As a co-sponsor of the Wyndham Championship, Travel + Leisure Co. made a long-term commitment to not only host a world-class golf tournament, but to support the host city Greensboro, N.C., as well.
While we are always excited to make Greensboro our home for one week a year, we are committed to making a difference here for the rest of the year as well. That’s one reason why the company chose to help amplify the story of the Greensboro Six – the gentlemen who helped forge the path to desegregate golf in the U.S.
The company helped sponsor the creation of a mural at First Tee – Central Carolina, to honor their sacrifice, and a short documentary movie directed by Eternal Polk to tell the story.
The Legacy of The Greensboro Six
In 1955, one week after Rosa Parks was arrested for refusing to give up her seat on a Montgomery bus, six Black men led by Dr. George Simkins started a local movement of their own by defiantly playing a round at the whites-only Gillespie Golf Course. They were later arrested, convicted of trespassing and spent 15 days in jail. Seven years and numerous court cases later, their actions led to Gillespie desegregating and later, seeing The Greater Greensboro Open (now the Wyndham Championship) become the first PGA TOUR event in the South to welcome a Black player (Charlie Sifford).
Today, Gillespie is home to First Tee – Central Carolina, a national youth development program using the game of golf to create life-changing opportunities for local youth on and off the course. It also has the distinction of being the first course in North Carolina to offer PGA HOPE (Helping Our Patriots Everywhere), a national program leveraging golf to enhance the wellbeing of active-duty military and veterans and is one of the only courses in the Triad catering to players with spinal injuries and disabilities through adaptive equipment and free programs.
To learn more about the Greensboro Six Mural Project at Gillespie Golf Course, visit FirstTeeCentralCarolina.org/Mural-Project.
Travel + Leisure Co. Chief Human Resources Officer Kimberly Marshall (left), with mural artist Vincent Ballentine (center), and Wyndham Hotels & Resorts CHRO Monica Melancon (right).