From staff reports
The Register-Herald
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An important part of West Virginia’s educational and athletic heritage will be celebrated next week at the fourth West Virginia All Black Schools Sports and Academic Hall of Fame.
Ceremonies will be Sept. 16-18 at the Charleston Marriott and will honor many educators, coaches and athletes from the state’s 28 former black schools.
The Hall of Fame Museum will be open from 9 a.m.-4 p.m., free to the public. This year’s theme is The Preservation of the History of Black Education in West Virginia — Before the Memory Fades.
A meet and greet soul food fest is at 6 p.m. Thursday. Oral histories of many attendees will be recorded.
Academic presentations include West Virginia state university’s 15 great generals; J.R. Clifford, W.Va.’s first black lawyer; and Rosemont Lincoln, a historic one-room schoolhouse.
Sports presentations include Earl Lloyd, the first black to play in the NBA; Archie Griffin, two-time Heisman Trophy winner; Bluefield State’s Big Blues, two-time national champions; and the history of black basketball tournaments from 1925-1957.
Friday’s dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m. followed by a presenter’s ceremony for inductees, closing with a dance and music from the 1940s to the present.
A black-tie, red-carpet induction ceremony is at 1 p.m. Saturday and will feature Earl Lloyd.
In addition to being the first black NBA player, Lloyd became the NBA’s first black assistant coach in 1968 and the first black executive in the Chrysler Corporation. He will present his book, “The Moonfixer.”
Over 25 of the 38 former all-black schools will be represented at the ceremonies, including Bluefield State College’s 1927-28 championship teams, coached by Harry “Big Jeff” Anderson, and 10 all-American players.
Two of them are former Gary District, Gary High and Mount View High School coach and well-known sports official Ergie R. Smith Jr., and former Elkhorn coach and Northfork High School assistant coach Henry L. Winkfield.
Several of the other honorees are from Gary District and Excelsior (War) high schools in McDowell County, and a large contingent from West Virginia State College (now University).
The W.Va. ABSSA will also induct over 30 academics, including 10 PhD.’s, two MD’s and four Doctors of Divinity.
The Hall of Fame induction categories are The Greatest of the Great, which is the highest honor a member can receive from his or her school; The Lifetime Achievement Award, based on outstanding works over a lifetime, and the highest honor a member can receive from the Hall of Fame board; the Icon Award, presented to living faculty, staff and school personnel; the Legend Award, given to academic and athletic pioneers and the Vanguard Legacy Honors Award, given to the heirs of a member who was a leader in the development of his or her field.
Twenty state school superintendents will be inducted into the Hall of Fame and will receive the Carolyn Bennett Smoot Contributor’s Award for their counties’ contribution to preserving the history of segregated schools, including John D. Curry from Greenbrier County, Charlotte Hutchens from Raleigh County and Frank Blackwell from Wyoming County.
Saturday’s dinner will begin at 5 p.m. with DVD excerpts from the 2009 Hall of Fame and music from the Bob Thompson Trio. A farewell gala will follow at 8 p.m.
Tickets are $35 per person for Friday’s ceremony, dinner and dance; $45 for Saturday’s Hall of Fame induction ceremonies, dinner and gala.
Make checks for reservations or donations payable to Dunbar School, Inc., and mail to President/CEO Helen L. Jackson-Gillison, Esq., 3139 West St., Weirton, W.Va., 26062.
The Dunbar School’s Dr. A.J. Major Historical Educational Museum, Inc., created the Hall of Fame Sept. 19, 2006 to preserve the history of black education in West Virginia prior to 1954 and the Brown v. Board of Education case that eliminated segregation.
The Hall researches and preserves the history of the state’s former black schools, and remembers the legacy of academic and athletic role models and leaders who have gone largely unrecognized.
It will also network with 20 other states that had segregated schools to form a national all-black schools sports and academic hall of fame.
For more information, call Jackson-Gillison at 304-748-7116.
