Event Schedule

2004 Honorees

Dr. Elayne Crozier Abnathy

Dr. Elayne Crozier Abnathy was the fourth of seven children born to the late Britton and Barbara Davis Crozier. At the time that Dr. Abnathy was brought up, schools were segregated and she and her siblings traveled across town to complete their junior and senior high school education. She graduated with honors from Garnet High School in 1942.

In 1956, Dr. Abnathy graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia State College. Following graduation, she taught in the public school system in Cleveland, Ohio. After returning to West Virginia, Dr. Abnathy taught in Kanawha County Schools and continued her own education at West Virginia and Marshal Universities. In 1962, she received her Masters Degree from Marshal University.

Dr. Abnathy was a devoted member of CORE and participated in numerous sit-ins and demonstrations in Charleston during the sixties. She actually participated in the the sit-ins at the Diamond Department Store, which ultimately resulted in African-Americans being able to shop and eat there.

In 1964, she was elected as one of many students in the nation to attend a summer institute at Illinois State University.

Dr. Abnathy was employed as a Reading Clinician at the Kanawha County Reading Clinic. After three years in that position, she was offered a dual position at West Virginia State College as an instructor in the Department of Education and the director of The Reading Clinic.

In 1976, Dr. Abnathy received a Doctor of Philosophy Degree from Union Graduate School at Yellow Springs, Ohio. In 1994, she received The Kanawha County International Reading Association Award for Outstanding and Dedicated Service in the field of reading.

Dr. Abnathy holds memberships in Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Phi Delta Kappa, Delta Kappa Gamma, Literacy Volunteers of America, Literacy Volunteers of Kanawha County, Women Praying for the Peach Initiative and MAACK (Maximizing Achievement for African American Children in Kanawha County Schools). She is also a member of the First Baptist Church of Charleston.

Dr. Elayne Abnathy is the wife of George Abnathy and the mother of their two children, Thomas Abnathy and Carol Elayne Abnathy.

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman

Dr. Mildred Mitchell-Bateman is a native of Brunswick, Georgia, the daughter of a minister and registered nurse. She attended Barber-Scotia College in Concord, North Carolina, and graduated from Johnson C. Smith University, in Charlotte, North Carolina. She received an M.D. from Women's Medical College in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Bateman was recruited as a staff physician at Lakin State Hospital, which was, at the time, the black hospital for the mentally ill in West Virginia. After a year with Lakin, Dr. Bateman returned to Philadelphia to practice General Medicine with the goal of specializing in Psychiatry. Her experience at Lakin revealed the need for professional attention for persons with mental illness.

Three years later, the Superintendent invited Dr. Bateman to return to Lakin because of insufficient medical staff. After a year, the Superintendent helped Dr. Bateman to obtain a fellowship and residency at the Menniger School of Psychiatry in Topeka, Kansas. Upon completion of training, she returned to Lakin in August, 1955 as Clinical Director. She was later promoted to superintendent of the hospital. In 1960, Dr. Bateman was named Supervisor of Professional Services for the State Department of Mental Health. In 1962, Governor Wallace "Wally" Baron named her director of the Department of Mental Health. She became the first African-American woman to be named to a high ranking office in West Virginia.

Dr. Bateman is an advocate for mentally ill patients in West Virginia. She developed a program entitled "Breaking the Disability Cycle." Dr. Bateman advocated placing mentally ill patients at facilities near their homes and taking advantage of the federal assistance available to develop community mental health centers. Her program gave hope to patients that were previously labeled as untreatable. She is famous for her statement "No one has the right to decide that patients aren't going to get any better." In 1973, Dr. Bateman became the first African-American to serve as vice-president of the American Psychiatric Association. In 1977, she became one of four psychiatrist on the President's Commission on Mental Health. This Commission was responsible for the Mental Health Systems Act, passed in 1980.

In 1977, Dr. Bateman became the first chair of the Psychiatric Department of Marshal University's new Medical School. When Dr. Bateman stepped down as chair of the Department, she became a part of the effort to work for accreditation of Huntington State Hospital. When Dr. Roy Edwards retired, Dr. Bateman succeeded him as Clinical Director of Huntington. Thus she came full circle back to the public psychiatric hospital, but with one major difference - helping to prepare medical students to become advocates for high quality treatment for persons with mental illness. On October 2, 1999, Huntington Hospital was celebrating one hundred years of operation when Governor Cecil Underwood read a proclamation changing the hospital's name to the Mildred Mitchell-Bateman Hospital.

Dr. Bateman retired in February, 2000. She still sees patients 1/2 day a week in the University Psychiatric outpatient clinic and she still presides over an occasional teaching case conference with medical students.

Hollie James Brown

Hollie James Brown was born in Dakota, West Virginia to Jesse Brown, a coal miner, and his wife, Alice Ruth Brown. He attended public schools in Kanawha County and graduated from East Bank High School. In 1960, he joined the Army. After three years, he returned to West Virginia and worked in the coal mines and at a hospital. he also attended West Virginia State College where he majored in political science.

Mr. Brown was instrumental in the Garbage Strike of 1972 against the City of Charleston. While working in the incinerator department, Mr. Brown strived for changes in the working conditions that the mostly minority workers were enduring. Garbage bags were not used and the workers were forced to carry heavy garbage cans. The workers had no grievance procedure and the pay was low. The strike lasted ten months during which time workers walked off the job. The strike resulted in requiring Charleston residents to use garbage bags; the creation of a grievance procedure; and, better pay.

In 1974, some white parents protested books written by African-American authors in the Kanawha County School System. Mr. Brown marched in protest against that protest. He spoke to the County Board of Education regarding this issue. He felt that African-American children were being alienated and that this issue needed to be addressed.

Mr. Brown's motto is "If you try, there's a possibility you will win. If you don't try at all, defeat is looking you in the face."

He has worked for the United States Postal Service for twenty-seven years. He and his wife, Gloria, had five children, two of whom are deceased. He attends Mt. Zion Holiness Church in St. Albans. He is a member of the NAACP and a contributor to the NAACP Legal Defense Fund. He also contributes to the United Negro College Fund, the Kanawha County Schools Shoe Program and Feed the Children.

Madrith Chambers

In 1954, Madrith Chambers graduated from Stratton High School in Beckley. She went on to graduate from Bluefield State College with a B.S. in Criminal Justice Administration and an A.S. in Law Enforcement.

Ms. Chambers previously held the position of 2nd Vice President of the Raleigh County Branch of the NAACP; she served for 9 years as Chairwoman for the City of Beckley Human Rights Commission, and was a member of the Beckley Community Housing Resource Board, and Chair for the Mayor's Committee on Disability Accessibility.

Ms. Chambers was instrumental in initiating Community Policing to the City of Beckley. As a result, there are three police precincts. She has constantly focused on the recruitment and hiring of minority police officers. The Beckley Police Department had two black officers; they now have seven.

Ms. Chambers has taken the initiative to coordinate and facilitate training from a pro-active approach on behalf of elected officials for the City of Beckley in "Undoing Racism," which is spearheaded by the National League of Cities, Washington, D.C., to promote racial justice. The project has created an umbrella of community unity in Beckley. Participating organizations and agencies are representative of fair lending, health care, criminal justice, human rights, education, fair housing, churches and jobs.

Ms. Chamber's love for children motivated her to organize the annual City of Beckley "Kid's Classic Festival;" now in it's 11th year. The purpose of this event was to develop and promote family unity between parents and children. Over 500 parents and children attend this back to school event in September of each year.

Ms. Chambers has served the City of Beckley in the capacity of Councilwoman for the past 12 years. She is currently a member of the Community Health Systems Board of Directors, Heart of God Ministries, and the Raleigh Branch of the NAACP. She is the mother of five children - Stephanie, Gregory, Patrick, Jennifer and Sharri and the grandmother of seven and great-grandmother of two.

Reverend David C. Chappell (Posthumously)

Reverend David C. Chappell was born on January 16, 1922, to the Reverend Settie B. Chappell and Beatrice Hendricks Chappell of Vulcan, West Virginia. He joined the African Methodist Episcopal Church at an early age. After many years of Christian experiences, he was called into the ministry. He began serving as pastor of Bethel AME Church in 1973.

Reverend Chappell was especially known for his successful work in prison ministry. He was highly respected in the community for his ability to counsel. He was a spiritual father to a number of young men and women in the Third Episcopal District.

Reverend Chappell participated in civil rights marches throughout the southern part of the United States. He organized and led a group that marched with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Washington, D.C.

Reverend Chappell was very active in labor management affairs. At the time of his retirement, he was field coordinator for the AFL-CIO Appalachian Council. He served in advisor capacity for many organizations in the community. He also served on many boards and committees as a respected leader of the West Virginia Annual Conference.

He and his wife Sara were the parents of one daughter, Carol Edwards and the grandparents of two grandsons, Eric and Timothy Edwards. Reverend Chappell passed away on October 30, 1989.

Retired Sergeant Edward Clark, Jr

Retired Sergeant Edward Clark, Jr. is a legend at the City of Charleston Police Department. He set the standard for African American police officers and the standard is high. Sergeant Clark joined the force in 1956, a time when African American officers assigned to beats predominately white areas of town were not allowed to eat in the restaurants or use the public restrooms. African American police officers were usually assigned to the paddy wagon and "Triangle District" where most African Americans lived. Furthermore, African American officers could not join the Fraternal Order of Police. These officers could protect and serve, but, could not exercise the rights guaranteed them under the United States Constitution.

It takes strength of character, duty and a strong sense of right and wrong to break the barriers of racial discrimination in a setting where one is expected to enforce the law while the City itself is violating the law.

Using the legal system, Sergeant Clark filed a lawsuit against the City of Charleston Police Department that resulted in, after a 16 year battle, African American officer's admission to the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) in 1973. He is a member of the FOP and played basketball on the Police Officers team. He sued the Mayor, Police Chief, and the City of Charleston Police Civil Service Commission, won and subsequently, he was promoted to the rank of sergeant.

During his tenure on the force, Sergeant Clark mentored many African American officers and continued to protest against unfair treatment by the department. He spearheaded policy changes that ended discrimination in promotions and duty assignments. Sgt. Clark received commendation letters that salute him for defusing racial tensions in the riot-filled 60's. he was a good officer; tough but fair. He is committed to justice and believes in the importance of family. Often, he reminds youth to honor their parents.

After his retirement from the City of Charleston Police Department, Sergeant Clark became the Chief of Campus Police at West Virginia State College. He later retired in 1986.

Sgt. Clark once said that although he was not happy with everything in his life, he was very much satisfied. The battles he fought, he knew were good. In the police department, he overcame a lot of obstacles and that made him a stronger and better person. His life started with the people he came in contact with as a kid. Sgt. Clark says that people can make or break you, and the people...made me.

