Rising Stars: Meet Al Beatty of Navassa

Today we’d like to introduce you to Al Beatty, President of Cedar Hill/West Bank Heritage Foundation.

Hi Al, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story? Where you started, and how you got to where you are today?
I came to the process of restoring Reaves Chapel through a sense of community need. This historic chapel, built in the mid to late 1800s by formerly enslaved people, had been a fixture of my childhood. This chapel, situated on land donated by Ed Reaves, had long served the Phoenix community, which is now part of Navassa. It was a place of community social gatherings during the Jim Crow era. It served as a spiritual place in our African American community for generations. The ringing of its bell proclaimed special events such as new births or the passing of community members. I grew up participating in Easter Services there. And in 2013– many years after its last active congregation– Reaves Chapel was falling apart. As the abandoned chapel became increasingly unstable, the community started coming together to save it. I am not, and have never been, alone in my commitment to this sacred place.

Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome? Has it been a smooth road? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way? 
To save the chapel, our community formed the Cedar Hill/West Bank Heritage Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization, in 2013. We named the Foundation after the historic Cedar Hill plantation, which enslaved some of the chapel’s original congregants, and for the West Bank of the Cape Fear River, where it originally was located. In establishing this Foundation, we brought our histories, skills, and a shared commitment to this effort. We learned along the way, guided by a higher sense of purpose to shape our work. At first, we struggled to obtain ownership of the church. When our efforts to have the abandoned church donated by its national denominational affiliate failed, some were discouraged and left the effort. A few of us used our own money to keep the effort afloat. But our sense of purpose prevailed. Thanks to many in the broader community and a persistent commitment to our work, we began finding allies in our effort to preserve this historic and sacred place. We were introduced to other community members who ultimately shared our vision and commitment. Partners like the Coastal Land Trust, the Orton Foundation, the Historic Wilmington Foundation, Live Oak Bank, and many personal donors recognized the significance of this place. They wanted to support our effort to save it. The partnership with the Coastal Land Trust started with a “tailgate conversation.” This conversation nurtured our relationship and provided much-needed encouragement as we worked toward the next steps.

In 2019, the Coastal Land Trust secured resources from the Orton Foundation to purchase the property and begin its restoration. And every day, we continue our work. It is an exercise in persistence. Funding is still needed to complete the project. COVID slowed us down. But we kept going; today, the Chapel’s restoration is about 75% completed. When finished, Reaves Chapel will be one of the few restored African American churches of its era in North Carolina and will become a state historic site.

What else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently working?
Reaves Chapel’s restoration is only the beginning of the Cedar Hill/West Bank Foundation’s efforts. The Chapel and its surrounding property are part of the broader Gullah Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor. We will seek to have the Chapel registered on the National Park Services’ National Register of Historic Places. We are restoring the Cedar Hill community cemetery used by Reaves Chapel congregations. We also plan to develop a community park that will recreate the African American experience of our community, including a replica of the Rosenwald Schoolhouse that was located in our community, a shotgun house, and a barn. This area will tell the story of the community’s history and contributions. Many good people have evolved out of this community, and we want to pay tribute to that. The history and significance of our community are too important to do anything less.

Risk-taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts. Can you talk to us about your view on risk-taking? Have you taken major risks? And if so, can you tell us about those risks?
The restoration of the Reaves Chapel has been a personal commitment and community leap of faith. While the Cedar Hill/West Bank Heritage Foundation members brought our professional skill sets, we needed to gain experience in historic preservation projects or construction. We were committed to doing it, and opportunities to learn how they revealed themselves along the way. We also found other community partners and professionals in historic preservation and construction who brought the skills the effort needed. Our partners also took risks. For example, the Coastal Land Trust, which specializes in land conservation, had never purchased a building for preservation. I took this risk to the conservation of Reaves Chapel because of a commitment to the community where I was raised and to which I have now returned. I continue to feel committed to the project and will only give up once it is completed. We are not alone in this effort. We march on, and the number of people personally invested in preserving a piece of our community’s history is steadily growing. It draws people like myself, who come from this community, and many others who support the Cedar Hill/West Bank Heritage Foundation. We invite anyone who cares about this effort to join us. I was a child during the Jim Crow era. I have directly experienced segregation. And I believe that the only way we will survive as people is to come together. My faith calls me to believe that we are all welcome at the table and here to help each other. Faith, commitment, and community service have restored Reaves Chapel and will sustain us moving forward.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chwbheritage.com/

Image Credits
All photos by Alfonso Beatty