A look at the design for Vincent Ballentine’s mural honoring The Greensboro Six. (Courtesy Wyndham)
The legacy of The Greensboro Six
In 1955, one week after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, six Black men led by Dr. George Simkins started a local movement of their own by defiantly playing a round at the whites-only Gillespie Golf Course. They were later arrested, convicted of trespassing and spent 15 days in jail. Seven years and numerous court cases later, their actions led to Gillespie desegregating and later, seeing The Greater Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham Championship) become the first PGA TOUR event in the South to welcome a Black player (Charlie Sifford).
Today, Gillespie is home to First Tee - Central Carolina, a national youth development program using the game of golf to create life-changing opportunities for local youth on and off the course. It also has the distinction of being the first course in North Carolina to offer PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), a national program leveraging golf to enhance the well-being of active-duty military and veterans and is one of the only courses in the Triad catering to players with spinal injuries and disabilities through adaptive equipment and free programs.
