A walk along a busy thoroughfare gives people a glimpse into the city’s history.
Markers lining Laney-Walker Boulevard share the stories of the lives of educators, ministers, businesspeople and leaders who shaped the face of not only Augusta’s Black community but the city at large.
On April 14, members of the Augusta African American Historical Society unveiled its 28th marker which was placed in honor of William Wilborn (1877-1966) and rededicated one for the Rev. N.T. Young (1910-2001), which had been damaged in an accident.
Dr. James Carter III spoke about Wilborn, who he and those of his generation, knew as “Mr. Willie.”
“He was a man for all seasons. I had the great privilege of knowing him very well,” he said.
Wilborn started out working for the postal service, one of the first African Americans to do so. He pushed for racial equality on many fronts. He fought the city of Augusta to allow African Americans to get jobs within the city structure.
“He went down there shaking his fist in the man’s face saying, ‘We pay taxes. We deserve a place at the table,’” Carter related.
He also worked to get Black people onto the school board and pushed for the creation of schools such as C.T. Walker and the Weed School. He fought for voting rights and was a pivotal figure in the Augusta Chapter of the NAACP, serving as its president.
When the Savannah River Site was first proposed, he represented the NAACP at a 1951 meeting to promote nondiscrimination and non-segregation.
He became a businessman and invested in the Lenox Theater and Penny Savings Bank, which was founded in 1910.
He served on many boards and committees in his lifetime.
He died “on duty,” Carter said.
On Jan. 1, 1966, at an Emancipation Proclamation service, he collapsed as the document was being read.
Also speaking in honor of Wilborn was the Rev. Melvin Ivey, Augusta Chapter of the NAACP president, who urged people attending the ceremony to carry on Wilborn’s legacy
“One thing I have discovered is there’s a lot of work that has to be done. I cannot go home, sit down and watch “Gunsmoke,’” he said.
Younger people have jobs, families to raise and have obligations that might prevent them from being politically active, but older people can still make an impact, he said.
“You’ve got to do what you can even if it’s behind the scenes. Make a call,” he said.
He urged people to get out and vote in “numbers like we’ve never voted before.”
The second marker was originally placed in 2017 and honored the Rev. Nathaniel T. Young, pastor of Thankful Baptist Church.
He was the “third African American elected to the Richmond County Board of Education he filled that position for 12 years, including a term as vice president. He fought to equalize salaries between black and white educators, urged the Board to hire lunchroom managers in black schools where teachers filled those roles, persuaded the superintendent to allow black principals access to the Board’s business office and lounge, and joined a committee seeking a new high school for blacks, Lucy Laney,” according to his marker.
Corey Rogers, who is the executive director of the Lucy Craft Laney Museum of Black History and Augusta African American Historical Society president, said the goal is to eventually have 50 historical markers.
Charmain Z. Brackett, the publisher of Augusta Good News and Inspiring: Women of Augusta, has covered Augusta’s news for more than 35 years. She’s won multiple Georgia Press Association awards, is the recipient of the 2018 Greater Augusta Arts Council’s media award and was named Augusta Magazine’s best local writer in 2024 and 2025. Reach her at charmain@augustagoodnews.com. Sign up for the newsletter here.
