The Name
The Swann Fellowship was named for Darius and Vera Swann, who on behalf of their son James became the lead plaintiffs in Swann vs. Mecklenburg in the 1960s. Darius Swann was the first African American Presbyterian missionary ever assigned outside of Africa. The family’s experiences in India led them to appreciate the value of an integrated society for human development. Rev. Swann died March March 8, 2020 in Centreville, Va.. His Washington Post obituary is here.
The Vision
We will be a prophetic voice for inclusive public schools where all Charlotte-Mecklenburg children reach their potential.
The Mission
The mission of the Swann Fellowship is: to challenge the people of Charlotte-Mecklenburg to demand, sustain and send their children to a quality, equitable, integrated public school system; to inform and educate all people on that task; to provide forums for dialogue about diversity, excellence and equity; and to collaborate with other groups.
The Background
Formed in 1997 by members of several Charlotte religious congregations, the Fellowship focuses on being a witness to the value of diversity, and educating the public on public school issues as they relate to this and allied subjects. The Swann Fellowship is a nonprofit organization exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code (EIN 56-2106776). Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-888-830-4989. The license is not an endorsement by the state.
Board of Directors
The Fellowship has a Board of Directors of no more than 20 members. Prior to the creation of the nonprofit organization in 1999, board membership was informal and often shortterm.
As of July 2015, there were seven members: John R. (Mickey) Aberman, Charles Haywood Bush, Jim Henderlite, Araminta Johnston, Steve Johnston, Leonard R. Jones and Justin Perry.
Board Members over time
Mickey Aberman, 2005-present
Carolyn Allred, 2005-2008
John Andrews, 1997-2005
Frandetta “Moon” Barnes, 2003-2006
Paul Bonner, 1997
Ann Bradley, 1997-1998
Curt Bradley, 2004-2006
Jeanne Brayboy, 1997-2003
Charles Bush, 2009-present
Lucy Bush Carter, 1997-2006
John Crawford, 1997
Barbara W. Davis, 1998-2004
B.B. DeLaine, 1997-2007
Ann Elliot, 1997-1998
Jack Field, 1997
Vinnie Frisina, 2007-2008
Lewis Guignard, 2007
Bob Hanes, 1997-2003
William U. Harris, 2003
Jim Henderlite, 2006-2017
Lynn Huber, 1998-1999
Kitty Huffman, 1997
Araminta Johnston, 1997-present
Stephen T. Johnston, 2005-present
Deacon Jones, 2001-2017
Rev. Richard C. Little, 2003-2004
Pam Mange, 1998-1999
Richard McElrath, 2006-2009
Mary Nell McPherson, 1997-2000
John Minter, 2004-2005
Norman Mitchell, 1998-1999
Nancy Mosley, 1997-1998
Justin Perry, 2015-present
Ginny Rosenberg, 1998-2002
Damon Sams, 2008-2009
Kevin Strawn, 1997
Tom Tate, 2005
Charles Thomas, 2005
D.E. Thompson, 2005-2007
Marie Watkins, 2000
Reba Whaley, 2000-2001
Joe I. White, 1998-1999
Mildred Wright, 1998-1999
Contact Information
The Swann Fellowship, 1510 E.7th St., Charlotte, NC 28204.
Website’s history
The Fellowship’s first website, at educateclt.org, was put up in early 2001. It was designed as an online filing cabinet for PDF files of the weekly editions of Educate!. The site allowed nonsubscribers easy access to the editions. The Wayback Machine, a nonprofit archive of websites over time, first scanned the educateclt.org site in June 3, 2002. The 2005 scan here is typical. After suspension of Educate! publication in September 2005, the site was used intermittently to post some material, but there was no online archive. An example of how it was used is from April 24, 2006. The educateclt.org site was taken down in December 2006.
Construction of the Fellowship’s second website was under way in June 2006 at the swannfellowship.org address. It was first visited by the Wayback Machine on July 27, 2009, but entries in the archive began in December 2006.
This third Fellowship website is constructed in WordPress format to make it more user-friendly for smartphone users. Material from the 2006 html site was transferred into WordPress in February 2016. Internet links in the html material that had gone bad by February 2016 were fixed or deleted during the conversion.