William Blackstone Windsor (1879-1932)

William Blackstone Windsor (1879-1932) was a noted African American educator, born in Reidsville, NC, the son of a Rockingham County teacher named George A. Windsor.

Windsor earned an A.B. (1899) and A.M. degrees from Bennett College, where he was active in student organizations such as the Y.M.C.A, of which he served as president in 1897.
Bennett was then a co-educational institution that educated men and women as teachers.

No later than 1902, he became a teacher in Greensboro. For many years, Windsor was principal of the Warnersville Graded School (also known as the Colored School No. 2); later, he was named superintendent of all Negro schools in Greensboro. Windsor also acted as head of Bennett College in 1916, and served on Bennett’s Board of Trustees during the 1910s and 20's.

Windsor was also involved in the establishment of Greensboro’s Carnegie Negro Library, and edited an African American newspaper called the Greensboro Herald.

The Windsor Community Center (opened in 1937) was name after Mr. William Blackstone Windsor.

Windsor played an important role as an early activist in efforts to challenge racial segregation in Greensboro.

In 1914, he bought a house in a white neighborhood on Gorrell Street and defied the unwritten “color line” in Greensboro.

Windsor was offered a substantial amount of money not to move into his house. When he refused, the city commissioners passed a segregation ordinance that forced him to sell his house.

Tragically, Windsor died in 1932 when he was struck by a car while crossing Market Street.

The Windsor Community Center opened in 1937 and was named for William Blackstone Windsor. The facility was built on Gorrell Street, a place he was not allowed to live.

Source: https://quepasamedia.com/.../sabes-por-quien-recibe-su.../

Source: Gateway - Triad Digital History Collections