A woman who helped shape the lives of young people in her community was recognized more than 20 years after her death with a historical marker erected outside of her longtime home in New Bern.
Lauretta Bryant Smith was a 1925 graduate of West Street High School in New Bern, which was an all-black school that operated during segregation. She was also an accomplished musician and composer and wrote the music and lyrics for the school’s alma mater. After the years-long fight for desegregation, West Street High integrated in 1970 and became known as J.T. Barber High School.
Historian and archivist Linda Simmons-Henry said that love of music also carried over into Smith’s faith, and, “She was a musician at ... Saint Peters is one of the oldest churches in the community... Saint Peters AME Zion Church for 60 years.”
Among her many accomplishments, Smith was a charter member of the first Greek sorority for African American women in the nation; the Theta Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha was founded at Howard University in 1908.
"She's a charter member of the sorority here in the community," Simmons-Henry said, "And she played a vital role in terms of getting it started and making sure it is what it is today.”
Smith taught English, Latin and music for many years in Craven and Jones County schools, served on the Craven Community College Board of Directors and was a civic activist in the Craven County NAACP.
She was also the first African American woman to serve on the Public Radio East Foundation Board of Directors.
The new historical marker stands outside the modest brick home where Smith and her family lived, at the corner of Guion and Bern Streets – across from Greenwood Cemetery, where she was laid to rest after her death in 2000. It was organized and funded by the JT Barber Alumni Association and the Theta Beta Omega chapter of the AKA sorority in New Bern.