Sergeant Clark wa born on June 2, 1925 in Charleston, WV on 7th Avenue next to Patrick Street. his grandfather was a Holiness Preacher. His parents were Edward and Madge Clark and his father cooked for George Gas at 24 Summers Street Lunch. He is a graduate of Garnett High School. One of the defining factors in Sgt. Clark's life was when he went to work for Emmett Bowen, who sold meat all over town. Another major revelation came to Sgt. Clark when he joined the Army and traveled to England and Scotland and realized that racism was not a common feeling around the world. He was married for many years to Barbara Clark, a professor at West Virginia State College in Institute, West Virginia. She is now deceased. He had two sons by a previous marriage, one of whom is now deceased.

Rabbi Samuel Cooper

There are those persons who will leave a legacy of love, respect, dignity, and a sincere affection for his fellow man. Rabbi Cooper, who served the B'nai Jacob Congregation of Charleston for 40 years, is one such person.

Born in Toronto, Canada to Joseph and Alta Cooper, he assumed his studies at the renowned Talmudical Academy of New York at the tender age of twelve. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from the College of the City of New York and his ordination as Rabbi at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary. He came to Charleston at the age of 22 years on temporary assignment and so impressed the congregation that he was invited back to assume a permanent position and stayed 40 years.

During his many years in Charleston, West Virginia, he served on the Human Rights Commission; the Mayor's Citizens Advisory Committee for Community Improvement; the Charleston Job Corps Relations Council; and the Social Studies Advisory Curriculum for the State Department of Education. Also, he served on the Board of Directors of the American Red Cross and the National Council of the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee.

He likes to think that his most noteworthy effort occurred in 1950 when he was summoned by one of the American Jewish Congress to intercede on behalf of the 103 Jewish displaced persons to stay their departure from this country back to their European homes of origin. So successful was he in his endeavor that the Congress in a most praiseworthy article wrote, "We know you were not motivated by any desire for commendation, but we wish we had an award to bestow upon you for the service rendered over and beyond the call of duty."

But, he is likewise remembered for his support of civil rights in the Charleston area. In 1967, the Charleston Gazette recognized him as one of the four outstanding West Virginians of the Year. Morris Harvey College conferred an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree upon him. He and his wife, Rebbetzin have three sons.

Howard Jefferson Crump

Howard Jefferson Crump was born on April 24, 1915 in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia, one of the most rigidly racially segregated places in West Virginia. Mr. Crump has spent his life actively promoting racial equality. He lived through almost the entire twentieth century. The only place he could attend high school was Bolling School in Lewisburg, nine miles from his home. Greenbrier County would not provide a school bus, so Mr. Crump and other black students walked the nine miles to attend school. As the Great Depression hit, he had to drop out of high school in 1929 to join his father's business, J. F. Crump & Sons Hauling. He worked in his father's business and, when work was available, worked on the New Deal Program. Works Progress Administration (WPA). In 1932, Mr. Crump began working part time at the Greenbrier Resort. He worked at The Greenbrier for 52 years. His poor eyesight caused him to be rejected by the U.S. Army during World War II, so he worked at Ashford General Hospital, in the converted Greenbrier Hotel.

The Greenbrier Branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was organized in 1954. Mr. Crump served as president from 1955 until 1979. May 1954 saw the beginnings of the 1960's civil rights movement with the U.S. Supreme Court decision, Brown v. Board of Education, that overturned "separate but equal." In November 1954, at the request of attorney T. G. Nutter, Thurgood Marshall, then General Counsel NAACP Legal Defense Fund, came to speak at the First Baptist Church in White Sulphur Springs.

Greenbrier County schools were racially segregated. Attorneys Nutter and Williard Brown, chair of the state NAACP legal redress committee, argued in Federal Court under Judge Moore in Lewisburg that Brown v. Board of Education required Greenbrier County to desegregate its public schools. They won. White Sulphur Springs' white students rioted when black students enrolled. Mr. Crump shuttled between his job at the Greenbrier and downtown White Sulphur Springs to help black people get their children into the school and to keep them safe.

Mr. Crump and the Greenbrier Branch helped people in neighboring Monroe and Pocahontas Counties. he helped get bus driver jobs in Monroe; helped settle discrimination cases where black people would have lost without his and the NAACP's representation; and helped negotiate Greenbrier area school desegregation.

During the turbulent days of the 1960s, Howard Crump and others in the Greenbrier's labor unions and the Greenbrier Branch NAACP helped people in other states. When sharecroppers were put out of their homes and sets up a tent city in Hayward and Fayette Counties, Tennessee, they took food to them. When the Memphis, Tennessee, garbage collectors went on strike with the slogan, "I Am a Man," Mr. Crump failed to get someone from Charleston to help, so he and his groups took food and other supplies. They collected money from Greenbrier churches and canned goods. He was in Memphis the week in 1968 when Dr. King was assassinated, and had stayed at the Lorraine Motel just days before Dr. King was shot on the Lorraine's Balcony. Mr. Crump continues to promote the goals of civil rights.

Roger Forman

Roger Forman was born and raised in New Rochelle, New York, but he has always felt that he was meant to live in Wets Virginia. He has spent much of his life focusing on the civil rights movement.

As a child, he helped to prepare and sell chicken dinners to fund school desegregation cases. In 1964, civil rights activists James Chaney, Andrew Goodman, and Mickey Schwerner were murdered in Mississippi. The mother of Mickey Schwerner was a teacher at the junior high Mr. Forman attended. He and his classmates committed their energies to fighting for civil righs and raising money for freedom riders.

After graduating from the University of Michigan in 1970, Mr. Forman attended Antioch School of Law. In law school, he worked at the civil rights division of the attorney general's office and participated in two southern school desegregation cases which went to trial.

Roger Forman is married to Arla Ralston. He is the father of two sons, Cyrus Forman, a 2002 graduate of New York University and Isaac Forman, a sophomore at University of Vermont.

Robert Jackson Guerrant

Robert Guerrant was born in 1923 in the coal community of Winding Gulf, West Virginia. In 1943, he became one of the first African-Americans to join the United States Marine Corps. He went directly overseas to the Marshall Islands in the South Pacific. After spending close to three years in the military, he returned to Winding Gulf and applied to West Virginia State College, but his father became disabled and he had to go to work full time in the coal mines to care for his immediate family. After working in the mines for 25 years, he developed black lung and was let go.

Mr. Guerrant was an advocate for rights of children in public schools. He became interested in desegregation. His goal was to make schools more open to black students who were attending white schools. He traveled between New York, Boston, Washington D.C., and West Virginia to gather and develop informationon the similarities between inner city schools and rural area schools. He supervised VISTA (Volunteers in Service To America) volunteers in the Raleigh County area dealing with rural issues such as road, water, housing, education and transportation issues.

Robert Guerrant applied to Beckley Junior College and was initially turned down because of his race. He was subsequently accepted and there he studied psychology and social problems. He went on to attend the University of Pittsburgh and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In 1971, he received his Master's degree in education from Harvard Graduate School in Cambridge, Massachusettes.

Mr. Guerrant was the Director of the James Jackson Putnam Children's Center in Boston Massachusetts and the Executive Director of the City-Wide Improvement Council in Charleston.

He is a member of the United Mine Workers of America Local 1946, has served on the Committee on Rural transportation in Washington, D.C., the Committee for Support of Public Schools in Washington, D.C., the transportation System Committee in Raleigh County and was the organizer of Spate, a community watchdog newspaper. He was a member of the National Association of Community Development and a member of the West Virginia Welfare Advisory Committee, Area 17.

Robert and his wife Marybelle are the parents of Maxine, Carson "Slim", Cynthia, Linda, Paula, Barbara, Robert Jr., Mary, Byron, Bryant, Anthony, Diane and Jennifer Guerrant. Nine of their children are college graduates. They currently reside in Charleston.

Betty Agsten Hamilton

Betty Agsten Hamilton grew up in and around Charleston, West Virginia and was the older of two children born to Mr. and Mrs. John Agsten. She graduated from Stonewall Jackson High School and Sullins Jr. Women's College, in Bristol, Virginia, where she studied piano and was President of the student body. She graduated from West Virginia University with a degree in Public School Music.

Mrs. Hamilton has touched many lives through her dedication to the advancement of civil rights from the 1950's through today. Early on, she lobbied and marched for civil rights and for the passage of the Human Rights Act. She sat in at the Diamond lunch counter in order to facilitate integration of Charleston in the 1950's. Ms. Hamilton was the President of the Kanawha Valley Council on Human Rights; Co-founder of Panel of American Women; a volunteer at the day care center at Coal Branch Heights; part of a group that tried to locate housing for people living in the Triangle District who were displaced by the interstate; and a member of the National Bi-Racial Bi-Centennial Commission.

Starting in the 1980's, Ms. Hamilton was the recipient of the Living Dream Award for Courage from the Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Commission; honorary National Chairperson of National Mental Health Association; and internationally recognized speaker on mental health. She has been honored by numerous groups across Canada and the United States (and by Canadian Mental Health Association) for advocacy. Mrs. Hamilton also received an award from Common Cause, which was a movement founded in 1970 propelled by the lobbying activities of its member with an agenda to include pressing for civil rights, ethics, and open meetings laws.

Ms. Hamilton appeared in the media hundreds of times; was a twenty year member of the West Virginia Human Rights Commission; was on the State Advisory Committee to the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights; was on a special Committee to investigate health care at Alderson Federal Prison Camp for Women; appeared on Phil Donahue twice, once to talk about mental health; and once in support of books in the Kanawha County Textbook Controversy. She was also a member of the Selection Committee to recommend books to the Kanawha County School Board during the textbook controversy. Betty Hamilton was also on the National Board for Depressive/Manic Depressive Association and the National Board of "NARSAD", the National Alliance for Research in Schizophrenia & Depression.

The Honorable Gail Marie Jackson Ferguson

Gail Marie Jackson Ferguson was born in New York, New York. She attended Resurrection Elementary School and Cathedral High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Hunter College in Political Science. She graduated from Hunter College in three years during which time she was on the Dean's List. While at Hunter, she studied abroad in Africa at Togo, Nigeria, Ghana and Dahomey now known as Benin. After graduating from Hunt College, Judge Ferguson attended and graduated from Georgetown University Law School in 1979. While in law school, she clerked for Crowell & Moring.

Prior to joining the West Virginia Human Rights Commission as an administrative law judge in 1987, Judge Ferguson served as General Counsel to the Commission and an assistant attorney general for the state of West Virginia. She practiced law at Kaufman & Ratliff in Charleston, West Virginia.

