Douglass alumni headed to Nashville to support historic marker

THIS ARTICLE COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

Contact Vince Staten at vincestaten@timesnews.net or via mail in care of this newspaper. Voicemail may be left at 723-1483. His blog can be found at vincestaten.blogspot.com.

Early Friday morning a delegation of Kingsport folks will be heading to Nashville with some important work to do. The group, headed by Douglass High School Alumni Association President Doug Releford, will be attending the meeting of the Tennessee Historical Commission in a show of support for a historical marker for their old school.
When Douglass closed at the end of the 1966 school year, it was the largest African-American school in Upper East Tennessee and had been a powerful educational influence in the lives of hundreds of students in the local black community.
Its alums are pillars of the local community as well as successful business and community leaders around the state and the nation. In fact, a group of Douglass’ Nashville alums plans to meet the local delegation at the commission meeting.
The idea for the marker came from the Alumni Association and Calvin Sneed, who had noticed that Johnson City’s historic black high school building, Langston, had a historical marker. The more he thought about it, the more Calvin knew the marker should be in place for the building reopening this summer as the V.O. Dobbins Community Center. It was a, uh, monumental task. “There couldn’t be more than 483 letters in the text,” said Calvin. He and Jill Ellis talked daily, adding to the legend then whittling down the words. The wording was ready to go when the local group heard from Linda Wynn, the assistant director for state programs at the Tennessee Historical Commission. “She’d noticed in some of the documentation that Douglass was a Rosenwald School.” That changed everything because there’s a renewed interest in the Rosenwald Schools in Tennessee and their influence. Rosenwald Schools got their name from philanthropist Julius Rosenwald, who in the early part of the 20th century provided seed money for schools for African-American children. Over a quarter century his Rosenwald Fund helped more than 5,000 schools.
Calvin says Wynn told him that because adding Rosenwald information would put the marker over the 483-letter limit, the Historical Commission might want the Douglass marker to be two-sided.
The commission will vote Friday morning.
“We’ve got our fingers crossed hoping for approval,” said Calvin. “It will be wonderful to get statewide recognition for the school Kingsport has always known is historic.”
Calvin says letters of support will help. You can e-mail your letter to Ms. Linda Wynn at the Tennessee Historical Commission, Linda.Wynn@tn.gov. You can watch a live video stream of the Historical Commission meeting Friday beginning at 10:15 a.m. at the Douglass website.
Keep your fingers crossed. Although with the documentation the Douglass High School Alumni Association has put together, they shouldn’t need luck.

TENNESSEE MARKERS
Interested in Tennessee’s historical markers? According to www.waymarking.com, there are 828 of them, including local markers for the Gem Theater, Yancey’s Tavern, the Battle of Island Flats, Rock Ledge, Old Kingsport Presbyterian Church, Great Indian Warrior Trading Path, Boat Yard, Long Island of the Holston, Donelson Flotilla, Avery Treaty and Pactolus Ironworks.
And soon ... Douglass High School of Kingsport!

WAYWARD PASS
I went to the Lady Vols game against Florida on Sunday and sat with my old high school buddy Bob DeVault Jr. in Row B. Row B is not in the stands; it’s the second row on the floor.
Bob told me that if a stray ball came our way and I had to throw it back on the court that I should be careful not to hit someone sitting in the row in front of us.
I told him not to worry, just to recall my days playing high school basketball. “Remember Bob, I never hit anybody with a pass.”

More Snow on the Way to Riverview

Current projections are for the Riverview-South Central Kingsport neighborhood to get anywhere from 2 to 4 inches of snow, from the current weather system coming through Sunday night through Tuesday. Higher elevations in Southwestern Virginia and Eastern Kentucky will get more.

The fast-moving system of precipitation is common referred in the weather business as an "Alberta Clipper" because, although the winds behind it originate in Alaska and the upper Yukon, it hits the jet stream just below the province of Alberta in Canada as it progresses southeastward. By the time it crosses the U.S.-Canadian border, the speed by which the front is moving, coupled with the increased moisture already in this country, means, it dumps a lot of snow, in a relatively short period of time.

Please make your plans accordingly in the neighborhood, and be sure to consult the weather station covering the neighborhood, that is posted on the front page of your Douglass website.

Tennessee Commemorates 50 Years of Lunch Counter Freedom

On February 10, 2010, Tennessee took a moment to recognize the legacy of the sit-ins, that helped change the face of the Civil Rights Movement in America.


The Metropolitan Nashville Historical Commission and Tennessee State University, commemorated the statewide sit-in's, at the Nashville Conference on African-American History and Culture.

The event at the Tennessee State University Downtown campus, honored the 50th anniversary of the Sit-In Movement in Tennessee. The



For 29 years, this award-winning conference has brought together historians, students, educators, community leaders, and others interested in African American history and culture, organizers say.

