There will be an NAACP meeting in Kingsport on Monday, April 22, 2024.
The meeting will be held in the Riverview Community Room, beside the pickle ball courts on Wheatley Street.
The time will be 6 PM.
Come with your concerns and get answers. Everybody welcome!
This is the schedule of events for Saturday, April 6, 2024:
24TH ANNUAL MLK DAY PARADE
"FEED THE 5000!" ( 2 FISH 5 LOAVES")
"GOOD FRIDAY FISH FRY!
March 29th, 2024 at the Full Gospel Mission Church/Kitchen of Hope, 740 East Sevier Avenue, Kingsport
3 PM to 6 PM
One Meal per person, and you have to be present to get the meal
"Feed My People" "God Is Good!"
For more info, call:
Pastor Lisa Williamson 423-276-7333
Johnnie Mae Swagerty 423-429-7553
https://dbhs.k12k.com/apps/news/article/1894140
You can also print the application below and get it into the DB Front Office:
The Sons and Daughters of Douglass Alumni Board will meet in its regularly scheduled meeting on Saturday, March 9, 2024.
The meeting will be at 11 AM in the Eastman Board Room on the second floor of the V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex tower, 301 Louis Street, Kingsport.
Please note the new scheduled meeting time of 11 AM.
Virgealia “Jill” Denny Looney Ellis was a leap year baby in 1928. Since 2024 is a leap year, I wanted to honor her. Mrs. Ellis was the counselor for generations of students at both Douglass High School (before integration) and Dobyns-Bennett High School (after integration), including me. She made a lasting impression, and I was honored to be asked to deliver a eulogy on her behalf in 2021.
I was unaware of most of these things while growing up as her student. What I remember most was her jovial, encouraging personality. Her parents were employed as the live-in caretakers of Rotherwood Mansion by wealthy New York financier John B. Dennis during the Jim Crow South.
She was the only child in the mansion and Mr. Dennis took a personal interest in her education and upbringing–in fact, her middle name was “Denny”. He never had children of his own, so he directed his attention toward her. He affectionately called her, “Little Girl”.
She said that he admonished her to, “read, Little Girl, read!”, so she did. He also gave her his pocket change each year as he returned to his native Oyster Bay, New York (on Long Island). She recounted that her father, the butler, would appear in the room and announce, “Mr. Dennis, Oyster Bay calling.”
She was caught in the transitional years post-slavery, but before integration and served as a bridge between the black and white communities. She was teased by the black community for arriving to school in a limousine, but not fully accepted by the white community because of the laws and customs of the day.
Undeterred, she lived her life as a daily example that people are just people. She devoted her lifetime to admonishing the children of Kingsport (black & white) to read, learn, and aspire to be the best they can be–just like John B. Dennis did for her. She raised an amazing family who still carry on her legacy and make an impact in their own respective communities.
She wrote a children’s book, “Denny at Rotherwood-God Talks To Me” from which many of the illustrations and photographs are taken.
Jill Ellis was a Kingsport treasure. She freely shared her life stories of growing up in times that are hard for us to imagine and uncomfortable to discuss. A time of segregation and the struggle for civil rights. She was kind, optimistic, and focused on leaving a better world for future generations.
And she did.
Her smile and the brightness in her eyes always drew a similar response from all she met. And she especially passed that trait along to her daughters. She was the personification of God’s grace – freely given and totally undeserved.
Her stories were authentic, important, and priceless. She always spoke so matter-of-factly. This is the way it was. And this is what we did. She channeled her energy into improving herself and those who knew her.
She didn’t dwell on the things that divide us, she focused on our shared humanity and the common struggles we all face in trying to find our way in this world. She made life better one person and one life at a time.
I am one of those lives. I was her student. She was my counselor. And I take her life lessons with me every day. She lives on in the hundreds and hundreds of people she influenced.
She was the last living connection to the founding fathers of 1917. Neither John B. Dennis nor J. Fred Johnson had children or descendants. Kingsport was their legacy. And she was their self-described “little girl” and only child living in Rotherwood Mansion during modern Kingsport’s formative years.
As my mama used to say, “Oh to go back in time and be a fly on the wall.” She was an eyewitness to history. And thankfully she shared her memories and passed along her stories to the community and her family.
