“I was in Barrett’s Drugstore on the corner of Howard and Washington streets just a block from the theater one day. Garrard Barrett, the owner, and I were discussing the theater situation and agreeing that the city should try to do something to stop it, but Garrard said he did not dare speak out and that other businessmen felt the same way because he was afraid his store would be boycotted. The only move that ever brought it to a stop was when a group of local industry heads held a meeting in the auditorium at the City Hall and gave the Mayor an ultimatum that they would move their factories out of Greenwood if something was not done to stop it.

“Of course [Mayor Charles] Sampson and [Hardy] Lott and some who agreed with them wanted the theater to close so they could point to it as a victim of integration. It never did recover from the summer of ’64 and finally closed. The city decided to tear it down and put a parking lot there. Many people agreed that it could have been saved. It had been built in 1942 and was a very nice theater with large sepia murals of local scenes in the lobby.”