#islaywalden

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Here is the text of the poem written for lady year’s dedication of Strieby as a Literary Landmark in honor of the Rev. Islay Walden, “Blind Poet of North Carolina.” It was written by Strieby community descendant and Santa Barbara Poet Laureate Emerita, Sojourner Kincaid Rolle, “The Afrigeneas Poet.” The Promised Land In Commemoration of Islay Walden We are gathered to consecrate this place To instill and imbue with his memory This place this ground this land We come to lift up the name Islay Walden A man of feeble sight and meager means Bearing the vestiges of enslavement Journeyed in search of betterment Far from mountain roads of his home Wandering the streets with freedmen Heeding the outreach of reformers Vaulted Into the halls of the university Under the tutelage of Christian soldiers Acquired the tools and methods of his calling Driven by his mother’s wish Learned and ordained Never veered from his master plan Never deterred from his soul’s ambition to minister among the freedmen of the South To teach the children of the disinherited That which by unjust law had been denied To build a church on hallowed ground Where all could freely worship To endow this land in perpetuity To fulfill the broken promise Made in waning days of war Land and livestock to every man For centuries held In brutal bondage long denied his own piece of ground We are a village spawned by Islay Walden Named for his benefactor in gratitude Peopled with his kinsmen and their kin A multitude gleaned from these golden hills Bestowed with the promised land This beloved sacred common ground This hallowed place we call our home Bequeathed by our founders Hands joined beneath the tree of life Hearts intertwined in eternal love Our Strieby, a towering symbol of success A monument to the visionary and his legacy The testament to a people in covenant united An everlasting pledge to forever uphold the promise Now and forever, we honor the name islay Walden The AfriGeneas Poet Sojourner Kincaid Rolle Santa Barbara, CA - 2022 #islaywalden #striebychurchnc #literarylandmark #randolphcountync ##blindpoetofnorthcarolina #sojournerkincaidrolle https://www.instagram.com/p/CoNnSd_ppPt/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Had a great afternoon with Dr Pauline Lloyd, Director of the Islay Walden Urban Institute for Education in NJ. She was in the Maryland area on business and we had lunch. Of course we talked about Islay Walden and Strieby among many other topics. #striebychurchnc #islaywalden #randolphcountync #islaywaldenurbaninstitute (at Mamma Lucia of Olney) https://www.instagram.com/p/CrHhxoQMyyP/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Here’s part of a new review of my book, BORN MISSIONARY: The Islay Walden Story. https://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=296346. (See link in bio) #islaywalden #randolphcountync #americanmissionaryassociation #africanamericanhistory #africanamericanministers #africanamericanpoets https://www.instagram.com/p/CqGKnGLpHme/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Article about Islay Walden appeared in the Raleigh News on 27 July 1878. It stated he was promoting his book of poems, Sacred Poems with a Sketch of his Life. It noted that he would be traveling in North Carolina to promote the book and earn money for the next year at New Brunswick Theological Seminary, his last. #islaywalden #randolphcountync #nbts #waldenssacredpoems #raleighnews https://www.instagram.com/p/Co3__aPOoe9/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

I’m here in Greensboro at the 25th Anniversary celebration and Black History Month Conference of the NCAAHGS chapter. It’s been great! #ncaahgs #blackhistorymonth #striebychurchnc #islaywalden #mileslassiter #striebyheritagesite (at Embassy Suites by Hilton Greensboro-Airport) https://www.instagram.com/p/Coh8B93O5T_/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

On this day, 2 February 1884, the Rev. Islay Walden, Pastor of Strieby Congregational Church, missionary and teacher with the American Missionary Association, and “Blind Poet of North Carolina” died in Strieby, Randolph County, North Carolina. He is buried in the Strieby Church Cemetery, part of the Strieby Church, School, and Cemetery Cultural Heritage and Literary Landmark Site, in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina, now a member of the Black Cemetery Network and the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network. #islaywalden #blindpoetofnorthcarolina #striebychurchnc #americanmissionaryassociation #striebyheritagesite #randolphcountync #literarylandmark #culturalheritagesite #blackcemeterynetwork #reconstructioneranationalhistoricnetwork https://www.instagram.com/p/CoJ5F7DudTh/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

