Greensboro's African American Community Newspaper since 1967
Food was served, book bags were distributed and neighbors gathered for conversation on the evening of August 4, as communities across Greensboro celebrated National Night Out (NNO), an annual tradition built around fellowship, neighborhood pride and positive relationships with law enforcement.
From church grounds and neighborhood parks to recreation centers, residents spent the evening getting to know one another while meeting police officers and other city officials outside the circumstances that often bring them together.
Sponsored locally by the Greensboro Police Department, National Night Out is part of a nationwide crime and drug prevention initiative designed to strengthen partnerships between residents and law enforcement while promoting safer, more connected neighborhoods.
At New Zion Missionary Baptist Church on Martin Luther King Jr. Drive, the gathering also reflected the church’s longstanding role as a source of support in the surrounding community.
“I think any activity that galvanizes the community coming together symbolizes the efforts by the churches and the community to come into concert with itself,” said the Rev. Richard Wright, the church’s senior pastor.
Wright noted that National Night Out gives the congregation another opportunity to remind its neighbors that the church’s doors remain open to them.
“This is also an opportunity to evangelize,” Wright said. “Just because we are here, doesn’t mean the community members know that we are here and that they are always welcome here with open arms. This gives an opportunity to bridge that gap.”
That spirit of bridge-building extended to the relationship between residents and police officers, who shared meals, conversations and laughter with community members throughout the evening.
Greensboro City Manager Trey Davis, a former police officer, said National Night Out allows officers to connect with residents they may not otherwise meet under relaxed and positive circumstances.
“National Night Out has always been one of those nights that as a police officer, you really get to engage with the community and meet people that you don’t normally get to meet, in a positive environment,” Davis said. “Now as a city manager, I’m able to come out and see some of those same communities that have been doing it for well over 20 years.”
After visiting several neighborhood celebrations on Tuesday, Davis said the gatherings were about more than city government or conversations about public safety.
“What I see is that National Night Out becomes more than just an event about city government or police concerns,” Davis said. “It really becomes an expression of these individual communities and how they really come together for one another.”
In Benbow Park, residents gathered near a freshly painted basketball court recently dedicated in honor of retired NBA star and Greensboro native Robert “Bob” McAdoo. For longtime residents, the evening offered a chance to reconnect with familiar faces and welcome new ones.
“We want to continue to build and develop our community,” said Sid Evans, president of the Benbow Park Neighborhood Association. “This gives people a chance to really meet that neighbor from two houses down or across the street that they haven’t met yet.”
Evans said many residents grew up in the neighborhood and remain deeply invested in its future. The association works to keep those bonds strong through community meetings, neighborhood cleanups and other opportunities for residents to become involved.
In Woodmere Park, the weather presented a last-minute challenge, but it did not dampen the community’s plans. When rain threatened the outdoor celebration, organizers quickly moved the gathering inside Peeler Recreation Center, where residents continued the evening with food, activities and back-to-school support for local students.
The Khalif Center Temple No. 144 provided book bags filled with school supplies, helping children prepare for the beginning of another academic year.
“Anytime we have the opportunity to give back to the community and support the kids is an important endeavor for us,” said Noble Floyd Smith of Khalif Temple No. 144.
Daughter LaToya Whittaker of the Khalif Court No. 90 said responding to the needs of residents is central to the organization’s mission.
“Whatever the needs of the community are, it is our mission to be a part of servicing that need,” Whittaker said. “And sometimes it’s just about learning who your neighbors are and reenergizing that sense of community that you don’t always get to see.”
For children attending the celebrations, National Night Out also offered a chance to interact with police officers without an emergency, a traffic stop or another difficult situation shaping the encounter.
Officer C.M. Roulhac, a Guilford County Schools resource officer at Weaver Academy, said those informal moments can help young people see the person behind the uniform.
“I’m a school resource officer, so I know a lot of the kids, but it’s great that they get to see us in a different light,” Roulhac said. “They get to see us not working and just having fun with them and the people in the community.”
Across Greensboro, that simple opportunity of sharing food, meeting a neighbor and enjoying time together demonstrates the larger purpose of National Night Out: stronger communities are built through relationships, one conversation at a time.