She recalled daily life in Rotherwood Mansion as the hub of development in early Kingsport. She observed the steady stream of visiting investors who were being recruited to build this city of industry. She recalled her father walking into the room, announcing “Mr. Dennis, New York calling.”
She remembered the fine, horse-drawn hunting carriage that her dad brought out for special guests – including George Eastman.
While she lived in Rotherwood Mansion among Kingsport’s elite, she attended the segregated Douglass school. Her dad drove her to school in Rotherwood’s limousine. She would get out of the car with a big bow in her hair – and as you might expect, the kids would tease her because she was different. She was caught between two worlds.
And each evening she would return to the mansion.
She shared that John B. Dennis would save up his pocket change and give it to her when he returned to Oyster Bay, New York each year. Yes, the same Oyster Bay as President Theodore Roosevelt.
That pocket change later paid her tuition at boarding school after her father passed and could no longer drive her to Kingsport for school.
She recalled John B. Dennis’ library and his insatiable appetite for books and knowledge – geography, literature, and science. He admonished her, “Read! Read!” So she did.
And she began a lifelong thirst for knowledge that lead to a college education and distinguished career. She taught at Douglass and moved with integration. Of all the many distinguished teachers that ever taught in the history of Kingsport City Schools, she was in the inaugural Hall of Fame. It was no contest.
She often spoke of her first encounter with God at Rotherwood. It came in the form of an echo. She found a spot in the courtyard and yelled, “Hello, I love you” and she heard an echo come back, “I love you”. She told her mama she talked to God and He answered. It was an experience so vivid she remembered it the rest of her life. She said there are forces in play all around us every day that we don’t comprehend and can’t explain. They’re bigger than us. That’s why it’s called faith. It’s about believing something we cannot prove.
One thing’s for sure – an echo is a reflection. You get back what you give.
And Mrs. Ellis’ echoes are truly timeless because the children of the children of the children that she influenced will make it so.
Rev. Sherry Pierce Kinchloe was born to Jerome and Elizabeth Piece in Kingsport, TN, on December 16, 1953. After graduating from Lees-McRae College and attending ETSU, she returned to Kingsport and worked as a Case Manager for Indian Path Hospital and Superior Home Health. She married and gave birth to the joy of her life, Cameron.
Rev. Kinchloe joined Bethel A.M.E. Zion Church in 1990 and never believed in being just a "pew" member. She actively served in the Missionary Society, Stewardess Board, The Christian Education Department, and worked with the youth in their activities. In 1994, she received the call from God to teach and preach His Word. She was ordained as a Deacon in 2003 and an Elder in 2004 in the A.M.E. Zion Church. She assisted Rev. Kingsley Blay and several other pastors at Bethel before receiving her first appointment. She was assigned to Limestone A.M.E. Zion church for two years before transferring to her post in Jonesborough, TN.
In 2002, during her first year at Jonesborough, she had to undergo an emergency surgical procedure. Doug and Vivian Releford were faithful and loyal with their assistance and friendship during her recovery. She had a long and slow recovery, but she said, "Where I was weak, God was strong. I never lost my faith in God. He said I'll never leave nor forsake you, and He is still by my side." Despite challenges with mobility, she continued to rejoice and give God the glory.
Sherry's parents, Jerome and Elizabeth Pierce, preceded her in death.
She leaves to cherish fond memories her son, Cameron (Yaree) Grimes of Atlanta, GA; sisters, Star Morris of Lithonia, GA, and Aleea P. Tarplin of Stockbridge, GA; brother, Jerome (Blossom) Pierce of Kingsport, TN; the new joys of her life, her precious grandchildren, Pierce Cameron and Parker Grimes; niece, Beth (Jayce) Fulwider; nephews, Tyrome Avery, Bernard (Sharonda) Tarplin, and Byron Pierce Tarplin; great-nieces and nephews, Kanaan and Kassidy Fulwider and Myles, Maliyah, and Malachi Tarplin; paternal uncle, Jack (Betsy) Pierce; goddaughter, LaVonda Harris; and a host of relatives and friends.
A special thank you to cousins Rev. Dr. Charlotte and Rev. Joseph Comage for visiting and ministering to Sherry during her illness.
The family extends a thank you to all who knew and loved Sherry.
This story courtesy WJHL-TV
SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — Leola “Lola” Campbell was recognized by Sullivan County Commissioners on Thursday for her outstanding leadership and exemplary community service.