“This conference has become the center point of the discussion of African American history in Nashville,” said Reavis Mitchell, a Fisk University history professor and a co-chair for the event.


“We feel that Nashville was the pivotal point in the social change movement called the sit-ins because of the institutions here coming together. The student protests really made the world look at injustice, and it gave good people a platform to speak out from.”

On the program were "Songs of the Struggle," presented by the Fisk University Choir, a look at militancy involving the sit-ins at Memphis, and a presentation by the TSU Forensics Team called "We Sat Down, So We Could Stand for the Solution: The Nashville Sit-in Movement,"


Civil rights activist Diane Nash also came back to Nashville to talk about the sit-in movement during the annual Conference on African American History and Culture.

Nash was a student at Fisk in 1959, the same year blacks in the south began to fight against segregated lunch counters and restrooms designated “white” or “colored.”

In a previous interview with the Nashville Tennessean, Nash said she felt “limited” in not being able to leave the North Nashville campus and have lunch downtown, which ultimately prompted her to take a leadership role against segregation.

“On days we planned a sit-in, I would go to class first, but I would be thinking about it and was really scared. People would say ‘You’re so brave,’ but they didn’t know how terrified I was. I was afraid to go to jail.”

Nash has received numerous awards including the Distinguished American Award from the John F. Kennedy Library and Foundation and the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum awarded her the LBJ Award for Leadership in Civil Rights.

“I felt a combination of fear and being overwhelmed, but I knew it was something I wanted to do,” Nash said.

Fisk awarded her an honorary doctorate in 2007, and in 2008 the National Civil Rights Museum presented Nash with its Freedom Award.

“I’m so glad I did it,” she said in a previous interview of her participation in the sit-in movement. “I really feel fortunate to have been at the right place at the right time.”


Meanwhile, the landmark events that helped shape the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s are the focus of an exhibition at the Tennessee State Museum in Nashville through May 16th. "We Shall Not Be Moved: The 50th Anniversary of Tennessee's Civil Rights Sit-Ins" is free to the public.

These actions will be examined in this special exhibition organized by the curatorial staff at the State Museum. The exhibit also looks at segregation in the state and how significant resistance developed in African American communities.

Visitors will be able to view a department store similar to those found in the downtown shopping districts of Tennessee cities during this era. Shopping during segregation was a humiliating experience for both black men and women because they were not allowed to try on clothes or shoes; dressing rooms were for "Whites Only." Water fountains, which are included in the exhibit, often appeared in pairs designated for "Whites" and "Colored."

The original stools from the sit-ins that took place at Nashville's downtown W. T. Grant's store are held in the museum's collection and are prominently featured in the exhibition.

An eight-minute film about the Nashville Sit-Ins has been created for the exhibit. The film, produced by MindFlow Media of Chattanooga, contains original news footage taken in Nashville during 1960. "We wanted to produce the film especially for school children to help them better understand what was going on at that time," Lois Riggins-Ezzell, the museum's executive director, said.

The Museum's Public Programs staff has also developed a one-person play about the time period, geared for school audiences. The play, set in a church in 1960, re-creates a non-violence workshop. The actor, while teaching about non-violent techniques, will also offer reflections about the sit-ins. The play is available during the week by reservation only for groups of 10 or more. Contact the public programs department at 615-741-0830 or e-mail public.programs@tn.gov for reservations.

Although the sit-ins were organized as a non-violent action, occasionally students were met with violence from white bystanders; however, it was usually the protesting students who were arrested and taken to jail. The exhibit examines why these students were willing to face possible violence and endure incarceration, and how their parents reacted.
The exhibit covers similar events which occurred in Chattanooga, Memphis and Knoxville and other locales.

Along with period photographs of these events, the exhibit includes such artifacts as signage, which has been preserved to show examples of segregation during this time. Other important artifacts include a letter from a sit-in participant describing a protest and other items related to the sit-ins.

Located at Fifth and Deaderick Streets in downtown Nashville, the Tennessee State Museum is open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday and is free to the public. Info: www.tnmuseum.org or 615-253-0145.

The Knoxville Sit-Ins: Feb. 15, 1960 - July 12, 1960

Back in the 1950s and 60's, African-Americans in Kingsport and the Tri-Cities were not directly involved in the activities of the Civil Rights Movement in America. But many "Sons and Daughters of Douglass" who had gone off to college and to life in big cities like Nashville, Nashville, Memphis, Atlanta, and other metropolitan areas, were witnessing the movement first hand.

All we could do in the Riverview community was listen for news, and pray for our brothers and sisters involved, that The Lord would guide their paths.


On February 1, 1960, four black students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College begin a sit-in at a segregated Woolworth's lunch counter. Although they are refused service, they are allowed to stay at the counter. The event triggers many similar nonviolent protests throughout the South.

