Chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners Skip Alston is unquestionably the most powerful political figure in Guilford County: If you want county government to do something, he’s the first and last person you need to convince.
He also has an extremely interesting life story and now his bio and his popularity have drawn national attention – his life is being studied and recorded for future generations and will be preserved in the Library of Congress.
Recently, Alston was contacted by The History Makers – a national non-profit research and educational institution that has created and maintains the nation’s largest African American video oral history archive.
In 2014, the Library of Congress became the group’s permanent repository.
The History Makers Collection represents the only large-scale attempt to record the black experience since the 1930s, when the Works Progress Administration (WPA) Slave Narratives program attempted to do something similar.
Alston said this week that, when he was first contacted by the group, who told him they wanted to record and preserve his history, he didn’t know what to think.
“I hadn’t heard of them,” he said, adding that the more he read about the organization, the more honored he felt.
Some other prominent blacks who‘ve given oral histories and been preserved by the organization include General Colin Powell, actor Harry Belafonte, Motown founder Berry Gordy and comedian Whoopi Goldberg, to name just a few.
“I was really honored,” Alston said. “I agreed to an interview and they brought a team in to conduct and record it.”
Initially told it would take about four hours, it ran longer.
“They interviewed me for about five and a half hours,” Alston said.
Alston, who grew up in Durham, has had a profound and enduring influence on the state of North Carolina and Guilford County. He was the first black chairman of the Guilford County Board of Commissioners and the driving force behind the long process of preserving the Woolworth’s Building in downtown Greensboro – the site where the 1960 Sit-in Movement began. The building is now the International Civil Rights Center and Museum.
Alston also single handedly established a Martin Luther King. Jr. Parade in Greensboro,.
He has run several successful businesses – from a real estate company to a hot dog restaurant – and he has now been chairman of the Board of Commissioners nine times.
He has also served as the president of both the state and local branches of the NAACP.
According to a statement from the. History Makers, “Our mission is to educate and to better document the vastness of the Black experience. We have interviewed over 3,400 African American leaders across a variety of disciplines – including the arts, business, civic engagement, education, entertainment, law, the media, medicine, STEM, the military, music, politics, religion, sports, and fashion and beauty – in over 450 U.S. cities and towns.”
The History Makers Digital Archive offers users the first-person accounts via computers and smartphones 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from anywhere in the world.
The digital repository for the Black Experience can be found at www.thehistorymakers.org).
No matter your thoughts on Skip and his politics you must admit he has been an influence on Guilford County as well as the state and because of that the nation. Though Skip and I often disagreed, he was always a professional in the way he handled our disagreements, for that I always respected him. He deserves this honor, he is a force to be reckoned with.
BJ Barnes, I felt your comments about Skip Alston were very professional. Your reply to TermLimits was point on. Please know I would be one to often disagree with most of the County Commissioners as well as the Mayor and the City Council. The tax payers are suffering because of their way of running our City and County. I was born and raised here, left for several years because of my husband being in the military. After retiring we chose to come here, I now regret that decision, and that’s a shame.
Good luck to him!
A well deserved accolade (and he’s not at all on my page politically).
He’ll be remembered for his Spendthrift ways with taxpayers dollars by most of us.
Unlike the previous Boards of Commissioners before him, Skip opted NOT to reduce tax rates to remain revenue neutral and EVERYONE’s taxes exploded exponentially. Cannot forgive that. And he is solely responsible, no doubt. He rules the county with an iron hand.
Personally, I’ve found him to be the laziest of politicians. And that has caused a trickle down effect.
Congratulations Chairman Alston! It is a great privilege to be able to tell your story. It’s yours and you’re sticking to it. It certainly keeps Greensboro and Guilford County also in the spotlight for Black history and legacies.
WHY? I guess being underhanded pays off.
The one word that I would use to describe Skip Alston is clever in a deceiving sort of way. That’s why BJ Barnes views Alston as “professional” while dealing with him.” You were being duped, BJ.
No Term Limits , whoever you are, I and everyone who knows Ship knows he knows the secret to politics is being able to count your votes. Skip doesn’t go into a vote without the prevailing numbers. You may not like it, but you have to respect it.
Yes, he does know politics. It’s called deceit, pressure, and subtle expression of intentions to get the votes he needs to count. I do not respect any politician who engages in the tactics described. What tactic did Alston use to get commissioners to vote for the property tax increase? Yes, the votes were counted but who really lost the vote count? Guilford County property owners. By the way, BJ, you do not need to know “whoever I am.” My opinion matters the same as yours.
I’ll take Billy Yow for a friend over Skip any day at least with Mr. Yow yo never have to worry about getting screwed, not so much with Skip Billy Yows contract is a handshake skips involves layers of lawyers and a bunch of mwbe bullsh&&
Polys & bureaucrats love power, and the money that comes with it.