A Place of Detention
By the spring of 1963, the former polio hospital had closed completely and the site became part of the Greensboro’s struggle for civil rights. In May 1963, thousands of marchers participated in nonviolent demonstrations in an effort to desegregate downtown movie theaters and restaurants. Students took a “Jail, No Bail!” stance, and as a result, Greensboro jails were overwhelmed. Turning to other options, Police detained hundreds of student protesters from North Carolina A&T, Bennett College in the former polio hospital.
1963 Protests
Protesters strategically targeted downtown businesses including S&W, Mayfair, and the Center and Carolina Theaters.
Photograph by Roy Matherly, Staff Photographer, ©News & Record, All Rights Reserved.
The former Central Carolina Convalescent Hospital was repurposed as a makeshift jail that held many protesters, particularly ones from Bennett College. Students faced dismal conditions at the site with inadequate food and blankets. After a short time, A&T students were released. Because it was a private school, Bennett College had no official government backing, so its students remained in confinement at the former hospital for several weeks. Sandra Sharp, who was a junior at Bennett at the time, vividly remembered the horror of the situation
"They were not prepared for us, so there were mattresses in there that were remains of the polio period...There we were, confronted with the virus being in there, and there we were being incarcerated. I thought to myself, ‘That’s just hideous! What a way to treat college kids!’"- Sandra Sharp, a Civil Rights protester and detainee at the polio hospital in 1963
Ultimately, the protests caused the mayor to call for all businesses to desegregate. By the fall of 1963, just a few short months later, a large portion had complied. With this action, the site of the former hospital became a part of Greensboro’s civil rights history, which shaped the movement in the state of North Carolina and beyond
African American women entering old polio hospital being used as jail.
Photograph by News & Record Staff , ©News & Record, All Rights Reserved.
“Unbearable. The girls didn’t have beds.... And they would have to more or less sleep on floors, and restrooms [were] inadequate; food, of course, inadequate. But they were willing to suffer.” - Reverend Otis Hairston, Greensboro community leader