GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A Greensboro golf course is getting a new art installment.
Gillespie Golf Course on Florida Street was infamously known for excluding golfers of color until six Black men came along and challenged the law.
Though Gillespie was city-owned and, at the time, it was illegal for city-owned golf courses to be segregated, the course nonetheless operated as if it were a private facility. It did not allow people of color to play on the course, even though their tax dollars helped to keep it running.
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The start of change at Gillespie began on Dec. 7, 1955. Six men marched into the main office, each left the $0.75 fee on the counter and proceeded to the green to hit some golf balls. They were harassed by one of the golf pros as they played and were ultimately arrested. Their arrests led to years of court battles, and their case eventually made it to the United States Supreme Court.
Exactly seven years to the day after they first walked on the segregated course, Gillespie was integrated on Dec. 7, 1962. The day before it was set to reopen as an integrated course, the clubhouse was burned down, causing significant damage and leaving the course with only nine of its 18 holes.