Judge Ferguson is remembered for her participation in many landmark cases that help to clarify human rights and civil rights laws in West Virginia. As an administrative law judge for the West Virginia Human Rights Commission, she is responsible for the issuance of many landmark decisions all relating to disability race and sex discrimination. She issued the decision in Kathy Varney v. Frank's Shoe Store in which she held that discrimination based upon pregnancy constitutes illegal sex discrimination under the West Virginia Human Rights Act. This decision became a landmark case. Her decision was upheld by the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals and is cited at 365 S.E.2d 251.

She is married to Waren Ferguson, a native West Virginian and is the mother of three daughters and grandmother of two.

Allen Edward Lee

Mr. Allen Edward Lee was born in 1921 in Clarksburg West Virginia. One of three children, he attended segregated schools in Clarksburg and graduated from Kelly Miller High School in 1939. After finishing high school, he joined the U.S. Army and served in World War II in the South Pacific. In 1947 Allen returned to Clarksburg. He tried to use his veteran status to get a job at the local veterans' hospital, but, was unsuccessful. Eventually, he went to work for Sears & Roebuck Department Store.

After working at Sears for about ten years Mr. Lee left Clarksburg for New York City. He began working at Childs Restaurant, a very popular eatery at the time near Grand Central Station, where he was allowed to work but not eat.

Subsequently, he worked in the garment industry where he became involved with the International Ladies Garment Union. Serving in several offices in the union, the last being the local union President, Mr. Lee was involved at the grass roots level of the sixties civil rights movement. As local Captain, Mr. Lee was in charge of several railroad cars going to the March on Washington. The local Union office was used as a local meeting place was he was able to meet with many of the civil rights leader James Farmer, Roy Wilkins, Burien Ruston and many more.

After retirement in 1991 he returned to West Virginia.

A devote husband Mr. Lee cared for his wife until her death. Mr. Lee is involved in many organizations, such as the local NAACP where he still serves as president. He organized the West Virginia Black Heritage Festival now in its fourteenth year. He serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors, works with adult illiteracy, Habitat for America, and the Kelly Miller Alumni Association. He is a deacon at Mt Zion Miss. Baptist Church.

Jean F. Loewnstein Lazarus (Posthumously)

Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus was born in 1923 to Hallet and Lillian Foster. Three years after graduating from Smith College in Northhampton, Massachusetts, she married Stanley Loewenstein, a philanthropist and successful, socially conscious business leader.

Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus became an active member of the Kanawha Valley Council on Human Relations. Her activism in the civil rights struggle began during the time when the triangle district in Charleston, West Virginia was being torn apart to make way for industrial development, displacing small businesses and lower income families, largely black, who could not find housing.

Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus is remembered for her passionate devotion to those causes concerned with the rights of women and children. She served on the Juvenile Justice Committee, an organization working on behalf of troubled youths. She was determined to see that these young people received fair treatment. She later became a fervent supporter of the Women's Health Center, which, among many services, guarantees women the "right to choose."

Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus participated in the march against discrimination from Capitol Street to Rock Lake pool. A network called UNION (United Neighborhood Interest Organization Network) organized the march. The network included religious congregations, unions, fraternal organizations and individuals. C.T. Vivian, deputy to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., led the march. Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus was a member of the congregation of Temple Israel and served on the board of the Charleston Section of the National Council of Jewish Women. She and her first husband Stanley were patrons of the arts.

Jean and Stanley Lowenstein were the parents of three children. After Stanley Loewenstein's death, she married a friend from her youth, Jeffrey Lazarus. Jean F. Loewenstein Lazarus passed away on December 9, 2003 at the age of 79.

Lucille Meadows

Lucille Meadows was a Fayette County school teacher for over 30 years. In 1976, she was voted one of the top ten Persons of the Year in Fayette County. She was a member of the N.E.A. Congressional Contact Team, and she organized the Fayette County Black Caucus, which sponsors the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Luncheon.

Ms. Meadows worked with the NAACP since her teenage years and served as a Chairperson of the Upper Fayette County NAACP Political Action Committee and member of the WV Conference of NAACP Political Action Committee. She lobbied for the King Holiday Bill dealing with Human and Civil Rights and she spear headed the drive in her community to have Main Street in her area named King Avenue in Memory of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

In 1982, Ms. Meadows was chosen by the N.E.A. as one of two individuals which would represent the N.E.A. at King Week in Atlanta, GA, she was presented the Mary L. Williams Memorial Award by the WVEA for outstanding contributions in the eradication of racial inequities in the education profession, and she received the Washington Carver Award. This award was presented by the Department of Culture and History to the West Virginian who exemplified in the spirit of service of Camp Washington Carver.

In 1983, Ms. Meadows received the Martin Luther King, "Living the Dream Award" presented by the WV King Holiday Commission for the advocacy on nonviolence.

Ms. Meadows was recognized by the Fayetteville Women's Club in 1985, for her support of education. She received the Appreciation for Humanitarian Service in Southern WV presented by St. Matthews A.M.E. Church of Beckley, WV in 1986. In 1988, she received the T.G. Nutter Award for outstanding service and humanity.

Ms. Meadows had several appointments by Senator Jay D. Rockefeller, such as, eight years of the WV Women's Advisory Commission, eight years on the WV State Journal Vocational Education Advisor Committee, and two years on the Governors Judicial Committee. In 1990, she was appointed to the House of Delegates by Governor Gaston Caperton, who also appointed her to the WV Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission and the Teachers Compensation Task Force.

Ms. Meadows was the mother of one daughter, Benita Luanne Austin, and two grandchildren, Jeri Monique, and Jerome Wayne Austin. Ms. Meadows passed away in 1997.

Reverend Moses Newsome (Posthumously)

Always a man of great vision, Reverend Moses Newsome through his dedicated ministry, service to all, and leadership, worked tirelessly within the community for human and civil rights in limitless ways in Charleston, the State of West Virginia and the Nation.

As a leader and civil rights advocate, Reverend Newsome fought and was instrumental in securing fair housing for the citizens of Charleston. Always interested in employment opportunities and job training for African Americans, he co-founded the Charleston Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) where he served as Board Chairman.

He was president of the West Virginia State Baptist Convention, the West Virginia Council of Churches, the West Virginia Congress of Christian Education, the Charleston Ministerial Association and the West Virginia Philosophical Society. In addition, he was a member of the Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped; the West Virginia Human Rights Commission; and the Charleston Police Civil Service Commission.

His philosophy was that all people could realize their potential if they were uplifted and given a chance. To this end he used the resources of his personal relationships by bringing to Charleston such individuals as Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King; Reverend Ralph Abernathy; Mahalia Jackson; Roy Wilkins; Reverend Adam Clayton Powell; Corretta Scott King and many others. As a close associate of Dr. King, he took a leadership role in the civil rights movement which included sit-ins at public eating establishments and leading marches for racial justice in Charleston and other cities.

Reverend Newsome was born in Ahoskie, North Carolina, November 15, 1914. He attended public schools in Ahoskie. He received his B.A. and B.D. degrees from Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was also awarded another B.D. and S.T.M. degrees from the Graduate School of Theology at Oberlin College in Ohio. In 1941, at the age of 26, he was called to the pastorate of First Baptist Church. He married Ruth Bass of Raleigh, North Carolina in 1942. To this union were born four children.

While pastor at First Baptist Church, he was the builder of the current edifice located at Shrewsbury and Lewis Streets in Charleston. His vision for the church was beyond his years and time. In addition to being a place of worship, his desire was to build a community center for all people. He saw it as an opportunity to make the church the center of the lives of its members. He succeeded in accomplishing this goal.

His sphere of influence extended nationally and internationally as a board member of the National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc. In 1970, he represented the West Virginia Council of Churches at the World Baptist Alliance in Tokyo, Japan.

Reverend Newsome lived an exemplary life and will forever be remembered in West Virginia as a great man, a visionary leader and a true disciple of Jesus Christ.

Dr. Virgil A. Peterson (Posthumously)

Dr. Peterson served on the Board of the ACLU and the NAACP in Morgantown for many years. He received the Roger Baldwin Founders Award on April 7, 2000 from the Morgantown ACLU.

He was a professor at West Virginia University from 1966 to 1997. From 1967 to 1979, Dr. Peterson was a faculty advisor to a student organization called the Student Action for Appalachian Progress which tutored disadvantaged children in Monongalia County. From 1989i to 1995, Dr. Peterson conducted numerous workshops in conflict resolution as a way of helping people achieve civil rights through peaceful means.

Dr. Sophia Peterson

Dr. Sophia Peterson also served as a member of the ACLU and the NAACP. She has worked diligently in the field of women and civil rights.

Soon after she received a position in the Department of Political Science in 1966, she protested the location the student honorary dinner at a restaurant that did not admit African Americans to her department chairman. Although the dinner location was not changed, this would not be the first time she would protest the double standard of racism in Morgantown.

In 1972, as President of the West Virginia University chapter of the American Association of University Professors, she wrote a study concerning discrimination against women faculty at the University.

Lucille Pianfetti

When Lucille Pianfetti came to West Virginia in 1940 as a bride, she learned that women could not serve on juries in this state. Immediately, Lucille Pianfetti joined the West Virginia League of Women Voters to see what she could do about this. The bill she supported died several times in committee but finally in 1966 with the help of Senator Paul J. Kaufman, the bill was passed.

Lucille Pianfetti was President of the Kanawha Valley Council on Human Relations and one of its projects was finding housing for the poor families who were being displaced by Urban Renewal. The small group made its voice heard in the community.

Lucille Pianfetti has been a part of civil rights projects for fifty years. She worked closely with Carl Glatt, the then head of the Human Rights Commission, in 1967 to bring to Charleston Mrs. Esther Brown, who had formed the Panel of American Women. Their goal was to educate people about the effect of discrimination on their personal lives. She was also a member of the Child Study League with 400 members who learned to be effective parents and served as President in the late forties.

She has been a member of the Unitarian Fellowship since its inception in 1953. She is a resident of Cross Lanes, West Virginia.

Charles Emmett Price (Posthumously)

Charles Emmett Price was born in Fairmont, West Virginia, on April 30, 1920 to Delia Ann and Charles Emmett Price. He attended Dunbar High School and continued his education at West Virginia State College, graduating in 1941 with a major in math and physical science. After graduating, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he taught school for two years. He was drafted in the Navy, where he served for three years as an aviation metal smith.

In 1949, Mr. Price became the first African-American to receive a law degree from West Virginia University. In 1975, he was honored as WVU College of Law Alumnus of the Year. He practiced law for 41 years, beginning his career in Logan, West Virginia and retiring from his private practice in Charleston in 1990.

