Descendants working to keep Dickson County’s ‘Promise Land’ alive
CHARLOTTE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Inside a one-room schoolhouse in Charlotte, Tennessee lies a time in history many tend to forget. Unless you happen to be a woman named Serina Gilbert.
“I grew up being a part of the stories,” Gilbert said.
The photos, and artifacts inside the schoolhouse tell the story of a community called Promise Land.
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“They had their stores, they had churches, and of course, they had this school, the Promise Land school which was the hub of the community,” said Gilbert.
Shortly after the Civil War, freed slaves came to Charlotte where they established the first African American community in Dickson County called Promise Land.
“My great grandfather….he bought property here in 1868,” said Gilbert.
Gilbert comes from a family who settled, learned, and thrived in this community. “It’s just an amazing thing, and it gives you a special feeling to know that you are tied to the roots of the community.”
At its peak, nearly 100 African American families were living in Promise Land. That soon began to change in the early 1900s when droves of African Americans from the South began moving to the North and Midwest as part of the Great Migration.
“So by the 1950s, the middle of 1950s there were less than half of the community still left,” said Gilbert.
By the mid-1980s Gilbert’s mother and five other women were the only ones left.
The schoolhouse and a church next door remained with these women wanting more for this community.
“They told us that they wanted to see it revitalized like it was when they were kids,” said Gilbert. “So we got to thinking about how we could do that.”
Gilbert and other descendants created the Promise Land Community Club, which soon transformed into the Promise Land Heritage Association.
The organization now is working to renovate their last two remaining buildings and continue sharing and preserving the history of the community with others.
The past can still be present here, but Gilbert and others are excited to see what the future holds for Promise Land.
“I want the public, Middle Tennessee…this to be a place that Middle Tennessee says this is where we can get it from the Afro-American perspective,” she said.
The Promise Land Heritage Association will hold its annual Music and Arts festival on Saturday, June 1st. This year’s theme is “Ancestry, Legacy and Creativity.”
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The event will celebrate the songs, music, dance, stories, arts, crafts, and food that reflect African American and Indigenous culture and traditions.
The association is looking for people to participate and showcase their talents at this event.
If you are interested in participating you can contact the association at plhafest@gmail.com or promise707land@gmail.com for an application form.
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