Campbell was the first African American to integrate the Holston Valley Nurse Corps in the 1950s.
She encourages younger generations to keep pursuing their dreams.
“We know that all things are under God’s control,” Campbell said. “We have to ask him for the strength, the patience, the wisdom, whatever we need to cross this mountain that we’re facing. You don’t give up, never.”
“If you know Ms. Campbell and her family, you know how deserving she is of this honor. I’ve had the privilege of knowing them for many years,” Commissioner John Gardner said. “Her contribution, it’s beyond words.”
The Sullivan County Commission proclaimed Feb. 15, 2024 as Lola Campbell Day.
“The proclamation is just the least we could do to honor such a great lady and her family. It was just great to have her and the family up here this evening so we can pay her respect,” Gardner said.
Lola Campbell persisted to integrate Holston Valley Nurse training corps
KINGSPORT, Tenn. (WJHL) — For Leola “Lola” Campbell, becoming a nurse was a lifelong dream and calling.
“Ever since I was old enough to know what a nurse was, that was what I wanted to be,” Campbell told News Channel 11. “That’s about the only way I can explain it. I just wanted to be a nurse. I wanted to care for people.”
But as a Black woman in the 1950s, it was a dream that wouldn’t come easily.
“When I finished 11th grade, I started looking into places to go, but everything everywhere was segregated,” said Campbell.
Like public schools across the region, Kingsport’s nurse training school at Holston Valley Community Hospital was segregated at the time. Still, it had a great reputation, and Campbell set her sights on admission.
She called and visited the office relentlessly but never received an application. Campbell said administrators told her they would run a segregated class if she could find at least ten other black students to enroll.
“That wasn’t possible,” said Campbell. “The Black population here is so small and most of the women worked.”
Regardless, Campbell was determined to meet her goal.
“I just kept going, I kept calling,” Campbell said. “I knew that I wanted to be a nurse, and I knew that Holston Valley had the best training program in the Tri-Cities.”
Kingsport City Schools announced its plan to begin integrating, grade by grade in 1960.
“If schools integrated, why wouldn’t the nursing program be integrated?” Campbell said.
Finally, the administrators relented. The school called her on a Friday to tell her the spring session would start Monday, but that she wouldn’t be able to gather the paperwork needed in time and could start in the fall.
Campbell never received an application.
“I knew what all we had to have, so I got busy,” Campbell said. “With the help of God, my aptitude tests and all the things I had to have, I was done by Friday afternoon.”
“So I walked in, surprisingly, Monday morning.”
Clearing the hurdles to admission was only the beginning for Campbell, who integrated the nurse training program at Holston Valley Medical Center along with one other Black student.
Campbell trained hard for 13 months, all the while facing patients who sometimes declined to receive care from a woman of color.
“You didn’t know from one day to another in the hospital what somebody was going to ask you or what somebody was going to say,” Campbell said. “You never know what questions [you’ll] face so you had to learn to smile and say, ‘I’m so-and-so and this and I’m here and I’m going to take care of you today if you want me to.'”
Campbell credits many of her early supervisors for looking out for her through training and into the early years of her nursing career.
For her first hospital placement, Campbell was assigned the most notoriously difficult floor.
“Their nurse was a retired Army lieutenant, and she ran a tight ship,” Campbell said.
But that nurse ended up being one of Campbell’s “angels,” and offered her her first hospital job.
Campbell graduated in March 1961, becoming the first Black nurse trained at Holston Valley Medical Center, where she spent the entirety of her 27-year career.
The determination that compelled Campbell to fight segregation kept her working. She earned a scholarship to become a Registered Nurse and kept training on the latest equipment as a surgical nurse for nearly three decades.
Campbell graduated in March 1961, becoming the first Black nurse trained at Holston Valley Medical Center, where she spent the entirety of her 27-year career.
The determination that compelled Campbell to fight segregation kept her working. She earned a scholarship to become a Registered Nurse and kept training on the latest equipment as a surgical nurse for nearly three decades.
Sixty years later, Campbell said there was a moment from the final weeks of her 13-month training period that stood out to her. Her cohort was back in the classroom studying for state boards, with a view of the nursing office.
Through the window, Campbell saw a young Black woman she knew walk into the office.