The MetroCenter complex known as “Sankofa Plaza,” headquarters for Winston-Derek Publishers and the Sankofa African Heritage Museum, has been sold at a foreclosure auction.
The small publishing company specializes in African American and religious titles. The museum housed a collection of African art. Both the museum and the publishing house are presided over by Nashvillian James W. Peebles.
SunTrust Bank, the primary lender on the property, foreclosed in late February after Peebles defaulted on his note to the bank. Peebles’ business empire has been struggling for some time.
An unidentified bidder at the March 18 auction bought the building and grounds for $1.27 million.
Peebles, meanwhile, is currently the target of an investigation being conducted by agents of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and the IRS. A Nashville Scene investigation revealed that many Winston-Derek authors allege Peebles took money from them and failed to honor their contracts. (See “Writers Wronged,” Aug. 20, 1998.)
Dressed in his trademark white sailor’s cap, Peebles showed up at the the beginning of the auction, which was held in the Sankofa parking lot. Shortly thereafter, he locked himself in his office and was unavailable for interviews.
The artwork is gone from Sankofa. It’s unclear where the art is today, or if Peebles plans to relocate the museum or publishing house. Thousands of unsold Winston-Derek books sit in cardboard boxes in a storeroom at the back of the building. Numerous phone calls to Peebles went unreturned.