Students and activists in Tennessee's four major cities see the sit-in's as a way to draw attention to the racist policies in their own communities.


One of those cities was Knoxville.

To see newspaper photos of the historic downtown Knoxville sit-ins, please click here.

This account "Long Negotiations - Short Sit-In's" was written by Dr. Cynthia Fleming, Professor of Africana Studies and History at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. It is reprinted from the Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Historical pictures are courtesy the Knoxville News-Sentinel:



"On February 15, 1960, a group of Knoxville College students met and decided to begin sit-ins at downtown lunch counters two days later. When the college's president, Dr. James Colston, learned of the students' plans, however, he quickly persuaded them to postpone their protests until he could negotiate with city leaders. Colston's confidence in the negotiation process clearly indicates two of Knoxville's unique qualities that set the stage for the short and peaceful sit-ins that followed.


Knoxville had a long history of open communication between local black and white leaders, and there was a less restrictive form of segregation practiced in the city. In such an atmosphere many local residents were convinced that the violent protracted sit-ins affecting other cities could not happen in their community.






One of those who fervently believed that was Knoxville's Mayor, John Duncan Sr. Duncan recalled, "I saw the problems going on in Chattanooga, Nashville, and Memphis, bloodshed almost. . . . I made up my mind that I didn't want that in Knoxville." Duncan, along with other city leaders, engaged in seemingly endless negotiations in the spring of 1960. At one point during this process Mayor Duncan took the bold and unprecedented step of taking a delegation to New York to negotiate with chain store executives. The delegation, which consisted of the mayor, two Knoxville Chamber of Commerce officials, and two Knoxville College student leaders, wanted chain store executives to order their Knoxville branches to desegregate their eating facilities. But the executives refused to meet with the delegation.


In the meantime, back home, Knoxville College students were becoming increasingly impatient with the slow pace of negotiations. Then in May the downtown merchants finally announced that they would not desegregate after all. Many in the black community felt betrayed. They were sure that negotiations would head off demonstrations, but with failure many knew they had no choice.


Consequently, on June 9, 1960, the Knoxville sit-ins began, spearheaded by a local group, the Associated Council for Full Citizenship. Regardless of the stand taken by the downtown merchants, Mayor Duncan continued his support of lunch counter integration and directed police officers to protect the rights of sit-in protesters.


In such an atmosphere Knoxville's sit-ins were peaceful and successful in record time. By July 12, after barely a month of lunch counter protests, downtown merchants capitulated and desegregation of downtown eating facilities became a fact of life for all Knoxvillians."

The Nashville Sit-In's: Feb. 13, 1960 - May 19, 1960

This account of the Nashville Sit-Ins is written by Linda T. Wynn of Fisk University and the Tennessee Historical Commission. It is published in the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture. Historic Photographs are from the Nashville Tennessean:

To see newspaper photos of the historic downtown Nashville sit-ins, please click here.


In 1958, following the formation of the Nashville Christian Leadership Conference (NCLC) by the Reverend Kelly Miller Smith Sr. and others, African American leaders and students launched an attack on Jim Crow segregation. The NCLC utilized the concept of Christian nonviolence to stage the Nashville sit-in movement to combat de jure and de facto racial segregation. The Reverend James Lawson, a devoted adherent of the Gandhi philosophy of direct nonviolent protest, trained local residents in the techniques of the belief. Early in 1959 the NCLC began a movement to desegregate Nashville's downtown lunch counters and illustrate the hypocrisy of the Jim Crow economic system. During November and December, NCLC leaders and college students made purchases in downtown stores and staged "test sit-ins" in unsuccessful attempts to desegregate the lunch counters.


On February 1, 1960, four North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College students captured America's attention when they launched the Greensboro, North Carolina, sit-in.





Twelve days later, Nashville's African American students launched their first full-scale sit-ins. They convened at the Arcade on Fifth Avenue, North, at approximately 12:40 p.m. and entered Kress's, Woolworth's and McClellan's. They made small purchases and then occupied lunch counter seats. By 2:30 p.m. all three retail stores had closed their lunch counters, and the students departed without incident.


In response to white harassment at Walgreen's, students formulated ten rules of conduct for demonstrators. These became the code of behavior for later protest movements in the South. Throughout the spring, Nashville students conducted numerous sit-ins. They suffered verbal and physical abuse, arrests, fines, and incarceration, but held steadfastly to the concept of Christian nonviolence.


African American pressure to desegregate and white resistance to integration increased throughout the early spring. Shortly before Easter, the majority of Nashville African Americans used their "dollar vote" and simply stopped making purchases in the downtown stores, creating an estimated 20 percent loss in business revenues. As racial tension escalated, segregationists lashed out at civil rights activists.


On April 19, an early morning bombing damaged the home of attorney Z. Alexander Looby, defense counsel for the students, a city councilman, and a leading figure in desegregation movements throughout Tennessee. The Loobys escaped with only minor injuries.


