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The following is a Counterpoint:

By Dr. Craven Williams

I write this out of a deep sense of heritage and love for the city of Greensboro. It is written to set the record straight and to bring final clarity to Greensboro College’s plans for a new sports park near the historic Warnersville neighborhood.

There are some who have tried to portray our plans there as divisive and intended to diminish the important history of this unique place. Quite to the contrary. Our intent is to build an important component of Greensboro College that also brings new life and new vibrancy to the Warnersville neighborhood. We believe the sports park can contribute to a shared sense of unity and honor in our city. Let me tell you how.

Our plans for the Greensboro College Sports Park include a multi-use facility composed of softball and baseball parks, soccer facility, a cross-country training site, practice fields and various training and locker room facilities. We envision these plans as attractive, low-impact improvements that are in concert with the hopes and expectations of Warnersville residents.

It is important to also allay any concerns about the future of the J.C. Price School, which is such an important icon at the Warnersville site. Our plan is to enhance the school’s legacy in ways that will further illuminate its heritage. As these plans progress, we will share them with area residents and the larger community, seeking advice and vision where we reasonably can.

It is important to understand that Greensboro College, founded in 1838, has been at the forefront of racial and gender equality in Greensboro since its inception. We began as an all-female college and, over the years, we have nurtured a diversity-enlightened, inclusive culture both on- and off-campus.

Currently, 18 percent of our students at Greensboro College are African-American and so, as with other cultures that are part of the rich fabric of life at our college, we are appreciative of the diversity we embrace and foster.

Greensboro College’s intentions for the Warnersville Community are an extension of these core beliefs. We value and respect the historical importance of the Warnersville location and desire, in all ways, to be mindful of this heritage as we go forward with our plans.

In the end, we cannot and will not silence our critics. After all, the Greensboro College campus proudly thrives on honest public debate, academic and otherwise. That is how we learn. That is how we begin to understand. It is how we move forward. And in the case of Warnersville, it is how we come together and heal the divisions of the past.

The writer is president of Greensboro College.