This Columbus woman’s virtual version of Kinfolks’ Corner amplifies Black experiences
Sherricka Day wants you to know these Columbus stories — stories of Black residents long gone who went without the recognition they deserved and those still among us who deserve some praise.
Her account, Kinfolx Co., features blurbs, photos and tidbits recalling the Black experience in the city both past and present on Facebook and Instagram.
Her site gets its name from the physical Kinfolks’ Corner, once a stretch of Front Avenue between 9th and 11th Street where Black residents from Columbus and neighboring Alabama counties gathered for entertainment, shopping and swapping stories.
“I feel like it’s time to kind of resurrect that vibe and really get back to our roots and having conversations and congregating in a positive way,” she told the Ledger-Enquirer.
How Kinfolx got its start
Day’s fascination with history can be traced back to her Army father. She moved with her family to Columbus just before she started the sixth grade.
But Day credits conversations about Kinfolks’ Corner during her work on a recent project for the Columbus Museum and time on lockdown during the COVID-19 pandemic with inspiring her to start the website.
Posts typically involve a person, place or thing related to Columbus. Some touch broadly on the Black experience in America, and Day said conversations around events or just general curiosity spurs the topics.
Day’s first entries date back to the start of Black History Month in February, and one of her recent posts tells the story of Alfonso Biggs, a teacher and cotton mill worker turned chef who catered meals for five Fort Benning generals and three U.S. Presidents — Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry Truman and Dwight Eisenhower.
Biggs was also an avid collector of Black history artifacts and antiques. Columbus State University houses his collection.
Another retells the tragic 1896 lynching of Jesse Slayton and Will Miles on Broadway by a vigilante mob. Both men had been accused of assaulting white women.
“It really is about teaching people and educating people and not shying away from some of the subjects that, unfortunately, are just painful,” she said about Kinfolx. “Our past is not pretty but, hopefully, that’s our past. We’ve seen things that happened in the last few years that have caused us all to kind of stop and look at society and things and how we deal with each other.
“We have to have these conversations.”
Day’s page also gives folks a place to reminisce about their pasts. A late February entry on Carver Heights garnered a lot of reactions for the new page. The subdivision was the first African American suburb built in Columbus after WWII, and it was marketed to Black military personnel and veterans.
Facebook users left comments about their grandparents who once lived in the neighborhood. Another recalled the pick-up football games the neighborhood children used to play back in the day.
“That was one post that kind of touched me,” she said.
What’s next for Kinfolx?
Day hopes Kinfolx attracts a national and international audience and puts Columbus on the map.
“We have a lot of people from here that you know, I’m just not sure that they get either the recognition or the praise that they deserve. A lot of them obviously are from our past, but we have people present and even everyday people that are doing things that I just think should be celebrated while they’re here.”
While the page celebrates the Black History and culture of Columbus, it’s a place for everyone to interact, she said.
“All of the places and people, you know, that have shaped Columbus, whether they are black or not has had an impact on all of us,” she said. “I just want people to have an open mind when they’re reading and looking over or sharing a post to know that it’s for everybody. And it’s a welcoming (place.)“
This story was originally published June 19, 2021 at 7:00 AM.