In the 1970s, Mr. Price persuaded fellow members of the Mountain State Bar Association to help young, underprivileged and minority lawyers begin their careers. He was a lifelong member of the NAACP and a longtime civil rights activist.

He was a member of Simpson Memorial United Methodist Church, where he served with his time, talent and other resources. He was also affiliated with Humphreys Memorial United Methodist Church. He also served his church in a larger capacity as West Virginia Conference President of United Methodist Men.

He and his wife Christine are the parents of three children; Karen Williams of Charleston; Lois Price of Roswell, Georgia; and, Charles L. Price of Columbus, Ohio. Charles Emmett Price passed away in 1991 at the age of 70.

Josephine Morris Rayford (Posthumously)

Josephine Morris Rayford grew up in Pennsylvania. She was the youngest daughter of the Reverend Joseph Edward and Emma Gilkerson Morris. After completing a 3 year commercial teacher training course a year early, she began her teaching career at the minority-only Garnet High School in Charleston in 1924. During her 35 years of teaching in Kanawha County schools, she was well known for inspiring her students in a fun and fair atmosphere. Her students included Tony Brown and Leon Sullivan. She was named "Outstanding Business Education Teacher" by Bluefield State College seven times. She was the faculty sponsor of the school newspaper "The Eye," which won First Place in state competition.

After voluntarily retiring, she continued to teach adult education at the State Police and Charleston Police Department. She was called upon to teach at West Virginia State College from 1963 to 1970. In 1971 she was recommended for "Outstanding Educator in America." Mrs. Rayford also continued her own education throughout her lifetime, receiving degrees from West Virginia State College, Ohio State University and University of Dayton. She actively supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and participated in marches, meetings and discussions. She protested against the injustices of discrimination.

Mrs. Rayford was the first African American affiliated with the Kanawha County Business Education Association, serving of the Board of Directors. Mrs. Rayford was a member of many organizations and served on the State and County Curriculum Revision Committee. She was named Alumni of the Year by the West Virginia State College Alumni Association. Mrs. Rayford's work with Meals on Wheels got her named "Hometown Hero" by the television WSAZ. She was a member of the St. Paul A.M.E. Church and a Sunday school teacher. She was recognized as a "Valiant Woman" by the national body of Church Women United. She was a life member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated and a member of the Charleston -Institute Alumnae Chapter.

Josephine Morris Rayford shared her life with her husband of 41 years, George B. Rayford, who died in 1983. In 1993 at the age of 89, she was honored by the Henry Highland Garnett Foundation for years of dedication and service. She passed away in December 2001.

George Rutherford

A true champion of civil rights in West Virginia, Mr. George Rutherford served as a member of the West Virginia Human Rights Commission for 19 years and as its chair for 8 for those years. He has assisted many persons in filing complaints of discrimination at the state and federal level for more then 40 years.

Mr. Rutherford has served as the President of the Jefferson County Branch of the NAACP since 1974. He is currently the longest serving NAACP president in West Virginia. He is the recipient of the Eighth T. G. Nutter Award, the highest award given by the West Virginia State NAACP for exceptional and outstanding service to the State and National NAACP. In 2000, he received the Roland Alexander Branch President of the Year in the Midwest Region III.

He filed a complaint against the Jefferson County Board of education with the Office of Civil Rights alleging that the Board had discriminated against African American students on the basis of race. He won that lawsuit. The U. S. Office on Civil Rights ordered the Jefferson County Board of Education to comply with federal civil rights laws.

During the past 12 years, Mr. Rutherford has been the driving force behind "Jefferson County NAACP African American Cultural and Heritage festival." This is a three day festival where events and activities are held in Harpers Ferry, Shepherdstown and Charles Town. The Festival's parade is thought to be one of a few African American parades in West Virginia.

He is a founding member and treasurer of the Jefferson County Black History Preservation Society, an organization dedicated to publishing the history of the African American history of eastern West Virginia.

Mr. Rutherford was born in Charles Town, West Virginia. He graduated from Page-Jackson High School. In 1962, he received a Bachelor of Science degree and an Associate degree in Business from Shepherd College. In 1965, he received a Master of Science degree from Marshall University. Mr. Rutherford has pursued further studies at Storer College; American University; University of Pittsburgh. He has taken post-graduate courses at Northern Arizona University and Cornell University.

He is a member of several Masonic organizations. He has served as the Most Worshipful Grand Master, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of WV, F&AM 1987-88. He is the Adjutant of Marshall-Holly-Mason American Legion Post #102, Charles Town.

Mr. Rutherford is married to Barbara Smith and they are the proud parents of seven children. They are members of Mt. Zion Methodist Church in Charles Town.

Steve Rutledge

One of the most widely known photographs of the "sit-in movement" shows students seated at a Jackson, Mississippi's Woolworth's store lunch counter with a mob of white men squirting mustard, ketchup, and spray paint, pouring sugar on the students, and hitting them with glass ash trays and sugar jars. Within two weeks, over a thousand persons were imprisoned in Jackson for protesting racial segregation.

The photo was taken in the spring of 1963 and Steve Rutledge was there. He had transferred in January 1963 to Tougaloo Southern Christian College on the outskirts of Jackson. Steve was third white student to attend Tougaloo. In his senior year, fellow students elected him president of the student body. He and Joan Trumpauer, shown in the center of the famous photograph, were Tougaloo's first white college graduates. He worked tirelessly, mostly in Jackson but also in other Mississippi locations, with Medgar Evers, Executive Secretary of Mississippi NAACP. Steve was involved with people who were martyred for their pursuit of civil rights. He himself was jailed three times.

June 11, 1963, was an active day in Mississippi civil rights. Steve led students wearing NAACP T-shirts to downtown Jackson to demonstrate. Many were arrested and joined almost 700 persons in jail. NAACP state director Medgar Evers returned home after midnight, exhausted after getting most of those arrested out of jail. Stepping out of his car into his driveway, carrying a stack of those NAACP sweatshirts stenciled "Jim Crow Must Go" that Steve Rutledge had worn earlier that day, Evers was assassinated. Later the very next morning, Steve helped organize pickets with placards reading "One Man, One Vote" and "Freedom Now." Steve writes about Medgar Evers' funeral: "On a terribly hot day in June of 1963 a riot broke out in Jackson, Mississippi during the funeral procession for Medgar Evers . Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was in the march but his family feared for his safety and I was assigned the task of driving him to the airport and getting him there safely to protect his life. I did so and I'll always remember his words to me, 'Thank you, young man!'"

Another of Steve Rutledge's martyred Mississippi civil rights colleagues, Mickey Schwerner, 24 of the Congress of Racial Equality, along with James Chaney, 20, and 21-year old Andrew Goodman "disappeared" and were found under an earthen dam. When he was in high school, Andrew Goodman had conducted first-hand research on poverty in West Virginia. Goodman had picketed Woolworth's in New York City in sympathy with southern Woolworth's sit-in protests, such as the one Steve Rutledge participated in in Jackson.

Steve Rutledge came to live in West Virginia in the early 1970s where he continues to work for the Civil Rights Movement's highest principles. Currently helping low and moderate income people obtain affordable, decent housing through the Greenbrier County Housing Authority, he has worked as an investigator for the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and as a labor organizer for the AFSCME. He is a mainstay of the Greenbrier Martin Luther King Day Committee. He speaks of the day by saying, "For me, the holiday honoring the life and beliefs of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is the only one that was created in our lifetime to place equality, justice and peace at the top of our list of what is important. It is a day on, not off, because it gives each of us a chance to unite with one or more other persons to make something better - it could be our family, our school, our job, or our community."

Reverend Charles H. Smith

A native of Lexington, Kentucky and son of a well known Baptist minister, Charles H. Smith attended Indiana University in Bloomington, Indiana. He graduated from Virginia Union University with honors and a degree in Languages. He received a Masters of Divinity with academic honors from the Samuel DeWitt Proctor School of Religion. Reverend Smith also holds post-graduate certifications in Epidemiology in Public Health from the University of Pennsylvania, and an Executive Management Certificate from Harvard University. He was honored with a Doctor of Divinity from Simmons Bible College in Louisville, Kentucky, and a Doctor of Letters conferred by Marshall University.

Arriving in Huntington, West Virginia in 1960, Reverend Charles H. Smith accepted the position as pastor of the First Baptist Church. Seeing a long established segregated community, he proceeded with a vision to eliminate the walls of segregation in Huntington. Reverend Smith's plan was to building relationships that encouraged racial harmony and economic justice among all the citizens of the community. Reverend Smith worked in many areas of the community, including educational, economic, employment, community development, and housing, to improve the relationships of all people in Huntington.

In the educational area, Reverend Smith was the co-founder and Executive Director of Tri-State Opportunities Industrialization Center (O.I.C.). Reverend Smith was responsible for the integration of the O.I.C. faculty and student body. Reverend Smith was also Director of the West Virginia Jobs Program, a statewide advocacy program working to provide jobs, and to eliminate class and racial barriers to training and employment.

As co-founder of ACTION, INC, a Community to Improve its Neighborhood, Reverend Smith contributed to a community based organization for the purpose of advocating social and economic justice by working with all races for the common good of the community. In conjunction with the First Baptist Church, Reverend Smith helped establish Rotary Gardens, a 21 acre low income integrated housing development located in Huntington.

Reverend Smith worked with a major employer in Huntington, INCO, the International Nickel Company, to train and employ minorities for well paying jobs. As a result, INCO encouraged other local businesses to take positive steps to provide equal training and employment opportunities for all of the citizens of Huntington.

Active in the NAACP, Reverend Smith has chaired the WV State NAACP Life Membership Committee, the Deputy Executive Director of the National NAACP, in New York City, and a Member of the Board of Directors of the National NAACP.

Reverend Smith contributed to the improvement of the economy of Huntington by establishing a seafood business known as Fisherman's Wharf. He also founded a catering business that provided food services for childhood development centers and commercial institutions. These businesses provided many jobs for those who were unable to find stable employment in the Huntington area.

Reverend Smith resides in Wayne, New Jersey, with his wife, the former Kimanne I. Core of Weston, Connecticut.

Mary Snow

Mary Snow was born to the late Britton and Barbara Davis Crozier. In 1930, she graduated from Garnet High School. At the age of 19, she graduated from West Virginia State College with a Bachelor's Degree in English and French. She has also earned a Master's Degree in Elementary Education and Child Psychology. She has also studied at Virginia State College, West Virginia University, Marshall University and the University of Cardiff in Wales.

