Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
130 years of history came crashing down on Monday, Nov. 4th, as the Wilmington Journal building at 412 S. Seventh Street was torn down. Oddly enough, the demolition contractor was delayed from tearing the building down, because his construction trailer was vandalized.
The Journal building had withstood a 1973 bombing and being ravaged by two hurricanes before it bowed to the elements. Throughout its history the building was the headquarters for free speech, and community activism on behalf of Wilmington’s African American community.
T.C. Jervay Sr., late Editor/Publisher, penned a community focused column, “Once-A-Week with Tom Jervay,” which voiced the ebb and flow of Wilmington’s Black Community from The Journal building. Mr. Jervay was also a stalwart in the Wilmington Ten’s activism, which urged change in the town’s public school system. That involvement ignited a series of dark chapters in Wilmington’s history where The Journal building was bombed, and Dr. Ben Chavis, and the others involved with the Wilmington Ten got jail sentences for their activism.
In the ensuing years the Wilmington Ten were pardoned by Gov. Beverly Perdue thanks to the diligent efforts of Mr. Jervay’s daughter, the late Mary Alice Jervay Thatch. Mrs. Thatch was able to mount a petition drive, and garner national attention to the Wilmington Ten’s plight, which ultimately resulted in their pardons.
A successful effort was made in 2021 to rescue The Journal building from being taken by the State of North Carolina. A community Telethon raised $95,000, which saved the building at that point. However, conservative estimates placed the cost of restoring the building well above $500,000, which continued to leave it in a state of continuing decay.
On July 29, 2024 The City of Wilmington called for the demolition of the building due to unsafe conditions. The current owners of The Journal building had no choice, but to comply with the city’s directive. Various other costs beyond the demolition cost contributed to further delays. Finally, the building’s owners got to a point where all parties were on board with the demolition.
Now with no building, what does the next chapter in the existence of the Wilmington Journal look like? Robin Thatch Johnson said, “We are interested in rebuilding, and are carrying the publication of The Wilmington Journal on.” However, there are a number of questions that still loom after the building’s demise. Why were there no hurricane damage funds forthcoming? What happened to the New Hanover Endowment Funds’ interest in saving The Journal building?
These are only two questions that persist in the wake of the building’s demise. Also, why did a building designated as a Historic Site meet such an untimely end?
Now there are two empty lots on South 7th Street. One where Alex Manly’s Daily Record was burned to the ground, a casualty of the 1898 Massacre, and now the Wilmington Journal building, a victim of demolition. With its demise, what tangible evidence is there left of the institution committed to freedom of speech, freedom of press, and independent thought? Avenues which here-to-fore were routes to Wilmington’s African American community’s progressive future.
