CAUSES WE CARE ABOUT
Here are some of the causes we care about, we hope you will too!
Love Is A Parable
Finding Patience – The Musical is proud to endorse Love Is A Parable, an organization devoted to strengthening love and unity in our communities through education and advocacy. Cast and crew members will receive the Love Is A Parable Values Training as an introduction to LIAP. This workshop provides the building blocks of developing strong relationships within a cast composed of various races and ethnicities participating in a play that addresses difficult history. Love Is A Parable is available for trainings and workshops (see links below).
J. Dwayne Garnett is an Empowerment Speaker and Love Advocate from Augusta, GA, now living in the Raleigh-Durham area. He has nearly 20 years of experience in Higher Education and over a decade of senior-level management experience. He is committed to motivating and mentoring corporate entities and individuals of all ages to obtain and sustain effective life management skills, conflict resolution, and organizational management.
A continuation of this desire led to the creation of Altar and Dwelling Place Inc., a nonprofit that he and his lovely wife, Lalita founded to promote character, social, leadership development, and the home of "Love Is A Parable." Love Is A Parable is designed to provide love education, love advocacy, and love wellness, with an attempt to help individuals obtain personal fulfillment and establish meaningful relationships while encouraging others to perpetuate unity, love, and kindness.
Simply put, we have an approach where everyone brings something to the table and focusing on the things that connect us, and not separate us.
Together, he and his wife are the proud parents of two beautiful girls, Lailani and Lanaila.
Join the Movement
Save the Packhouse
Preserving history is clearly important to the Finding Patience team. You can compare us to the ‘Save the Clock Tower Lady’ on Back to the Future, Indiana Jones (cue, “It belongs in a museum!”) or to any hippie that ever chained themselves to a tree. We want to save the places that were/are foundational to the fabric of a community.
Oftentimes buildings and homes are preserved when the history they contain is associated with a white populace. Rarely are places preserved when they are connected to black residents.
The first production of Finding Patience was the springboard that helped to preserve the Norris-Holland-Hare House in Holly Springs. Once townspeople saw the history of the house come alive onstage, they wanted to preserve it. Through the efforts of Local Historian Barb Koblich, Town Council and the Finding Patience cast & crew, the Norris-Holland-Hare House was purchased by the Town and sold to a family who would preserve its history for future generations (see the restoration process in the pictures and link below).
Norris Holland Hare House Restoration
Our hope is that the same passion will be felt regarding The Packhouse. Although The Packhouse is in more recent history than the Norris-Holland-Hare House, its significance comes in its connection to the black community, who comprised the majority of residents in Holly Springs between the 1960s to late 1980s. It was built out of cinder blocks and wood in 1952 by Mr. George Talmadge Grigsby, an African
American educator and carpenter. He and his wife Mrs. Gladys Grigsby ran The Packhouse, which was used for everything from grading tobacco to being the town gathering place. Locals remember coming to The Packhouse after baseball games and other community events for a cold drink. It was a place of happy memories for many.
The Packhouse stands today on Main Street, a ghost of what it once was. Regardless of its appearance, its bones are strong. We would love to see The Packhouse revived again (in some form) as a place where community members can learn about the past and make new memories. Suggestions to repurpose it as a black history museum or town museum have been mentioned. Others would like to see it turned into an art gallery or eatery. The Packhouse is in limbo right now as the previous owner, Dr. George Grigsby, Jr., son of Mr. George Talmadge Grigsby and Mrs. Gladys Grigsby passed away in 2021. It is unclear who owns the property or whether or not it will be developed. Whatever it becomes, we hope that The Packhouse will be saved and restored instead of torn down. And we hope it will continue to be the town gathering place for generations to come.