In response, thousands of black and some white Americans marched to Nashville's City Hall. Mayor Ben West met the protesters and conceded to Diane Nash of Fisk University that he felt segregation was wrong and that lunch counters should be desegregated. On May 10, 1960, Nashville became the first major city to begin desegregating its public facilities. While the Greensboro sit-in was spontaneous, the Nashville movement had been planned over several months and drew students from the city's four predominately black colleges as well as community residents. According to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Nashville movement was one of the best organized and most disciplined movements in the South. In November sit-ins resumed, as racist practices still continued in most eating establishments, and institutionalized racism remained intact.


The Nashville sit-in movement served as more than a model for future demonstrations against segregated accommodations, unfair employment practices, and other examples of institutionalized segregation. Its example of nonviolent protest emboldened and mobilized others across the country, and many of the student participants became leaders in the struggle for civil rights.


Linda T. Wynn, Tennessee Historical Commission/Fisk University

Nashville Resolution Honoring the 50th Anniversary of the Nashville Sit-ins

RESOLUTION PRESENTED BY NASHVILLE-DAVIDSON COUNTY MAYOR KARL DEAN:



In recognition of this important moment in Nashville's history and the Civil Rights Movement as a whole..

And in recognition of the young men and women who led us to where we are today..

As Mayor of Nashville, I would like to announce the following proclamation:

NASHVILLE MAYOR KARL DEAN READING PROCLAMATION


From the Metropolitan Government of Nashville and Davidson County, the Office of Mayor,

Wheras, founded by Rev. Kelly Smith, the National Christian Leadership Council was established to promote Civil Rights among African-Americans, through non-violence and civil disobedience..

Wheras, in March 1958, students from Fisk University, Tennessee A & I, the American Baptist Theological Seminary, Meharry Medical College attended the first of amany workshops on using non-violent tactics to challenge segregation led by James Lawson..

Whereas, the first large-scale sit-in organized by the Nashville SNCC movement and the Nahsville Christian Leadership Council took place on February 13, 1960, where 124students walked into the downtown Woolworth's, S.H. Kress, and the McClellan's Store and waited for 2 hours to be served..



Wheras, after several more sit-in's had taken place over 2 months, a total of 150 students were arrested and many attacked..

Wheras, praised by Dr. Martin Luther King as the best organized, the most disciplined in the Southland, the sit-in participants' code of concduct became a model followed by demonstrators in other cities,

Wheras, among the hundreds of organizers and participants were Marion Barry, James Bevil, Bernard LaFayette, John Lewis, Diane Nash, C.T. Vivian, many of whom went on to become important leaders in the U.S. Civil Rights Movement,

Whereas, on May 10, 1960, 6 downtown stores opened their lunch counters to black customers for the first time,

And wheras, at the same time, African-Americans ended their six-week boycott of the downtown stores, Nashville thus became the first major city in the South to begin to desegregate its public facilities,

THE PRESIDENTS OF FISK UNIVERSITY, TENNESSEE STATE, MEHARRY MEDICAL COLLEGE, AND THE AMERICAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, RECEIVING PROCLAMATION


NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that I, Karl Dean, Mayor of the Metropolitan Government of Nashville-Davidson County, do hearby join the Nashville Student Movement Legacy Foundation, in honoring the brave and inspired participants in the historic sit-in's, as Nashville commemorates the 50th anniversary of the Nashville Sit-In's.

The Scat Cats on the prowl again on newly released CD

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS


Contact Vince Staten at vincestaten@timesnews.net or via mail in care of this newspaper. Voicemail may be left at 723-1483. His blog can be found at vincestaten.blogspot.com.





Soul music legend Evelyn Champagne King is a fan. So are jazz saxophonist Bobby Ricketts and jazz pianist Alex Bugnon.
And so am I.

