WFDD Real People Archive: Growing up in Whiteville, NC

Real People, Real Stories

Growing up in Whiteville, NC

January 16, 2012

In 1952, Mae Piggott moved to Winston-Salem at the request of her boy-friend, Ben, so they could marry and raise a family. But before that, Mae endured the harsh realities of Segregation in the small country town of Whiteville, North Carolina. It’s near Myrtle Beach. In this segment of WFDD’s Real People, Real Stories, this 84-year-old describes to WFDD’s Producer Kathryn Mobley how the lives of Whites and African Americans intertwined in inequality.

Throughout the African American Civil Rights Movement in Winston-Salem, Mae and her husband, Ben, raised four children in East Winston-Salem. She has since buried one son and Ben. But their love and courage continues in the legacy of their 58 grandchildren and great-grandchildren.