She was the first female elected editor of the West Virginia State College newspaper, the Yellow Jacket. Her education career evidences a multitude of significant records. These records include fifty-two years in the teaching and administrative fields in Kanawha County Schools (believed to be the longest tenure in the state's history.) In addition to that record, she was the first African-American exchange teacher from West Virginia sent to Great Britain. While there, she was selected as one of the ten most outstanding exchange teachers and was honored by being selected to have tea with Queen Mary, Queen Mother of Britain.

Her educational leadership skills have been encompassed in various positions such as: president of the Board of Regents Block Grant Advisory Board; member of the Board of Advisors of West Virginia State College; Director of Kanawha County Schools Creative Expression Center; and, first black supervising principal of an integrated school in Kanawha County. She served as a principal for 35 years.

Ms. Snow is a longtime commissioner on the Charleston Human Rights Commission. She is a Hall of Fame inductee in the Henry Highland Garnett Foundation and a board and newsletter editor. She is the President of the Charleston Women's Improvement Council and a member of several other organizations. She is the past president of three public service Greek Letter organizations: Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; Delta Kappa Gamma Society; and, Epsilon Chapter of Delta Kappa Phi.

Ms. Snow has been a recipient of the West Virginia Martin Luther King Giving of Self Award; a WV Women's Commission's Celebrate Women's Award in education and has been included in several editions of Who's Who.

The Honorable Nancy A. Starks (Posthumously)

Nancy Starks, former Kanawha County magistrate, was a longtime civil rights activist in Kanawha County. She attended De Sales High School. She received her bachelor's degree from West Virginia State College and a master's degree in social work from West Virginia University.

She was married to the late Benjamin Starks. Together they published the Beacon Digest, the premier African American newspaper with statewide distribution in West Virginia. The Beacon Digest keeps the African American community informed of issues involving social and political change.

Mrs. Starks was a Kanawha County magistrate for 24 years. Kanawha County Circuit Judge James Stucky said he worked with Starks since 1978. He said that "she was always a caring and an excellent magistrate. She did the job magistrates are meant to do. She related to people on their own level and used the common sense she gained throughout her life."

She remained involved in community activists throughout her political life. She was a longtime member of the Charleston Woman's Improvement League and the Charleston-Institute Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. During her years with the Sorority, she served as the chair of the chapter’s Social Action Committee and was responsible for organizing many voter registration drives. She was a faithful member of St. Anthony Church, Charleston, West Virginia.

She is survived by her two daughters, Laura A. Starks and Stephanie Paul as well as two sons, Stephen, Benjamin and seven grandchildren and five great-grandchildren.

The Honorable Booker T. Stephens

Judge Booker T. Stephens was first elected to the Circuit Court of McDowell County in November 1984. He assumed office on January 1, 1985 and has since been reelected in 1992 and 2000. He has served as Chief Judge since 1990.

In February, 1985, then Supreme Court Chief Justice Richard Neely appointed Judge Stephens to serve with a panel of four other judges, on the West Virginia Supreme Court to hear a case in which the then Supreme Court disqualified itself from hearing. As a result, Judge Stephens became the first African American judge in the history of the state to sit on the Supreme Court of Appeals. Since 1985, Judge Stephens has been designated to sit on the Supreme Court of Appeals on nine separate occasions. He is a member of the prestigious Mass Litigation Panel which consists of six judges who hear all complex mass litigation in the State of West Virginia He is also a member of the Supreme Court's Taskforce on Self Representation and the Taskforce to Study perceived Racial Disparity in the Juvenile Justice System in West Virginia.

He was selected by the Honorable Bob Wise to receive the Governor’s "Living the Dream Award" on January 18, 2003 at the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. West Virginia Holiday Celebration. This award is presented annually to a person who best represents the qualities and attributes of Dr. King by being an advocate of peace, sharing of self, human and civil rights and scholarship.

Judge Stephens of Welch, McDowell County, West Virginia was born on November 3, 1944 at Bluefield, West Virginia. He was reared at Warriormines, West Virginia. He is the son of the late Reverend Robert L. Stephens and the late Estella Stephens. He was educated at Excelsior High School and graduated in 1962. He graduated from West Virginia State College in Political Science and Spanish in 1966 and received his Juris Doctorate degree was from Howard University in 1972. He was selected as an Earl Warren Fellow. This distinguished award was sponsored by the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Inc. In 1973, he became involved in the practice of law and served as a cooperating attorney for the NAACP Legal Defense Fund from 1973-1984.

Judge Stephens served in the United States Army from 1966-1968. He was inducted into the West Virginia State College Hall of Fame in October 2002. He is a member of the West Virginia Judicial Association, the West Virginia State Bar Association, and the American Bar Association. He is a former member of the Executive Committee of the National Conference of State Trial Judges. He has served on the faculty of the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.

Judge Stephens served two terms in the West Virginia Legislature as a member of the House of Delegates, where in 1980 he became Chairman of the Standing Committee on Political Subdivisions. He takes great pride in being a co-sponsor and floor leader of the bill that made Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s birthday a state holiday in West Virginia.

He is a life member of the NAACP; a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity; and, Prince Hall Mason F & A.M. 32nd Degree. Judge Stephens is married to the former Gloria Davis. They are the proud parents of two children.

Reverend Julian G. Sulgit, Jr.

The Rev. Dr. Julian G. Sulgit, Jr., became immersed in the 1960s Civil Rights Movement when in his hometown of Chicago. Julian joined Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., in marches to protest segregated and slum housing in the face of tens of thousands of hecklers who threw rocks, bottles, cherry bombs, and eggs, hitting Dr. King and those marching with him.

In 1965, Chicago's black citizens attended racially segregated schools that received about a third the financial resources of white schools. They lived in racially defined ghettos in deplorable housing, and had little access to employment or economic opportunity. All hell broke loose when Dr. King moved into Chicago to begin the Chicago phase of the civil rights movement. Protest marches against housing discrimination led to riots. The Illinois National Guard went on riot duty.

Young Julian Sulgit, a deeply spiritual high school student and college student, was active in social justice efforts. In high school and while completing a B.S. in Philosophy at Loyola University, Julian worked as student coordinator of Young Christian Students and in the Pilsen Neighborhood Community Credit Union. He volunteered with the East Garfield Park Community Organization and trained at the Urban Training Center for Christian Mission. When Dr. King came to Chicago, Julian participated in the open housing marches led by Dr. King and Rev. Jesse Jackson. He continued working in Chicago with the Catholic Worker Movement, where he helped hundreds of Mexican immigrants find jobs. As a seminary student in Indianapolis, he participated in and helped organize protest marches.

Julian Sulgit continued to try to accomplish the civil rights movement's highest ideals throughout his life and work in the pastoral ministry. His commitment to the diversity and spiritual life of the church is demonstrated in his substantial ecumenical experience with Methodist, Catholic, Episcopal, Lutheran, Christian, Baptist, and Muslim religions. After completing a M.Div. at Christian Theological Seminary in 1969, he and his wife, West Virginian Patricia A. Jarvis, taught English and Bible for three years at Jaiama Secondary School, Private Bag-Koidu Town, Sierra Leone, West Africa. They returned to West Virginia in the early 1970s where Dr. Sulgit served as Director of the Charleston District Outreach Ministries. He was a founding Board member of Covenant House and served on the board of Manna Meal. As Glenville State College's campus pastor, he organized housing and relief for flood victims. He helped Thomson United Methodist Church in Wheeling tithe to churches in need. At Trinity United Methodist Church in Bluefield, which he co-pastored with his wife, the Rev. Dr. Patricia A. Jarvis, he initiated services for atrisk pregnant women and a safe Friday night gathering place for teens.

Dr. Sulgit and Dr. Jarvis moved to co-pastor Lewisburg United Methodist Church in 1997. In Lewisburg, Dr. Sulgit was a key person in successful Greenbrier Martin Luther King, Jr. Day community celebrations, include marches from Greenbrier County courthouse to his church, where several hundred people gathered to celebrate Dr. King and the continuation of Dr. King’s dream. Now in semiretirement, he is pastoring Beech Hill in Mason County.

Julian Sulgit has carried with him a physical reminder of his civil rights movement activism. In 1965, while helping prepare a meal for Dr. King and open housing protest marchers, he cut a tendon that permanently limited mobility in his thumb. It is appropriate that Governor Bob Wise make the Rev. Dr. Julian G. Sulgit, Jr., a permanent part of West Virginia's civil rights movement history by giving him the 2004 Governor's Civil Rights Award.

Leon Howard Sullivan

Reverend Leon Howard Sullivan, was born, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia. He attended public schools in Charleston and graduated from Garnet High School. Upon graduation he received a football and basketball scholarship to West Virginia State College in 1939. After losing his scholarship due to an injury, Leon Sullivan labored in a steel mill and served as a part-time minister while finishing his college education at West Virginia State College, in Institute, West Virginia.

Reverend Adam Clayton Powell persuaded Reverend Sullivan to move to New York City to attend Union Theological Seminary where he earned a degree in theology and served as Reverend Powell's assistant minister at the Abyssinian Baptist Church. Later, Reverend Sullivan earned a degree in sociology from Columbia University.

In 1950, Reverend Sullivan became the pastor of Zion Baptist Church in Philadelphia where he organized an economic boycott that opened jobs to 3000 African Americans in 1961. Later, Reverend Sullivan organized the Opportunities Industrialization Centers (O.I.C.) in 1964, which provided training to disadvantaged African American youths. At one time, more than 75 centers throughout the United States and 33 centers in 18 countries. Also, he and the members of his church formed the Zion Investment Associates, which eventually led to the creation of Progress Aerospace Enterprises, a business that manufactured parts for the aerospace program and created many jobs for the unemployed.

Reverend Leon Sullivan joined the General Motors Board of Directors, during the 1970's thus becoming the first African-American to serve on a major corporate board. Reverend Sullivan served on the board of General Motors for over 20 years.

In 1977, Reverend Leon Sullivan redeveloped the "Sullivan Principles," a code of conduct for human rights and equal economic opportunities for corporations operating in South Africa. These Principles are credited to have been one of the most influential and effective efforts that dismantled apartheid in South Africa. Later Reverend Sullivan expanded these Principles to human rights and economic development for all communities with the creation of the "Global Sullivan Principles of Social Responsibility." The basis of the work of Reverend Sullivan was built on the principle of "self-help" to provide the tools to the people to allow themselves to overcome the barriers of poverty. In 1999, the "Global Sullivan Principles of Social Responsibility" were issued at the United Nations to call for multinational companies to be responsible for the advancement of human rights and economic social justice. These principles have become the international standard for businesses that operate throughout the world.

In 1988, Reverend Sullivan retired and moved to Phoenix, Arizona, where he continued to focus his energies on global concerns of human rights and economic justices until his death in 2001. He was a giant of a man who often spoke lovingly about the hills of West Virginia.