We’re all fans of the Scat Cats, Kingsport’s seminal rock-and-soul group.
The Scat Cats have been playing dances and parties around here since the late fifties when they were five young guys from Douglass High School.
The group recorded singles — on Spot Records, Sun Dance Records and even Columbia Records — over the years, but if you wanted to hear the Scat Cats, you usually had to go see them live.
Not anymore.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, the Scat Cats have released a CD. “Live from the Down Home” is 68 minutes of vintage Scat Cats, recorded at the Down Home in Johnson City on Sept. 21, 1994. Mookie, keyboardist and also spokesperson for the band, says, “It was recently found deep in the archives of a good friend and was cleaned up for us.”
It’s not all the original Scat Cats. But three of the five originals are on the recording: Kenny Springs, vocals, Arthur Flack, sax, and Donnie Flack, drums. Rounding out the group on the recording are Marshall Davis, guitar and vocals, and Brian Dennison, bass guitar. (Joe Manuel and Sonny Sanders were the other two originals.)
The CD is about half instrumental and half vocal, but oh those vocals. Kenny Springs had one of the smoothest voices around and this is probably his last recording. Kenny died in 2007.
So far sales have been by word of mouth. The group doesn’t have a retail outlet. Unless you count Mookie.
You can order by calling the band’s number, 306-SCAT. Or you can email the band at scwbb1@charter.net or through Facebook (enter “Scat Cats Wells Brothers” in the search box in Facebook).
Mookie says if you don’t live too far away she will deliver your CD.
The price is only $10 for what Mookie says is “68 minutes of pretty cool music.”
When it comes to the Scat Cats, the last cut on the CD says it all: “You Can’t Sit Down!”
SCAT CATS FUN FACTS
Did you know the Scat Cats were originally called Sunny Saunders and the Scat Cats? A 1958 ad in this news- paper headlined “Rock Rock Rock Rock” listed the band’s personnel as Sunny Saunders, Joe Manuel and Carolyn Rock! The ad was for a dance on Sept. 20, 1958, at the Civic Auditorium, with tickets on sale at Freels Drug, Wallace News Stand, Armour Drug, Palace News Stand, Shaffers, Sweet Shop and Gate City Pharmacy. (The ad misspelled Sonny Sanders’ name.)
In 1959, the group played a regular Friday night dance in Bristol at the Hamilton-Bacon-Hamilton Building on Commonwealth Avenue. It was sponsored by Bristol’s American Legion Post.
In the sixties, “Kenny Springs and the Scat Cats” released “Let Nobody Love You” with “Nobody Else But You” on the flip side on Spot Records.
In 1963, the group opened for Ray Charles at the Knoxville Coliseum.
I’ve posted a few old newspaper clippings about the Scat Cats on my blog, vincestaten.blogspot.com.
THE GUYS ON THE KRICK
I got a little more information about Horse Krickers, Eastman’s old kiddie club, from Ken Riddle. “The guy who founded and was behind Horse Krickers was Bob Delius, ‘Purty Bob’ as he called himself. He started it and named it after Horse Creek, which flowed on the Eastman property. His sidekick was Claude ‘Cosmo’ Griffith. Both men worked for Eastman in the recreation department. Thanks to Bob, Cosmo, John the projector guy, and all the others, they made our Saturday mornings happy all those long years ago!”

Remembering the Magic: Douglass-Riverview Pictures on Display at Kingsport City Hall

Douglass alumni and Riverview residents are being honored in photography during Black History Month.



A few months ago, the Arts Council and the architects renovating the V.O. Dobbins, Sr. Complex asked your Douglass website to locate vintage photographs and pictures from the school and the neighborhood.

It took a weekend of searching through Douglass annuals and photographs that folks had sent in over the years, but we found several picture that represent the spirit, the family and the life of the Douglass and Riverview community.



"In the lobby of the Kingsport City Hall this month, we have enlarged the photographs that you sent on behalf of the Douglass Alumni Association," says Bonnie Macdonald, the cultural arts administrator for the city of Kingsport. "The exhibit is titled 'Riverview Community - Remembered and Renewing.'"

"I can tell you there is a tremendous amount of interest in those photographs," she says. "People are always interested in learning more about how things looked in the past, how people looked. We have people coming through on city business, paying their water bill, getting their car tag and title stuff, and they pass by the exhibit and are just fascinated by it. Many of them have never been to an art gallery, and the city hall front lobby is a great place to place artwork and generate questions about photographs like that."



Mrs. Macdonald says, the photographs will be displayed for the entire Black History Month.

"Thank you so much for finding them," Mrs. Macdonald continued. "We consider them a bridge from the past to the future."

That future, we found out, will be a permanent home in the renovated V.O. Dobbins Sr. Complex.



"After Black History Month, most of the photos will be matted and placed behind glass," she says, "then, they'll be placed on permanent display in the Douglass Community Room, and the hallways of the complex. A special committee made up of arts people, Riverview residents, Douglass alumni and city administrators will select the pictures they like the best, and those will grace the walls of the old Douglass School. We'll try to use as many of them as we can, just because of the interest they're all generating."



"What we are also finding," says Mrs. Macdonald, "is that the questions people are asking, we don't have answers for, and that's where more information comes in. We're considering separate mats with explanation of the pictures, who is in them, what they're doing, where it was taken, the general context of the picture, under what circumstances was the picture taken, things like that. When we frame them, the explanation will tell a more complete story for the Douglass Room."



She says, the pictures will help set off the room.

"When you have a room like that, the historical significance and everything," she says, "historic pictures prompt questions. People are just naturally interested, and if we provide the answers, they'll learn about history."

Riverview mural on display for Black History Month at Renaissance Center

The mural, featuring spiritual, education and business leaders from the community’s past, was produced in 2001 by artist Rhonda Clark.

