2023 24 Black Pages FINAL 2 - Flipbook - Page 110
In a conversation about the heyday of Greenwood Bottom, Collier fondly relived what it was
like to walk its streets. “This was the place to be. It was hopping. The sense of community was
real and could be seen and felt in how the people that lived and worked in Greenwood Bottom
supported each other,” he said. “As a spot that brought Black people together, it’s deserving.”
Greenwood Bottom Comeback
While the bustle of Greenwood Bottom succumbed to access to White establishments and the
disbursement of its Black residents and businesses following integration, its comeback is in the
works. Weston Stroud of Macon has led the charge
in recent years to make Greenwood Bottom matter
more.
Stroud began his crusade to reopen the Roxy
Theatre while still employed with the Macon Transit
Authority. Following extensive research and
guidance given to him by members of Greater Turner
Tabernacle AME Church, and remaining business
owners and residents, he found funding to fuel the
theatre’s resurgence.
He describes the Roxy as a prolific epicenter of
Greenwood Bottom where Black people galvanized
their history. “It’s the last local cultural icon that Black
people made relevant. It’s Greenwood Bottom’s
calling card. I’m hopeful that it will reopen and be a
thriving entity again,” he added. Historic Macon
Foundation caught Stroud’s vision and added it to its
Fading Five list in the summer 2020 heightening local interest and the theatre’s significance as a
historic landmark.
The Roxy’s revival is in a holding pattern because of litigation and private ownership. But
Stroud’s commitment to Greenwood Bottom expanded beyond the theatre and resulted in him
securing a $38,000 Downtown Challenge grant to turn it around. It is changing the landscape in
the form of enhancement projects including a mural, and more financial resources for Greenwood
Bottom business owners and the community’s neighborhood association.
Stroud said the grant is an important shift in power. “I didn’t want to be power broker but to
give access to the people of Greenwood Bottom,” he says. “The beauty of Greenwood Bottom is
that it’s a homage to the history of our people here in Macon and beyond. It exists because of the
original and current residents and business owners believing and investing in themselves.”
Nowhere in Greenwood Bottom is this more evident than at Harrell’s and Son’s Barbershop.
Founded in 1965, it never shut down or relocated thanks to the founder’s son and his grandsons
Brandon Harris and Daude Harrell.
The first cousins dug in and put their money where their mouths are through investing in the
area. Besides keeping their grandfather’s establishment not just surviving but thriving, they have
a boxing center and retail plaza next door. Harrell runs the boxing center. Harris launched
Greenwood Bottom Shopping Plaza in November 2021 that includes a storefront housing his
clothing brand. An expansion of the plaza is in the works.
The 38-year-old father of four says he is always aspired towards Greenwood Bottom,
becoming what it once was and potentially will be again – a relevant and important extension of
the downtown business scene and modern manifestation of Black dollar power.
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