary R. Grant, CCT executive director, said, “It was just so thrilling to hear the former Nubian Youth singing the songs during the play.” One of the mothers exclaimed, “I guess they did know all the words.  They wore out two DVD’s of The Lion King” growing up!”
            Former Nubian Youth traveled from Greenville, Winston-Salem, and Greensboro to join their parents and the CCT members for the memorable evening.

​Tillery, NC – On Saturday, March 5, 2015 a group of young women known as the “Ladies On The Go” from the Washington, DC Metropolitan area visited the Remembering Tillery History House.  The group contacted the Concerned Citizens of Tillery to see if the Roanoke River Regional Collaborative (RRRC) Tour Bus would be available and could help them design a tour for Saturday as they would be staying on Lake Gaston.
            Gary R. Grant, CCT executive director and part of the RRRC, worked with the leaders of the group to set up a tour that included the Roanoke Cannel, Historic Halifax, the Remembering Tillery History House, and Sylvan Heights Bird Park.  CCT member Cary White, Jr. was the bus driver and picked the ladies up at 10:00am on Saturday, March 5 from the McDaddy House on Lake Gaston to began the tour.  After touring the Remembering Tillery History House, the ladies dined on real country food at the Edmonds Café & Catering at the Resettlement.  They had nothing but compliments as they were awed over the delicious home cooked meal.
            Their response to the tour was that they had learned a lot about North Carolina and Halifax County history, but the potion at the Remembering Tillery History House was “awesome, enlightening, educational and well worth the trip.”  They also stated, “Your (Gary Grant) expertise and knowledge were awesome. Good history!!!”  They agreed that more people need to know the history of the Tillery Resettlement Farm, and they would certainly spread the word.
            On Tuesday, March 8, 2016 during the weekly meeting of the Open Minded Seniors (OMS), Grant says that ninety-three year old Hazel Battle Hendricks called him over to her table and she said to him, “You had a group of ladies from DC here on Saturday, right?”  Grant responded that was true.  She said, “I know because they went back and were talking about their time in Tillery and the History House and just how nice the bus driver and the host at the History House were.  They told of the film (trailer) they saw with this elderly lady talking about the flood of 1940.”  Then she added, “What they did not know was one of the women they were relating the story to was my daughter.”  Wow! She was excited and so were we that such a connection had been made.
         Margie Carter, a leader of the group stated: "The “Ladies On the Go” travel club, based in the Washington D.C. area, was formed in September 2015 with a group of retired ladies (sisters and friends). We wanted to travel together and fellowship with each other. Then later, other ladies, still employed, wanted to travel with us as well. Since most of us are newly retirees, our mission for now, is to travel, relax, have fun, and enjoy our time on this earth. Our goal is to have quarterly weekend trips, travelling to places within 4 hours drive time of the Washington D.C. area. Every other year, we hope to do a “big” trip that could take us anywhere in the United States, and also include international trips.”   Our recent trip to Lake Gaston was such a blessing being exposed to “our” history at the Tillery History House. We're looking forward to upcoming trips, and expanding our mission with assisting and giving back to our community."
          The Remembering Tillery History House Museum is based on the Tillery Resettlement Farm Era of the 1930’s and '40’s when land, under President FDR’s New Deal, was made available for purchase to landless Black and White sharecroppers.  The Tillery Resettlement Farm was one of fifteen resettlement farm communities across the country for African Americans.  The “colored” Tillery Farms was later consolidated with the white section here in Halifax County and they were known as “Roanoke Farms.” They were so named because of the land being along the Roanoke River. The museum also covers the continued struggles of the African American community of Tillery as it carries on its efforts in fighting for social, economic, educational, environmental, and political justice through the Concerned Citizens of Tillery (CCT) organization.
            Due to current funding, the Remembering Tillery History House is open on Tuesdays from 10:00am until 6:00pm, and at all other times by appointment (including weekends).  Those interested in setting up a tour and learning about the Tillery Resettlement New Deal Farms and the Concerned Citizens of Tillery (CCT) should call the CCT office at 252-826-3017 or e-mail [email protected].  Some information is on the organization’s website at www.cct78.org.