Past Honorees

LOUISE P. ANDERSON

Louise Payne Anderson has resided in Cannelton, West Virginia all of her life and during her 79 years has served as an advocate for the youth and her community. She is a graduate of Washington High School, Bluefield State College and Marshall University. She was the first African-American to serve as a department head at East Bank High School. Under her leadership, the Annual Mary L. Williams Human Relations Awards were established in the WVEA.

In her community in the Cannelton and Montgomery areas, she was worked tirelessly to address the economic and human rights conditions. She has served as branch president of the Montgomery Branch of the NAACP for the last twenty years, and has worked in the Montgomery Branch for over fifty years. Her efforts have included working with the police departments, the may, West Virginia University-Tech, and other community based organizations to ensure adequate educational and economic opportunities for minority citizens. At the 2002 Annual State Conference, Louise was awarded the T.G. Nutter Award that is presented to the West Virginian who has made significant contributions to the causes of equality and justice. Although her health has diminished her participation, she still regularly attends the NAACP State Conference and is active in her church, the Bethel Baptist Church of Cannelton, The Mt. Olivet District Association where she served as counselor for the youth, and the WV State Baptist Association. Another way that she serves the community is through her participation on the Board of Directors for the Washington High Community Education Center. Through her vision and perseverance, she approached the Kanawha County Board of Education in 1989 and was given the deed to the property in London, WV. The Association is still active today and provides services for the citizens of the Upper Kanawha Valley.

Joan C. Browning

Joan Browning was born as Shiloh, Wheeler County, in rural South Georgia. Her exposure to the Civil Rights Movement occurred while a student tat Georgia State College for Women in Milledgeville, Georgia when she attended the 1961 Paine College Student Christian Conference with her friend Faye Powell. Paine College students along with Reverend James M. Lawson and Dr. Louis Glover taught her how to behave as a nonviolent student Christian witness against racism. Immediately, she began participating in pickets and sit-ins. She worked side by side with Julian Bond at the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Council office in Atlanta Georgia. Later, she participated in the Albany Freedom Ride. She was the only white woman on the Albany Freedom Ride to be jailed for a week and a half. Ms. Browning was awarded the 2000 West Virginia Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commissions highest honor, the Governors Living the Dream award, as a person who best exemplifies all of the characteristics of justice, scholarship, sharing of self, human and civil rights, and advocacy of peace. Nominate by the Lewisburg Business and Professional Women, Browning was chosen as the first Business and Professions Women of West Virginias business Woman of the Year for making an impact to promote women in business. She is a member of the Visiting Committee for West Virginia Universitys Center for Womens Studies and is an organizer of the Coalition for West Virginia Women. She and Dr. Barbara J. Howe, Director of West Virginia Universitys Center for Womens Studies, co-chaired the West Virginia Advisory Committee to the Institute for Womens Policy Research report, Status of Women in West Virginia, released in November 2002. Ms. Browning is a West Virginia State College graduate with a Regents Bachelor of Arts and twelve hours toward a masters degree from Marshall University. She lectures on topics in the history of the American south, civil rights, and women, and the motivational power of religion. In West Virginia, she had been a guest lecturer at West Virginia University, Fairmont State College, Glenville State Colleges Summersville campus, West Virginia State College and West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine. She is the staff of Greenbrier Community College Foundation and a Concord College consultant.

PHILIP W. CARTER, JR.

Philip Carter, Jr., professor and chair, Social Work, School of Medicine at Marshall University, Huntington, West Virginia is a social welfare policy advocate and community political planner. He has been recognized for his successful leadership for social justice by political, academic, labor and community organizations in Ohio; Pennsylvania; West Virginia; Miami, Florida; and Los Angeles, California.

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Marshall University with a concentration in political science and a Masters in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mr. Carter was the first Division I African American basketball student/athlete at a white college in West Virginia arrested for attempting to eat a white-owned restaurant. He was one of the student leaders of the Civic Interest Progress student group, which led desegregation efforts against Baileys Cafeteria, the White Pantry and swimming pools. During August 1964, he protested the appearance of Governor Wallace at the Southern Governors Conference at the Greenbrier in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia. This preceded that August 28, 1963 March on Washington. He and other African American leaders pressured the cities of Huntington and Clarksburg, West Virginia to form local human rights commissions. He led the SNCC affiliate in Huntington, West Virginia.

In addition, Mr. Carter was elected president of the Huntington Branch, NAACP 1988-1992 and 1996-2000. In 1980, he formed the only Black Political Action Committee (PAC) in West Virginia, Ohio and Kentucky.

His contributions to the community include service on the Urban Renewal Authority Board, the Ebenezer Medical Outreach, Inc. Board and the Martin Luther King, Jr. Symposium.

Currently, he serves on the Marshall University Multicultural Affairs Committee. In 1999, he was recognized by the Herald Dispatch as one of the 50 most impactful leaders in the Huntington, West Virginia Tri-State area in the 20th Century.

GEORGE E. CHAMBERLAIN, JR.

George Earle Chamberlain, Jr. graduated from Garnet High School in Charleston, WV in 1938 and then earned a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Education at Hampton University in 1943. From 1943 1946, he served in the United States Army, Quartermaster Corps, in New Guinea, the Philippine Islands and Japan. In 1946-1947, he attended the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Then from 1947-1964, he was engaged in several endeavorsoperating his own business, the Chamberlain Transfer Company, working for the United States Post Office, serving as Business Manager at Lakin State Hospital and then as In-take Officer for the WV Department of Employment Security.

In 1971, he was employed by the United States Department of Defense as an Equal Opportunity Specialist for areas in Virginia and West Virginia. Then in 1978, the Office of Federal Contracts and Compliance in the United States Department of Labor hired him as a Compliance officer, moved him to Pittsburgh and added Pennsylvania to his territory. Mr. Chamberlain retired from the Department of Labor in May 1992, and returned to Charleston, WV to live.

In the midst of the on-going Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s, West Virginia like other states as a result of pressure, passed legislation establishing a State Human Rights Commission to address the needs of people who suffered discrimination in practically every area of life. Hired by this Commission as Field Service Director in 1964, Chamberlains job was to coordinate activities of the State Human Rights Commission with county commissions and with commissions in various cities including Fairmont, Charleston, Logan, Huntington, Weirton, Clarksburg, Beckley, Morgantown, Parkersburg and Wheeling. He apprised them of federal and state laws that protected civil and human rights and helped them in their efforts to adopt and implement local civil rights policies and to define the breadth and depth of their leadership responsibilities.

Mr. Chamberlain was a conduit for information and a n effective speaker who was able to bring people together to share ideas on how conditions could be changed and how it act on those new ideas for the betterment of all. He used a combination of persuasion, diplomacy and coalitions to achieve good results at the time when the law did not give the WV Human Rights Commission real power or strength. It could persuade, promote, and encourage but what was needed was an enforceable law.

Government officials, state and local human rights commissions, churches, synagogues, labor union officials, organizations and individuals too numerous to name joined their efforts to influence the legislature to provide subpoena power for the WV Human Rights Commission. Chamberlain, who had been promoted to Assistant Director of the State Commission, was among that dedicated group of State Human Rights Commission on the very last day of the 1967 legislative session. Subpoena powers enabled the Commission in its investigations of complaints alleging discrimination to secure and examine essential records, to hold hearings and to determine what benefits to provide complainants if discrimination were proven.

CARRIE CHANCE

Mrs. Chance is a native West Virginian, who has spent her career in public service. During the 1960s she was active in sit-ins and efforts to integrate the restaurants and dining places in Charleston and Huntington, WV. She has held numerous positions in Charleston city government. For example, she has served as the staff assistant/ coordinator for federal and state programs, the federal and state program grants administrator, relocation officer for the Charleston Renewal Authority and assistant personnel director. She completed her high school education at Charleston High School and attended West Virginia State College and the University of Tokyo. Among her many community activities are the Charleston NAACP, D.A.R.E. Board of Directors, City of Charleston Credit Union Board of Directors, the Kanawha Charleston Neighborhood Congress, Business and Professional Womens Organization, Westside Uplift Project and the Riverview Baptist Church Usher Board. Her political affiliations include the City of Charlestons Republican Executive Committee. In addition, she served on Governor Underwoods 1996-1997 Transition Team.

BETTY JANE CLECKLEY

Betty Jane Cleckley, a graduate of the former Douglass High School, Huntington, West Virginia, received her Bachelor of Science degree from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a Master of Social Science degree from Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts, a Ph.D. degree from Brandeis University in Waltham, Massachusetts, and a post doctoral certificate in Higher Education Management from Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is active in civic and professional organizations, and has served on national and state boards such as the Defense Advisory Committee for Women in the Services (DACOWITS) and the State of West Virginia Human Rights Commission. Currently, she serves on the Martin Luther King, Jr. State of West Virginia Holiday Commission, the Board of Directors of the Unlimited Future, Inc. (UFI), Cabell Huntington Hospital Foundation, and the Center foraging and Health Care in West Virginia, Inc. (CAH). She was presented The Governors Living the Dream Award January, 1998 by Cecil Underwood, Governor of West Virginia; The W.E.B. DuBois Higher Education Award November, 2000 by the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE); she is a life member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); and a long time dedicated member of the American Public Health Association (APHA) and The National Association of Social Workers (NASW); The Betty Jane Cleckley Minority Research Award, established by the American Public Health Association, recognizes research on minority health issues , particularly among the elderly.

REVEREND HOMER H. DAVIS

The Reverend Homer H. Davis is a native West Virginian educated in Kanawha County public schools and was graduated from West Virginia State College. In 1964 he completed the requirements for full membership in the Washington Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and was ordained Elder on June 14 of the same year. Rev. Davis was instrumental in integrating the former Rock Lake Pool as well as other public accommodations in Charleston. From 1971 through 1979 he was under Special Appointment beyond the church with the Economic Development Administration of the U.S. Department of Commerce. During his tenure with E.D.A. in Huntington, WV; Atlanta GA and Washington, D.C., he held managerial positions in Administration and Civil Rights. In 1974, he was promoted to the position of Deputy Director, Office of Civil Rights in the national office. He is a charter member of the National Center for Human Relations Board of Directors at West Virginia State College. He is the recipient of the Governors 1998 Martin Luther King, Jr. LIVING THE DREAM AWARD for Human and Civil Rights. From 1994 through 2002, he has served as President of Charleston Branch 3226 of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Thirty-three years of organizational leadership have included: President, Kanawha Valley Council of Human Relations; President Charleston, WV Branch NAACP; Grand Master, MWPH Grand Lodge of West Virginia F&AM; President, Conference of Grand Masters of the World, Prince Hall affiliation; Chairperson, Cabell-Huntington Human Relations Council; Martin Luther King, Jr. WV Holiday Commission; Chairperson/Director, Ohio County Community Services and Mayors Blue Ribbon Panes on Diversity, City of Charleston.

