Clark Memorial Foundation seeks eligibility to the national register of historic places

Below, is the narrative we have prepared for our Determination of Eligibility for the National Register Of Historic Places.   We strongly believe in this action and are ready to defend it.   We believe we have the documentation to prove every sentence, and thus we are moving forward with this request.

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Historic Narrative
The Clark Historic Landmark Site, located at 252 LaFayette Highway in Roanoke, Randolph County, Alabama, embodies more than a century of architectural survival and a half-century of civil rights history. The building itself, constructed over 100 years ago, was inherited by Hattie Lee Peters Clark and became the foundation for the entrepreneurial vision of her husband, Wilkie Clark.

In the late 1960s, when Wilkie Clark sought to establish his funeral home, he encountered significant resistance — not from white neighbors, but from within his own African American community. Many of the protestors were church-going neighbors, some from the very congregation the Clarks attended, who opposed the presence of a funeral home in their neighborhood. Their objections reflected longstanding cultural fears and stigma surrounding death, as well as social divisions that often shaped Black life in the mid-20th century South.

Because of this opposition, Clark was forced by zoning pressures to physically relocate the structure. The century-old building was literally cut in half and moved several hundred yards to its present site along LaFayette Highway, where it opened as Clark Funeral Home in 1969. From that moment forward, the property stood not only as a place of business but as a center of Black economic independence and social activism.

Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Clark Funeral Home became known as the “Un-Official Home Of The Civil Rights Movement” in Roanoke and Randolph County. It provided a safe space for organizing, a platform for civic leadership, and a tangible symbol of resilience during a time when African Americans faced both systemic discrimination and internal community pressures. The building has remained in continuous use as a Clark family enterprise since its relocation, preserving the physical and symbolic integrity of its role in Alabama’s civil rights landscape.

Assessment of Significance
The Clark Historic Landmark Site is eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places under Criterion A: (Events) and Criterion B: (Persons), with additional consideration under Criterion C:  (Architecture):

• Criterion A (Events): The site is directly associated with the Civil Rights era and the struggle for African American self-determination in the Deep South. The forced relocation of the building due to community opposition is itself a historically significant event, illustrating the complex social, cultural, and political dynamics within African American communities as they navigated economic empowerment and cultural traditions.
  
  
• Criterion B (Persons): The property is inextricably linked to the lives of Wilkie Clark and Hattie Lee Peters Clark, whose entrepreneurial achievements, community leadership, and civil rights activism left a lasting impact on Roanoke, Randolph County, and East Alabama. Their legacy is preserved not only in the ongoing work of the funeral home but also in the broader historical narrative of African American leadership in rural Alabama.
  
  
• Criterion C (Architecture): The building, more than 100 years old, retains its historic workmanship and materials despite relocation. Its survival and adaptation to new use illustrate vernacular building practices in the early 20th century and their continuity into the modern era.

While the National Register generally limits consideration of moved buildings, this site remains eligible because its significance is primarily derived from its association with events and persons of historic importance. The relocation itself, forced by community opposition, enhances its interpretive value and deepens its historical resonance.

Conclusion:
The Clark Historic Landmark Site clearly meets the National Register’s eligibility requirements under Criteria A, B, and C. It is a rare surviving example of an African American–owned institution that embodies the tensions, struggles, and triumphs of the Civil Rights era in rural Alabama. Its story—rooted in perseverance against both external barriers and internal community resistance—represents a vital chapter in the larger American pursuit of equality and dignity.