History museum announces Voices of a City award winners

Allen H. Johnson is being recognized for his 39 years as a hearty, steadfast, resonant, and empowering voice at the Greensboro News & Record. In Johnson’s own words, he came to see his role as the newspaper’s opinion editor “as more of a curator than a pontificator,” helping voices across the community and across the political spectrum be heard. During his tenure, he has recorded, reported, taught and editorialized on important issues relating to Greensboro’s past, present and future.

The Battle of Guilford Courthouse Soldier Participant Database and Citizen Archivist Revolutionary War Pension Project was cited by the GHM Inc. Community Advisory Committee award judges as a model of dedication, volunteer engagement, and historical significance. Building on a 2018 database of battle participants produced by the Guilford Battle and Rachel Caldwell chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, a Citizen Archivist Mission through the U.S. National Archives transcribed pension documents related to 2,000 Guilford Courthouse veterans. Between 2023 and 2026, more than 1,000 citizen archivist volunteers from all 50 states spent over 19,000 hours transcribing 2,400 records. The award recognizes National Park Service staff, volunteer archivists, and the Rachel Caldwell and Guilford Battle DAR chapters for illuminating the experiences of these Revolutionary War veterans, including Black Patriots, as well as those veterans’ families.

The Voices of a City Award honors individuals and organizations who have made significant and original contributions to a deeper understanding of local history. Previous winners include the J.C. Price School Project, historians Gayle Hicks Fripp and Scott Culclasure, journalist Jim Schlosser, and the Ever-Achievers Retired Teachers Club. The 2025 winners were railroad historian Kevin von der Lippe and the Conversations in Black community history project.

This year’s awards will be presented at GHM Inc.’s annual dinner on Monday, November 9. The dinner – celebrating America’s 250th anniversary and looking ahead to the next 100 years of the Greensboro History Museum – features special guest speaker Darley Newman, a nationally syndicated travel expert and host of PBS’s Travels with Darley. Information about the dinner and tickets (available through November 1) is online at this website. Major sponsors for the 2026 annual dinner are the O.Henry Hotel and Proximity Hotel.