ELIZABETH HARDEN GILMORE

Civil rights leader Elizabeth Harden Gilmore lived and worked in this house from 1947 until her death in 1986. She pioneered efforts to integrate her state's schools, housing, and public accommodations and to pass civil rights legislation enforcing such integration. Her home, constructed by 1900, is a handsome, two-and-a-half story, brick Classical Revival style residence, with a columned portico. In the early 1950s before the Brown v. Board of Education decision mandating school desegregation, Gilmore formed a women's club which opened Charleston's first integrated day care center. At about the same time, she succeeded in getting her black Girl Scout troop admitted to Camp Anne Bailey near the mountain town of Lewisburg. After co-founding the local chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) in 1958, she led CORE in a successful 1 -year-long sit-in campaign at a local department store called The Diamond. In the 1960s Gilmore served on the Kanawha Valley Council of Human Relations, where she participated in forums on racial differences and where she helped black renters, displaced by a new interstate highway, find housing. Her successful push to amend the 1961 state civil rights law won her a seat on the powerful higher-education Board of Regents. Gilmore was the first African American to receive such an honor. She stayed on the Board from 1969 to the late 1970s serving one term as vice-president and one term as president. Gilmore's tireless commitment to civil and human rights didn't end there. She was also involved with the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights and community education and welfare committees. "She was always there," says her friend Betty Hamilton. "Her commitment was ongoing and steadfast."

REVEREND DR. PAUL J. GILMER, SR.

Charleston native, Re. Dr. Paul J. Gilmer, Sr., involved himself in non-violent Civil Rights work beginning in the late 1940s. At that time he and Marvin Mills directed by their pastor, the late Rev. James Austin, of Ebenezer Baptist Church, Charleston, tried to secure tickets to Holiday on Ice at the Charleston Municipal Auditorium. Each time they were denied tickets, they returned to the end of the line and tried again. Finally they asked a fair skinned African American, Skip Courtney, to buy several tickets for them. At the next City Council meeting, following a secret debate, the auditorium doors were opened to all citizens. When Lawyer William Lonesome was recruiting individuals for State Police positions, Rev. Gilmer applied but was rejected because of an eye problem. A loyal member of the NAACP, Rev. Gilmer became an executive board member of the local branch in 1966 and served until his illness in 1991. Rev. Gilmer was active in the branchs activities under Attorney Willard Brown. When the branch called a meeting to organize a march to integrate Barlow Skating Rink on Virginia Street, West; Gilmer responded and participated in the march. As president of the Charleston Ministerial Association (1966-67 and 1970-75) Rev. Gilmer, along with Attorney Willard Brown and others, organized a march from the Donnally Street playground to city Hall to petition City Council for an Open Housing Law. During Rev. Ronald Englishs first year with the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance, founder/president Rev. Gilmer asked the Alliance to show support for the predominantly Black garbage workers who had been fired for wanting to become unionized. After negotiations failed, Gilmer called on the Charleston Black Ministerial Alliance, the Charleston Business and Professional Mens Club, and the NAACP to show the injustice of the situation by planning a march.

Rev. Gilmer cooperated with NAACP President Bernard Hawkins to form a coalition of the NAACP, the Business and Professional Mens Club, the Black Ministerial Alliance and the Triangle Improvement Council to protest the exclusion of Blacks from swimming in the Rock Lake Pool. In support of the Triangle Improvement Council, led by Bill Preston, Henry Haynes and Johnnie Mae Cash; Rev. Gilmer called a meeting as Shiloh Baptist Church and invited federal, state and city officials. The meeting was concerned with seeking representation on the committees and commissions for a master plan for redevelopment of the triangle area because there was no plan for relocation of the persons to be displaced by Urban Renewal. Rev. Paul J. Gilmer is pastor of First Baptist Church of Vandalia, Charleston, former pastor of the historic African Zion Baptist Church, Malden, retired Executive Director of OIC of Charleston and retired Assistant Fire Chief, Charleston Fire Department.

HENRY HALE

Mr. Hale is a native of McDowell County, West Virginia and educated in the public schools there. He attended Anawalt Junior High School and Gary High School. He is retired from public service having worked for the United States Postal Service and OSHA. For many years he was instrumental in sit-ins and demonstrations in Charleston, WV during the 1960s. His untiring efforts resulted in the integration of public facilities in Charleston, WV. He was active in the Charleston NAACP and continues to maintain his membership in this organization. In addition, he supports the Covenant House through volunteer services and his church, First Baptist on Shrewsbury Street.

BERNARD FRANCIS HAWKINS

Bernard Francis Hawkins, a trailblazer and pacesetter in civil rights in the state of West Virginia, has resided most of his life in South Charleston, WV where through his persistence and courage he worked to eradicate segregation, racism and discrimination. During the 1960s he led protests against the segregated Rock Lake Pool and worked to integrate Sunset Memorial Park in the 1970s. He was born in Sewell, Fayette County, West Virginia. He was educated in Fayette County Schools where he attended Simmons High School for two years and graduated from DuBois High School in Mt. Hope, WV. He also attended West Virginia State College. He was hired at Union Carbide where he worked more than thirty years as supervisor of the carpenters at the Institute Plant. He was known for his outstanding work in the area of civil and human rights as evidenced by his work for equality and freedom from discrimination. He helped countless persons to acquire jobs at Union Carbide and at other businesses in the Kanawha Valley. In the education arena, He also worked tirelessly through his work in resolving employment concerns and student concerns with the Kanawha County Board of Education. Upon his retirement, Mr. Hawkins became a lobbyist through the Political Action Committee of the WV Conference of Branches of the NAACP and worked for the passage of the multicultural education bill, the Martin Luther King State Holiday Bill, and other bills that benefited minorities, the underprivileged, and the under-represented citizens in the state of West Virginia. He served as president of the board of the O.I.C. of Charleston for five years and was awarded the National Path Finders Award, which was presented by the O.I.C.s of America for this distinguished term of leadership. The citation spoke of his effectiveness as board president and recognition as an astute fundraiser. Through the years, Mr. Hawkins has received many awards which include the Living the Dream Award for Sharing of Self which was presented on January 19, 1987 by the WV Charleston Neighborhood Congress; Charleston Branch award for service and dedication in 1993; the City of South Charleston Service Award in May, 1997; and the Martin Luther King Jr. Courage Award presented on January 18, 1998 by Ebenezer Baptist Church.

ATTORNEY HERBERT H. HENDERSON

Herbert Henderson aptly has been referred to as Mr. Civil Rights of West Virginia. During the twenty years that he served as President of the West Virginia Conferences of the NAACP, he was instrumental in supervising school desegregation and public accommodation civil rights cases in southern West Virginia. One of his important accomplishments was the NAACP lawsuits against the West Virginia Department of Public Safety that facilitated the hiring of minorities and women as state troopers. In addition, Mr. Henderson has served as lead counsel in several landmark civil rights cases including West Virginia Human Rights Commission v. United Transportation Union, 167 W.Va. 282, 280 S.E. 2d 653 (1981). He has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from West Virginia State College and a Juris Doctor degree from George Washington University School of Law. Attorney Henderson is the Senior partner with the law firm of Henderson, Henderson and Staples. Attorney Henderson served a State President of NAACP from 1966 to 1986. Further, he served as interim General Counsel for the NAACP National Headquarters in 1984 and again in 1989 and 1990. He is the recipient of the Robert Ming Award (By NAACP Board of Directors in 1985); Justitia Officium Award (Highest Honor or the WV University College of Law) May, 1989; T.G. Nutter award by the WV Conference of Branches of the NAACP; Living Dream Award for Civil Rights from WV Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission; National Bar Association 1998 Hall of Fame and a WV Bar Foundation Fellow.

PAUL J. KAUFMAN

Paul J. and Rose Jean Kaufman, husband and wife, human rights collaborators, were born and raised in Charleston, West Virginia.

Paul Kaufman (b: 1920) was a lawyer, State Senator, defender of the environment, teacher, author and pioneer in the fields of labor, civil rights and tax reform. As a State Senator he was the author of the bill establishing the West Virginia Human Rights Commission and the bill successfully repealing West Virginias death penalty. Paul Kaufman was a member of the Advisory Committee of the U. S. Commission Civil Rights at the time of his death.

ROSE JEAN KAUFMAN

Rose Jean Kaufman (b: 1928) was a social worker, former Board Member of the Womens Health Center, the Mattie V. Lee Home and one of the earliest organizers of the hospice program in the Kanawha Valley. She was a labor organizer in higher education for the West Virginia Education Association and a committed integrationist. Civil Rights was her passion and she was in the forefront of West Virginias civil rights movement for twenty-five years. Paul, Rose Jean and son, Steven, were killed by a drunk driver on December 28, 1980. Surviving were two sons, (now two sons, two daughters-in-law and three granddaughters).

SHIRLEY N. PAIGE

Shirley N. Paige retired in 1999 after providing the Ormet Corporation of Hannibal, Ohio with 20 years of dedicated service. Prior to her work with Ormet, she was employed in a variety of positions including: Executive Director of the Call A Teen Program; Driver for the Florence Critton Home for Unwed Mothers; Machine Operator with the Wonder Bakery in Wheeling, West Virginia; Ward Clerk in the Ohio Valley General Hospital of Wheeling, West Virginia; Day Care Supervisor and Social Worker with the Headstart program wider the Northern West Virginia Community Action Agency; and as a Beautician with the Shirley Beauty Shop in Wheeling, West Virginia. In 1987, she earned an Associates Degree in Social Sciences from West Virginia Northern College. She also holds a professional cosmetology license.

EMERSON REED

Emerson Reed is a native of Cabin Creek, Kanawha County, West Virginia. And was educated in Kanawha County schools having graduated from Charleston High School and later attended West Virginia University in Morgantown, West Virginia, Alameda College in Alameda California and Heald College in San Francisco, CA. Mr. Reed was a forerunner in the Tent City protest in 1969, led by MOTOBU (Mobilization for Total Black Unity) for which Mr. Reed was the director. With numerous rallies, protests and marches to stop urban renewal from replacing the Triangle District, the Tent City movement lasted approximately two years. MOTOBU was not going to allow the city to take property by eminent domain and in protest put up tents in the area where the urban renewal was to begin. Other than leading this powerful group, Mr. Reed was also involved in community activities such Pride, Inc. and AMCM, Inc., as an IT consultant and All-Aid International, Inc., as a member of its Board of Directors. Mr. Reed is retired from E.I. DuPont.

