By Carson Reeher

Special to The Farmville Herald

Members of the community gathered at the Robert Russa Moton Museum on Thursday for a public forum discussing the future of a Civil Rights Walking Tour.

The meeting was inspired by an idea from the Moton Museum, Farmville Downtown Partnership and Longwood University. The entities want to create a walking tour inclusive to the community and that invites town visitors and residents to learn about Farmville’s historical importance.

Dr. John Miller, Downtown Partnership president, and Dr. Larissa Fergeson, the university liaison and interim director of the Moton Museum, led the roundtable-style discussion.

Attendees participated by conversing in small groups about topics relating to the future of the walking tour.

Discussion within the four different groups ranged from identifying locations to be added to the tour route, to important themes to incorporate in the tour narrative and various ways to effectively mark the tour route through town. 

“Representatives from the Moton Museum, Farmville Downtown Partnership and Longwood University are in the preliminary stages of planning a self-guided walking tour that would connect the Moton Museum with historic civil rights sites in downtown Farmville and around the Longwood campus,” states a release from the Farmville Downtown Partnership.

One group spent some time discussing ways the information could be shared with residents and visitors, from putting brochures in hotels to creating pamphlets for parents at elementary schools.

Justin Reid, director of education and public programs for Moton Museum, said that “it’s important for the community to be included in this process because this is a story that’s touched so many lives, and we want to make sure that as many people as possible get to have that input.”

One table’s discussion hinted at the importance of sharing Farmville’s history. “You drive right by your history and you don’t even know it,” Diane Joyner said. “I think it’s an excellent idea, because there’s a lot of history here that’s currently not being told and this is an excellent way to get it told to all that are interested.”

According to information provided at the forum, the tour consists of 34 prospective sites related to civil rights history in Farmville between the years of 1920-1965. 

Those taking the tour would begin at the Moton Museum and follow the route down Main Street, turning down West Third and then left onto North Street to connect to High Street.

The tour concludes with a walk down Griffin Boulevard, where many historic homes and businesses are located. Some of the prospective sites include Eggleston Funeral Home, Lee Theater, the College Shoppe, Jarman Auditorium, Ward’s Store, churches and residences of important figures related to Farmville’s civil rights history.

Miller spoke positively of the event, noting the importance of community input in this project. “We’re going to take this information we have and add it to the layers of our initial thoughts, and then we’re going to start looking at funding opportunities,” he said. “There’s some grant opportunities out there that we’re going to pursue.”

“Planners anticipate that there will be no charge for the tour or costs for the sites potentially associated with the tour,” according to a Farmville Downtown Partnership press release. “Funds for creating interpretive and promotional materials will either be raised by the Farmville Downtown Partnership or obtained through grant applications.”

Preparations for the walking tour are set to continue through the end of summer. Organizers are planning to finalize the walking tour by October, just in time for the vice presidential debate at Longwood.

Those who are interested in sharing their stories, photographs or ideas for the upcoming walking tour are encouraged to contact Fergeson at (434) 395-2776 or emailing fergesonls@longwood.edu.

More public forums will be scheduled in coming months.