What a wonderful way to kick off #blackhistorymonth!!! Here is the official announcement of the addition of Strieby Church,School, and Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site to the Reconstruction Era National Historic Network by the Reconstruction Era National Historical Park!!! #striebychurchnc #striebyheritagesite #randolphcountync #islaywalden #reconstructioneranationalhistoricnetwork #reconstructioneranationalhistoricalpark https://www.instagram.com/p/CoG96cdMfyH/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Having a windy afternoon out here at Good Hope Union United Methodist Church in Silver Spring MD. We’re here for a few more hours so come out and see us! #goodhopeunionumc #mileslassiter #fromhilltowntostrieby #islaywalden #blackauthorsmatter #blackhistorymatters (at Silver Spring, Maryland) https://www.instagram.com/p/CklZKE7LOgw/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Thank you to the many people who participated and attended last week’s Dedication of the Literary Landmark Marker in honor of the Rev. Islay Walden, “Blind Poet of North Carolina,” at Strieby Congregational Church, School, and Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site, Asheboro, Randolph County, NC. #islaywalden #striebychurchnc #randolphcountync #africanamericanpoets #literarylandmark https://www.instagram.com/p/CcbzY1BMh4I/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

It’s official! Last Saturday we dedicated the Literary Landmark marker in honor of the Rev. Islay Walden, “Blind Poet of North Carolina,” at Strieby Congregational Church, School, and Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site, in Asheboro, Randolph County, North Carolina. #literarylandmark #islaywalden #striebychurchnc #randolphcountync #africanamericanpoets #culturalheritagesite https://www.instagram.com/p/CcW_uuPsVBD/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

So on the last night (28) of the #blackfamilychallenge my prompt is #family My three books deal with family. My family, from Randolph County, NC. My first book on Miles Lassiter, was about my 4th great grandfather who was an African American Quaker when he died in 1850. The second, From Hill Town to Strieby, told the story of our church and school, while the third book is a biography of our founding pastor and “Blind Poet of North Carolina,” Islay Walden. #blackhistorymonth #randolphcountync #mileslassiter #blackquakers #striebychurchnc #islaywalden #africanamericanpoets https://www.instagram.com/p/CajLeSkO4f-/?utm_medium=tumblr

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Day 16 of the #blackfamilyhistorychallenge is school most ancestors attended. That would be my mother’s family: Strieby Church School, in the greater Asheboro community of Randolph County, NC. It began in 1880 founded by the Rev. Islay Walden Uber the auspices of the American Missionary Association (AMA). The school and church were originally known as Promised Land. The school was called Promised Land Academy. The school served the African American communities in Lassiter Mill and Hill Town where almost all of my maternal ancestors lived. In 1883, Rev. Walden petitioned to have a postal station in the community and asked that the post office be called, “Strieby.” Thus Hill Town and the Lassiter Mill areas became known as “Strieby.” The school continued until the early 1920s when it was consolidated with 2 other schools for African Americans in a period of local public school consolidation. School was held originally in the original church building pictured here just before it was razed after being condemned for safety issues. The bricks pictured were for the new building. In the 1890s a separate schoolhouse was built but no longer exists. My second book, From Hill Town to Strieby: Education and the American Missionary Association in the Uwharrie “Back Country” of Randolph County, North Carolina (2016), chronicles the educational achievements of the school. In 2014, the church property was designated a Cultural Heritage Site by Randolph County: Strieby Congregational Church, School, and Cemetery Cultural Heritage Site. #blackhistorymonth #striebyschoolnc #striebyculturaheritagesite #randolphcountync #striebychurchnc #islaywalden #americanmissionaryassociation https://www.instagram.com/p/CaEbT14LrU4/?utm_medium=tumblr

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Day 2 of the #blackhistorymonthchallenge is family church. This was my mother’s family’s family church, Strieby Congregational Church in Asheboro, Randolph County, NC. It was founded in 1879 by the Rev Islay Walden, who was also a poet. The church property is a Cultural Heritage Site and Literary Lanfmsrk in honor of Rev Islay Walden who is buried in the cemetery. #striebychurchnc #randolphcountync #islaywalden #literarylandmark #blackhistorymonth https://www.instagram.com/p/CZd9kURLIBh/?utm_medium=tumblr

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

Due to Covid, we have moved this event from February to April 9, at 2:00 PM, at Strieby Church. #islaywalden #striebychurchnc #randolphcountync #africanamericanpoets #literarylandmark #culturalheritagesite https://www.instagram.com/p/CYx2vkPr4c6/?utm_medium=tumblr

[perfectalpacacollector-f543cd03]

While the card is dated 4 August, it appeared in the 7 August Brooklyn Eagle (NY) newspaper. Islay was complaining about his mistreatment by someone who was a minister, but whom he felt was not up to the task. He reminds us that people who are half educated is “the most dangerous man to put in public trust.” We would do well to heed his words. I noted that he stated he had been on a school excursion to Iona Island in NY. I’ve never heard of Iona Island. It is near and considered part of Bear Mountain State Park, which I have visited on several school trips. It is a very popular school excursion destination. Iona Island is part of a Natural wildlife preserve and is a bird sanctuary. #islaywalden #brooklyneagle #ionaisland #ionaislandbirdsanctuary #bearmountainstatepark #randolphcountync https://www.instagram.com/margoleewilliams/p/CXF3pHWLjQV/?utm_medium=tumblr