THIS STORY COURTESY THE KINGSPORT TIMES-NEWS

By KEVIN CASTLE
kcastle@timesnews.net


KINGSPORT — A portrait of community and social leaders of the Riverview community has made a road trip to the Kingsport Renaissance Center for Black History Month.

Erica Yoon —eyoon@timesnews.net
Kevin Lytle and Stella Robinette reminisce about the individuals they personally knew and grew up with who helped shape history in Riverview. The Riverview Neighborhood Mural depicts individuals and sites with historic significance to Riverview and the greater Kingsport community.


A mural featuring spiritual, education and business leaders from the community’s past produced in 2001 by artist Rhonda Clark is now on display in the center’s atrium along with several abstract and cultural pieces from local artists.
City of Kingsport Cultural Arts Administrator Bonnie Macdonald says the mural will remain at the center until renovations at the mural’s permanent home — the V.O. Dobbins Community Center — are complete in late spring or early summer.
“(Riverfront community leader Stella Robinette) had arranged to have such wonderful artists here for the special display that we thought it was appropriate to bring the (mural) over and celebrate it again and let people remember these leaders and their contributions to Kingsport,” said Macdonald.
The mural entitled “Uniting Our Spirits As One” is a product of the Catch the Vision project spearheaded by former Mayor Jeanette Blazier and features 17 individuals and former community landmarks of Riverview located along Lincoln Street.


Among those pictured are:
• Paul Taylor, the owner of a much-visited grocery store in Riverview and former Eastman employee.
• Granville “Stick” and Walter “Brownie” McGhee, a pair of musicians who played blues and jazz at local stages.
• Former educators at Frederick Douglass School, including principal V.O. Dobbins Sr. and instructors Della Hendricks, C.C. Kiser, Mildred Davis and Cora Cox.
• Church leaders J. Bratton Gaines, William Stokely and James Turner, all of whom led their congregations for generations.
• Jalisa Ferguson, a 4-year-old who perished while caught in a drug deal crossfire incident in the Riverview community in 1994.
The center is also scheduled to host an entire day of events to celebrate cultural diversity, arts and historic culinary dishes during Black History Day on Feb. 27.
A headwrap design seminar, workshops for tap dance, step dance, drama, drumming, singing and an African cuisine sample bar will be featured during the day’s festivities, which begin at 12:45 p.m. that day.
The Claflin University Concert Choir from Orangeburg, S.C., will also have performances during the Feb. 27 event and a special concert prior to that on Feb. 26 at 7:30 p.m. at the Toy F. Reid Eastman Employee Center.
More information on the event is available by contacting Stella Robinette at (423) 276-6541, or by calling (423) 392-8417 or visit www.kingsportarts.org.

Celebrate Black History: Events, Concerts, Programs

The displays of African American artists in a variety media types continue to be exhibited in Kingsport in the Renaissance Center Atrium Gallery during Black History Month.



To view a slideshow of the exhibits at the Renaissance Center, please click here.

On Saturday, February 27, a wide variety of workshops will be open to the public. Chairman Stella Robinette noted, "We'll have traditional African dress and food, as well as opportunities to explore drama, dance, drumming." The day-long celebration starts at noon and continues through 6 pm at the Kingsport Renaissance Center. Classes and workshops will be held on the second and third floors and in the theatre.

PLEASE CLICK ON THE FLYER TO MAKE IT LARGER
There was a time when you could walk every street in Riverview and 'cross town, and you could tell exactly what everybody was having for dinner. All you had to do was sniff the air. On Friday, February 19th, get your taste buds ready for some of that good ole down home soul food cooking we used to smell from every home in the neighborhood! It's down home cooking from past to present. This time, you don't have to stand outside and smell the good food.. it's inside at the Soul Food Gathering. Click on the flyer to get details.




CLICK ON THE FLYER TO MAKE IT LARGER
It's the 7th Annual Black History Month event sponsored by the New Vision Youth Kids and Kingsport Parks and Recreation. This event on Sunday, February 21st, promises to be bigger and better than ever, with singing, praise dancing, inspirational speeches and entertainment. This year, the event is being hosted by the Central Baptist Church. The program from the New Vision Youth Kids is always one of the highlights of Black History Month. Come on out and help support the youth of our community, as they're making decisions in their lives that lead in a positive direction. Please click on the flyer for more information.


THE CLAFLIN CONCERT CHOIR

The Cultural Arts Division of the City of Kingsport is also pleased to present A Celebration of Black History with the Claflin University Concert Choir, 7:30 PM on Friday, February 26 at the Eastman Employee Center Theatre. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased by call the Central Box Office at 423-392-8417 or 423-392-8417, and on-line at www.KingsportARTS.org. Discounts available for groups of 10 or more. This concert has been coordinated through the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Kingsport in cooperation with the Mayor's Task Force for Black History Month.