HELAINE ROTGIN

Helaine Rotgin, a devoted family matriarch, a friend, a mentor, a community activist in both human and civil rights, and one, who posses a sincere and peaceful spirit that attracts no strangers, remains an action oriented member of the Charleston Community.

Ms. Rotgin has participated in a number of Civil Rights activities and has obtained numerous awards. She actively served as a member of the House of Delegates from 1977-78 and became affectionately referred to as the Mother of Recycling.

Ms. Rotgin has so many significant stories to share, which she does so eloquently. Recently, Reverend Homer Davis mentioned that to celebrate the success of Civil Rights in West Virginia, and not include Helaine would be a travesty.

Ms. Rotgin is a member and served as a member of various clubs and organizations including, the Kanawha Valley Council for Human Relations, which later turned out to be the forerunner of the Inner Faith Council, Quota Club, American Association of University Women, Coalition for Clean Elections, and a host of other organizations. She is presently a member of the Charleston Job Corps Community Relations Council, West Virginia Inner Faith Center for Public Policy, West Virginia Climate Change Campaign, Kanawha Scholars, National Council of Jewish Women and Light of the People.

Helaine has so many awards emphasizing her contributions and efforts, including the Hannah G. Solomon Award for service improving the quality of life in the community. We Salute Helaine Rotgin!!

REVEREND DR. DEAN K. THOMPSON

Dean K. Thompson is pastor of First Presbyterian Church, Charleston, West Virginia. His previous ministerial experiences have included pastorates in Pasadena, California, Austin, Texas, and Montgomery, West Virginia, and an internship with the East Harlem Protestant Parish, New York. Thompson was reared in Huntington, West Virginia, and he served as Governor of Boys State and Senator to Boys Nation in 1960. He graduated from Marshall University, 1965. He received three degrees from Union Theological Seminary in Richmond, Virginia, including a Ph.D. in church history in 1974. He has served as an adjunct teacher for seminaries in San Francisco, Austin and Richmond; and he is the author of books and articles on history, ministry and leadership. His book in progress is his Chautauqua Lectures on the prophetic pilgrimages of Mohandas Gandhi, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Pearl S. Buck, Reinhold Niebuhr and Martin Luther King Jr. Since 1965 Thompson has spoken, written, taught, worked and demonstrated against the local, national and international scourges of poverty, racism, discrimination, violence and war. His biblical/theological argument against the death penalty has appeared in news publications across the United States. In both of his West Virginia pastorates, Thompsons human and civil rights commitments have focused especially on housing and on bridge-building among different races, faith communities, and advocacy groups.

CLAYBORN TILLMAN

Clayborn Tillman was born in Victoria, Texas and moved to West Virginia when he married native West Virginian, Alberta Brown. He is retired from the United States Postal Service after 28 years of service as a mail carrier. He also served in the United States Army for five years. During his many years of service to the NAACP Charleston Branch, he was instrumental in providing leadership that resulted in an increase in membership. He also participated in numerous district conferences. As a result, the NAACP in Charleston continues to have a thriving membership. He is also active in his Mason Lodge Washington NO. 4, A&FM. He has been a member of First Baptist Church of Charleston for 50 years.

Mr. Tillman is a native of Bloomington, Victoria County, Texas. While stationed in the U S Army during WWII he met and married a Charleston native. After attaining the rank of Sergeant First Class he was honorably discharged. Since then he has made his home in Charleston, WV. Shortly after moving to Charleston, he joined First Baptist Church. He was an Usher and was elected president of the Usher Board. Under his leadership the Usher Board has raised and contributed substantially to the building fund, many building improvements and many church activities. One of the many activities of the Usher board was the installation of the handicap ramp, which made the building accessible to persons with handicaps and also brought the church into compliance with the Americans With Disabilities Act. The Usher Board raised over $15,000 to fund this project. Initially the Usher Board raised funds by catering dinners at the church. Eventually the demand for his home made bread out-paced the demand for dinners and a roll ministry evolved. Hundred of thousands of rolls have been baked in the First Baptist Church kitchen, sold throughout the state and shipped to many areas of this country. Through this project, the Board has also furnished the church kitchen with top-quality cooking and baking facilities. For more than 50 years he has served on the Board of Deacons. He has been instrumental in maintaining the Sunday School Breakfast Program for youth. He serves as the chef and often spends his own money to purchase needed food. He has always taken a keen interest in his community. As President of his neighborhood improvement association he petitioned City Council for funds for sewers, recreational needs and paved streets in the Wertz Avenue community. Through his efforts an overpass was constructed which prevented the entrance to Wertz Avenue from being blocked by the interstate highway and railroad. During the early seventies he chaired the Inter City Council of Neighborhoods, an organization that sought improvements in minority and low-income neighborhoods throughout the city. Working with a now defunct civil rights organization, UNION, he helped to establish the Charleston Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) that was founded by the late Dr. Leon Sullivan. He served on the Board of Directors for over twenty years. He has been an active member and served on the executive board of the NAACP. He has sponsored and assisted a variety of youth activities including the NAACP ACT-SO. As a member of the Charleston Planning Commission, he helped to develop the Downtown Renaissance Plan and the Charleston Town Center. He has also been a member of the Charleston Human Rights Commission, an organization the ensures that citizens of Charleston are treated fairly with out regard to r ace color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability and familial status in housing, employment and public accommodations. He is a member of Prince Hall Masons, Salaam Temple #83 and served as Potentate of that organization. Mr. Tillman was employed by the US Postal Service for over 30 years. Through the postal unions he worked for improved rights and working conditions for postal employees. He has been married to Alberta Brown Tillman for 58 years. He and his wife have two daughters, Joyce Whitley of Detroit Michigan, and Carolyn El Amin of Charleston, three grand daughters, and two great grand daughters.

In his leisure he enjoys, treating friends and families to his homemade culinary delicacies, growing roses, and taking pictures.

JAMES A. TOLBERT, JR.

Mr. James Tolbert is a native of Charles Town, West Virginia. After graduating from Page Jackson High School in 1950, Mr. Tolbert earned a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from West Virginia State College. Mr. Tolbert was active in many civil rights activities and has received numerous awards for his contribution to the Civil Rights Movement. In 1963, Mr. Tolbert participated in the famous March on Washington. Since 1986, he has served as state president of the West Virginia Chapter of the NAACP. He presided over the Jefferson County Branch from 1968-1974. Among his notable affiliations and awards, Mr. Tolbert is active in both the community and fraternal arenas. He was Past Grand Master, Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of West Virginia, Free and Accepted Masons, Inc. 1983-84; Past Master, Star Lodge #1, F & AM, Charles Town, WV; Past Recorder, Nile Temple #27 (Shriners), Martinsburg, WV; Grand Inspector General, (33rd Degree), United Supreme Council, Prince Hall Affiliation, Washington, D.C.; Member, Deborah Chapter #38, Order of the Eastern Star, Charles Town, WV and an active member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. His community, Mr. Tolbert organized the Charles Town Recreation League in 1964. He has also held positions on the Harpers Ferry Job Corps Community Relations Committee, the Jefferson Memorial Hospital Board of Directors, Marshall-Holly-Mason American Legion Post #102, Martinsburg, WV and was chairperson, Board of Directors, G.W. Carver Institute AIDS Education Project. Mr. Tolbert has also been the recipient of several service awards such as The T.G. Nutter Award, WV NAACP, 1976; The Living the Dream Award, WV Martin Luther King, Jr. Holiday Commission for Human and Civil Rights, 1988; Outstanding Career Award-Office of Personnel and Labor Relations, Veterans Administration, VA Central Office, Washington, D.C., 1998 and two time recipient of the Dr. Benjamin L. Hooks Award, NAACP Midwest Region III State President of the Year, 1991 and 2002.

NELLIE E. WALKER

Ms. Nellie Walkers career has spanned nearly four decades of service to West Virginia State College, its alumni and students as Assistant Registrar. She was born in Red Sulphur Springs, WV, and attended Garnet High School in Charleston, WV. Throughout her service to West Virginia State College, Ms. Walker actively participated in numerous sit-ins and demonstrations designed to integrate the department stores and public recreational facilities in the Kanawha Valley. From 1973 through 1983, She was instrumental in helping more than fifty law enforcement officers in Charleston received degrees in criminal justice from the college. Walker has been a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority since 1963 and past advisor for Alpha Delta Chapter, member of College Alumni Club, Community Relations Board, Charleston Job Corps, Selective Service Board, WV Registrars Association, American Association of College Registrars and Admissions Officers, Kanawha Alumni Chapter and Alpha Kappa Mu Honorary Society. The special bond between Ms. Walker and West Virginia State College can best be summed up from an interview with a member of the colleges newspaper, For forty years Ms. Nellie Walkers presence at West Virginia State College has been dedicated to service, and she is an inspiration to many. It does not take one long to realize how much Ms. Walker cares for individuals and to feel the love she has for her Alma Mater, She is truly a Yellow Jacket. 

 
ELLIS RAY WILLIAMS, SR.

Ellis Ray Williams was educated in McDowell County. He graduated from Bluefield State College (cumme laude) in 1946 and attended West Virginia University and Virginia Polytechnical University. He worked in secondary education for 41 years. Twenty as a classroom teacher and 21 as a secondary principal. He served as an adjunct instructor in Bluefield State College for 10 years. Attorney Herbert Henderson has said that Ellis Ray Williams was the catalyst for civil rights in Southern West Virginia.

During his many years of service to the NAACP, Mr. Williams served as a member of the West Virginia State Conference of Branches of NAACP Finance Committee and Education Committee.

In 1987, he was recognized as providing outstanding leadership as president of the McDowell Branch of the NAACP. In 1990, he received the T.G. Nutter Award for Outstanding Achievements and Christian Service to Humanity in the field of Human Rights. During his tenure with the State Conference, he has chaired the Education Committee. A president emeritus of the McDowell County Branch of the NAACP, he is a life member and golden heritage life member of the organization. In 1997, he received the McDowell County Branch of NAACP Appreciation Award for Dedicated Service to the National, State and Local Bodies of NAACP and the West Virginia Conference Branches Award for Outstanding Dedication and Unrelenting Contribution to the Cause of Freedom.

His community service includes a gubernatorial appointment to the Martin Luther King Jr. Holiday Commission, a Board Member of the Tug Valley Health Clinic, a member of the Kimball Memorial Building Restoration Committee and a member of the Welch area Chamber of Commerce. He is a deacon at St. James Missionary Baptist Church where he is a certified Christian educator.

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