Jan. 4, 2022

Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum.

Facilitators this morning announced their November decision to re-brand the community group that’s been known over the years as a club and a forum but chiefly as the place where one strong woman insisted that people could get along and, by golly, they would get along whenever she was in the room.

In her response to the tributes from Forum participants, co-founder Sarah Stevenson credited former Charlotte Mayor Harvey Gantt with suggesting that her name be permanently attached to the Forum.

As if to prove that nothing had or would change at the Forum, the group went into overtime after the renaming event to have an unplanned discussion of  the day’s reopening of public schools and the myriad issues facing students, teachers and the wider community in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. Material on that conversation is here.

A QCityMetro report on the name change is here. (Archived PDF here.)

Below the video are comments from the day’s chat box that relate to the renaming presentation, and some comments after the meeting.

 

Comments during the meeting

The chat box included these comments about Sarah Stevenson, the renaming of the Forum, and the website’s graphics:

Tonya: So glad to hear Miss Sarah!!!

Lisa Ellsworth: What a beautiful new logo!

Annetta Foard: Love the logo and Ms. Sarah  ❤️

Larken Egleston: It looks amazing! … A well deserved honor for Ms Sarah

Jennifer Fleet: Beautiful picture of Ms. Sarah

Matt Newton: What a wonderful way to ring in the new year!

Maddy Baer: You are all awesome!!! Thank you for all you do. Good to hear your voice, Ms. Sarah.

Fran Cook-Mahood: We have been blessed! Thank you.

Phyllis Perry: Ms. Sarah! So beautiful and inspiring.

Maddy Baer: I cannot count the number of times I have cited the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum as an example of the CIVILITY that is possible and needed today. Thank you Ms. Sarah and all the elders.

Phyllis Perry: What a wonderful tribute to Ms. Sarah! Have a blessed day everyone.

Ericka Ellis-Stewart: Thank you Natheley, Mary, Laura, Jackie, Winston, and Steve for keeping this going. Beautiful to have Ms. Sarah’s presence through voice and song this morning – what a BLESSING!

Comments after the meeting

The following comments were sent in in response to the name change.:

Amelia Stinson-Wesley: I love this SO very much. I am just delighted that the Forum now bears Sarah Stevenson’s name. What a fitting tribute, what an amazing woman, what a wonderful community resource the Sarah Stevenson Tuesday Forum is!

I always point new residents and rising leaders to the Forum, saying that the information that is shared there makes me a better informed resident and a well-connected member of the community.

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Ken Koontz: Sooooo, she outlived virtually each of the “co-founders” and thus, perhaps by default, the Forum is branded with her name even if historically she was NOT an original founder NOR part of its original conception? That’s real “brilliance” and another prime example of how actual black history and culture can and likely is often distorted. Of all people, Harvey Gantt should know better.

Another example of how major, impactful players can be left out of due kudos for recognition for creating or otherwise significant participation and/or responsibility for something. Seems to me that Charlotte is wrought with disregard for historic accuracy, recognition and/or preservation. Kudos to Sarah for longevity and dedication to leadership and stability in conserving and facilitating The Tuesday Morning Breakfast Forum. RIP Phyllis Lynch, Mary Harper, the Huntley children and so many other unnamed and forgotten.

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Nancy Carter: Dear and Cherished Friends: What thrilling news about the Forum!!!  Thank you all for this perfect gift to Ms. Sarah!!!  So wish I could have been there.