BLACK HISTORY MONTH WORKSHOPS - SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27TH:
On Saturday February 27 the third annual Black History Month arts workshops will be held at the Kingsport Renaissance Center . These workshops are open to the public and will give school age participants an opportunity to explore many arts forms. Sessions will cover drumming, drama, step dance, head wrap arts and African cuisine sampling.

Featured sessions will include Tap classes lead by Terrance Taps of Atlanta , Ga. and vocal workshops by the Claflin University Concert Choir. Additional instructors are Kingsport residents or natives that have excelled in their fields and will include LaVonda Price, Visions Studio, Head wraps; Richie Hicks, Drumming; Gerrie Harrison, African Cuisine Tasting; Xavier Hall, Step Dance; Starr Releford, Drama. Workshops sessions are approximately 1 hour each and begin at noon through 6pm.

For three years the Black History Month Committee, chaired by Stella Robinette, has put together these workshops to focus on sharing artistic talents with the Kingsport community. In order to promote learning about the talents of many Black artists Elementary and Middle School students in Kingsport City Schools can earn homework passes by attending workshops.

The public is welcome to also come view the Atrium Gallery show of Black artists. A health screening area will also be included.



2010 COMMUNITY UNITY CELEBRATION:
Sunday, February 28 - 4pm
Kingsport Center For Higher Education
300 West Market Street
Kingsport, TN

Program guests will include:

Full Gospel Mission #2 (Greeneville, TN)
Revelation Men's Choir (Kingsport)
C.B.C. Celebration of Praise Choir (Kingsport)
Evangelist Ada Ruth Moultry (Soloist) - Kingsport
Praise/Interpretive Dancers

2010 Catch The Vision Scholarship will be awarded

Reception following program

(This program is free to the public, but we do receive a free will offering
that is goes in the scholarship fund.)

Happy 90th Birthday, Mrs. Willie Kate Bradford!

She's one of the Mothers of the Riverview Community. A great friend, a mom to all, a shoulder to lean on, and one of the first residents of the neighborhood. She's also a long-time evangelist, ministering to the community the Word of God, both in spirit, in words and in song.


She has just celebrated a milestone.

Evangelist Willie Kate Bradford has just celebrated her 90th birthday, and you're invited to her birthday party.

Click here to attend the 90th birthday party for Mrs. Willie Kate Bradford.

Click here to individually download any or all of the pictures.


The event was hosted by the family and Pastor Lillian Turner at the Mt. Zion Holiness Church on Dunbar Street, and it was truly a wonderful event, celebrating one of our own.

If you see her, be sure and wish Mrs. Willie Kate a big HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

John Sevier Exhibit: "Profiles of Great Black Americans" for Black History Month

Visitors to, and students attending the John Sevier Middle School in Kingsport have a unique opportunity to learn about influential people in African-American history, both past and present.



To view a slideshow of the Black History Month exhibit at John Sevier Middle School, please click here.

To view the individual profiles, click here and then click on each picture to make the written profile larter.

The exhibit that was unveiled this past week, is called "Profiles of Great Black Americans," and is located just inside the John Sevier front lobby on Wateree Street. It's a pictorial history of national African-American figures.. in a way, profiles in courage. Also in the exhibit, are profiles of local African-Americans who have made a difference in the Kingsport community. The unveiling in the lobby also included a reception for the local honorees.



"Our goal for each student is to educate them on the significant contributions of African-American leaders to our community and country," says John Sevier's Tonya Harris. "This exhibit will increase the students' knowledge about National Black History Month."


The national profiles are of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., famed civil rights leader and Executive Member of the National Association for the Advance of Colored People... Rosa Parks, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement who refused to give up her bus seat to a white man in 1955's Montgomery, Alabama.... Arthur Ashe,, famed tennis star, the first African-American inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.... Frederick Douglass, Father of the Protest Movement and author of 'The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave.... George Washington Carver, noted scientest, educator and inventor... and Maya Angelou, autobiographer and poet.

Local African-American profiles are of Reverend Ricardo Dorcean, Pastor, Central Baptist Church... Reverend A. Clark Jenkins, Pastor, First Broad Street United Methodist Church... Reverend Kenneth Calvert, Pastor, Shiloh Baptist Church... Dr. Damon Cathey, Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction, Kingsport City Schools... Paul Montgomery, Vice President of Talent Management, Eastman Chemical Company... Janet Russaw, Educator... Gerry Harrison, Educator... Mrs. Pinkie Horton, Community Activist... and Mrs. Mary Alexander, Coordinator, Weed & Seed, South Central Kingsport Community Development, Inc.


Please stop by and take a moment to read about the national and local African-Americans profiled. It's not only an educational opportunity for the John Sevier students, but also a chance for the community to learn about the local people we see every day, quietly making a contribution to Kingsport's history.

