As part of the America 250 celebration, the City of Winston-Salem and the Forsyth County Historic Resources Commission cordially invite the public to attend the unveiling of the latest addition to the NC Civil Rights Trail on Saturday, May 30, 2026, at 3 p.m. at the YWCA Best Choice Learning Center, 1031 Highland Avenue.
The marker installation is in conjunction with a state-wide effort to physically mark sites critical to the Civil Rights Movement.
This historic marker commemorates the 1914 State Supreme Court decision in State v. Darnell, a landmark ruling that curtailed cities' power to enforce residential segregation. The marker is provided by the NC African American Heritage Commission, with support from the NC Office of Archives & History, Visit NC, and the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.
In 1914, the North Carolina Supreme Court's decision in State v. Darnell struck down Winston's residential segregation ordinance, marking a significant early civil rights victory. The case began after Black tobacco worker William Darnell and his wife, Lillie, moved into a home on Highland Avenue in a predominantly white neighborhood and were charged with violating a city ordinance that restricted where Black and white residents could live. After lower courts found Darnell guilty, the state Supreme Court ruled the city lacked authority to enforce the ordinance. The decision invalidated similar segregation ordinances elsewhere in North Carolina and drew national attention as an early legal challenge to Jim Crow-era housing restrictions.
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