The year was 1957 and this small building (above) was a new addition at the Seagle Music Colony on Charley Hill Road.

That summer it housed a 17-year-old singer named Fulton Fryar. He was the first African American to study at the colony. His sleeping quarters were kept separate from those of the other singers on the campus.  Fulton’s story came to light a couple of years ago when it was slated for demolition and a friend of Darren Woods, The Seagle Music Colony’s Artistic Director --  Jonathan Green – learned about the room.

“Jonathan became obsessed with saving this little room and bit of African-American history in the Adirondacks. He contacted Steven Englehart with Adirondack Architectural Heritage who then sent the pictures to Laura Rice at the Adirondack Experience (formerly the Adirondack Museum),” said Darren. (It is now part of the Adirondack Experience permanent collection).

You can read more of Darren’s story here and this weekend viewers in the Mountain Lake PBS region will once again have the chance to watch an award winning documentary about the history of Fulton Fryar’s closet. The documentary features an interview with Fulton, and Darren Woods and explores the unknown story of racial inequality in 1950s Adirondack culture.

Fulton Fryar’s Closet: A Spotlight Special airs this Friday night at 8:00.  It repeats Sunday morning at 5:30 am and 10am.

Spotlight is made possible, in part, by the Glenn and Carol Pearsall Adirondack Foundation, dedicated to improving the quality of life for year-round residents of the Adirondack Park.  Spotlight is also supported by Hill & Hollow Music.