Message from Alumni President Doug Releford

We are planning a bus or van trip to Nashville on Friday, February 19th, to the morning meeting of the Tennessee Historical Commission, where they will consider our proposal for an Historical Marker for the Douglass School. The meeting starts at 10:15 AM EST.

We need to know how many of our Alumni can go with us that day, as a big show of support to the Commission for this worthwhile effort to recognize our school, the largest African-American School in Upper East Tennessee, and one of the largest in Tennessee at the time.

Seats would be either 20 or 25 dollars, depending on how many can go. Some folks have already committed, and we need to have an exact count.

Our plan is to meet with the Nashville Douglass Alumni and our Upper East Tennessee legislative delegation at the meeting, then have lunch afterwards, before returning to Kingsport that afternoon.

Please let us know as soon as possible, either to me at dougr@chartertn.net, or Calvin at douglassriverview@gmail.com


Douglas Releford, President
The Douglass Alumni Association - Kingsport

Special Weather Statement for Riverview - South Central Kingsport

For all residents.. the next weather system will move into Riverview and South Central Kingsport tonight through Saturday..

There is a low pressure system moving northeast from Texas and the Gulf of Mexico tonight, that will bring heavy rain to the area. Minor flooding may be possible along the Riverview streets already under duress from the construction trucks in the neighborhood.

And here's the thing to watch.

Unlike last Saturday's snow storm that came in on the FRONT side of the system, this weather event may be on the BACK side of it. Temperatures will be cold enough through Saturday, that, while the precipitation may start out and last for a while as a cold rain, you may find snow flurries, sleet and then all snow mixed in with it as it leaves the area by Friday night and Saturday. Some of that may stick to the streets and sidewalks, so this may not be a weekend to get out much. Just be careful.

For Riverview and South Central Kingsport, I don't expect this system to be as bad as the last 3 (especially last Saturday), but that could change and it does bear watching closely.

Riverview Roads are Wagon Ruts

There's one good thing about the snows that have belted the Riverview neighborhood recently.


The snow has hidden the wagon ruts in the streets.

To see a slideshow of the road ruts in Riverview, please click here.

Roads that were not that smooth to begin with, are virtually destroyed now, between heavy truck traffic to V.O. Dobbins and the HOPE VI home construction, and the ice expansion and constriction in the hot and cold weather.

Has the City of Kingsport noticed how bad the streets are in Riverview?


"We have indeed noticed it," says Ryan McReynolds, Public Works Director for the city. "It's no secret that, with all the construction going on over there and the heavy trucks using the only streets in and out, the damage has spread to the various utilities, the water, sewer and storm drainage."

"They're in pretty rough shape right now."

Does the city have a plan to reclaim the streets, especially Louis, Carver, Douglass and Wheatley?


"Right now, it appears that there has not really been a lot of attention given to the damage that's being done to the streets," McReynolds says. "The plan is right now," McReynolds says, "that I have asked the construction managers over there and the guys from Water and Sewer to try and get a patch system together during construction to at least hold the streets together until the heavy trucks are no longer needed. Once the construction is done, we'll assess the condition of the streets, to see if a more permanent patching is needed, or a complete recapping is the best solution."


McReynolds says, in at least one spot, he has noticed, there are some water leaks that have occurred, indicating the ruts have dug through the asphalt and the ground underneath and reached water pipes and the storm water runoff drain pipes underneath. He says, the repair process will address that.

Although the streets are in pretty bad shape, the man in charge of hundreds of miles of city streets says, now is not the time for permanent fixes for a couple of reasons.


"The up and down temperatures that keep freezing the water into ice, then thawing it back out again keeps creating holes that are hard to keep up with," says McReynolds, "and then, there's the extra added problem of the heavy trucks coming in and out. Until we can get out of the winter and get far enough along that the trucks aren't needed anymore, any kind of permanent patching is useless."

The public works director says, that should clear up in a month, when warmer weather returns to the Riverview Community, and then this summer, when most of the heavy construction work on V.O. Dobbins and the HOPE VI homes will be finished.

"The condition of the streets in Riverview, is separate from regular potholes," McReynolds says. "In Riverview, we're actually seeing structural damage to the streets from the rutting.


"Last year, we purchased a one-man pothole patching machine that's able to more readily and quickly address a pothole where the top layer has popped off. During the winter last year, we were plagued with a tremendous number of potholes around the city. We had gone through a couple of mild winters and we used a lot of salt, a lot of liquid, and many of the pothole lids popped off. We haven't see that this year, but Riverview is a different story."


McReynold promises quick action to address the destruction of the streets in the Riverview neighborhood.

"We'll be addressing that issue with the various contractors over there, and we urge folks to let us know if the roads become impassable. They are our eyes and ears when it comes to the roadways, and if they see anything, please pass it along."