Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds, Alabama · 1/4/2014 · Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds,...
Transcript of Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds, Alabama · 1/4/2014 · Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds,...
1
Robert Russa Moton High School
Leeds, Alabama
The Moton High.... A Reflection of Our History
2017
2
3
Table of Contents
Introduction .................................................................................................................................................... 5
Picture of Robert Russa Moton High School ................................................................................................. 6
History of Robert Russa Moton High School ................................................................................................ 7
Biography of Robert Russa Moton ................................................................................................................. 9
Robert Russa Moton High School .......................................................................................................... 10
School Song – Old Moton High ................................................................................................................ 11
Our Teachers ................................................................................................................................................ 12
Leeds Negro Teachers .................................................................................................................................. 20
Necrology List .............................................................................................................................................. 21
Class of 1949 ................................................................................................................................................ 26
Class of 1950 ................................................................................................................................................ 27
Class of 1951 ................................................................................................................................................ 28
Class of 1952 ................................................................................................................................................ 29
Class of 1953 ................................................................................................................................................ 30
Class of 1954 ................................................................................................................................................ 31
Class of 1955 ................................................................................................................................................ 32
Class of 1956 ................................................................................................................................................ 33
Class of 1957 ................................................................................................................................................ 34
Class of 1958 ................................................................................................................................................ 35
Class of 1959 ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Class of 1960 ................................................................................................................................................ 37
Class of 1961 ................................................................................................................................................ 38
Class of 1962 ................................................................................................................................................ 39
Class of 1963 ................................................................................................................................................ 40
Class of 1964 ................................................................................................................................................ 41
Class of 1965 ................................................................................................................................................ 42
Class of 1966 ................................................................................................................................................ 43
Class of 1967 ................................................................................................................................................ 44
Class of 1968 ................................................................................................................................................ 45
Class of 1969 ................................................................................................................................................ 46
Class of 1970 ................................................................................................................................................ 47
4
5
Introduction
At the publishing of this document, it has been 47 years (1970 – 2017)
since the closing of Robert R. Moton High School. This document contains
pictures, the school’s history, some of the staff members, a necrology listing and
class pictures from 1949 to 1970. It is designed to provide a pictorial
representation and momento of those years.
Robert Russa Moton High School has secured a place in history and it can
be sustained through documents like this. We hope you will obtain one for your
home, your friends and family. Obtaining one of these documents for your library
will help ensure that the legacy of Robert Russa Moton is known throughout the
city of Leeds and the world. As you will see after reading the Biography of Mr.
Moton, he is more than deserving of this recognition and acknowledgment.
Many graduates of Robert Russa Moton High School have held
responsible leadership positions in schools, the community, armed services, the
government and other organizations. We have a great deal of pride in our alumni
and we salute them.
Our school colors were maroon and white. Our mascot was the hornet and
our mantra was “We are the Hornets, the Mighty, Mighty Hornets”.
This project was intiated by Mr. Lonnie Marbury, Historian of Robert
Russa Moton High School with the assistance of his brother Mr. Raymond
Marbury, Class of 1962 and the support of Iburia V. Hall-Haynes, Ph.D., Class of
1968.
Your support is greatly appreciated.
Let’s Keep the memories of
Robert Russa Moton High School Alive!
6
Picture of Robert Russa Moton High School
Robert Russa Moton High School
Leeds, Alabama 35094
April 1961
7
History of Robert Russa Moton High School
1948 - 1970
Education has always been one of the greatest concerns for many of the Black citizens of Leeds and Black
leaders such as Cicero Davis, Marvin Britt, Sr., Harrison Radford, Jeff Harris, Abraham Harris, Will Black, Sr.,
Florence White, Homer Harvey and many others whose names are still engraved in a portion of the sidewalk at
the Negro High School, which today is the Head Start Center.
The building was constructed in 1920. Before this school, Black students attended school at the Little Rock
Missionary Baptist Church and Hill’s Chapel C.M.E Church. At that time, Leeds had a Negro School Trustee
Board and a White School Trustee Board until the 1940’s. The Black School Trustee Board purchased the
school property in 1912 for $200 from Lee and Kincaid families. Members of the Board at that time were
Cicero Davis, Marvin Brit, Sr. and Harrison Radford.
The first principals of the school were Mr. John Harris, Mr. J. J. Harrison, Mrs. Ida Forest, Mrs. Emma Lewis,
Mr. Jenkins, Mr. Charles Brown, Mr. William J. Bolden and Mr. John T. Smith. Some of the first Teachers were
Mrs. Ida Smith, Mr. John T. Smith, Mrs. Roslyn Green, Mrs. Emma C. Peterson and Mrs. Rosa Niblett. Until
1948, Black students who had a desire to graduate from high school and earn a diploma were bussed to
Rosedale High School located in Homewood, Alabama. In the late 1940’s, the Leeds Negro Trustee Board
requested that the Jefferson County Board of Education build a Negro High School in Leeds, Alabama. The
plans of the Principal, Mrs. Emma Lewis, and others were to attempt to have the school built in the Scott City
Community of Leeds.
With the leadership of Mr. Jeff Harris and the Negro School Trustee Board, it was finally decided to build the
school in Russell Heights Community, where the largest Negro population had homes. In the dispute, Mrs.
Emma Lewis was fired as principal after the request of Black citizens and their boycott of the school. Mr. Jeff
Harris was able to talk rich real estate executive J. W. “Skip” Griffin into donating forty acres of land to the
county, earmarked for the Negro School. Students were also to be bussed from other small Black communities
of Irondale, Overton and Trussville, Alabama to attend the school. The construction of the school was
completed in 1948 and graduated her first students in the class of 1949. The school’s name was changed to
Robert Russa Moton High School in the honor of the second president of Tuskegee Institute, which today is
Tuskegee University.
The R. R. Moton High School had three principals during its existence: Mr. William J. Bolden, Mr. John T.
Smith and Mr. John Jackson. During the early years, some of the teachers were Mrs. M. H. Berry, Mrs. R. J.
Greene, and Mrs. Emma C. Peterson, Mrs. M. C. Cunningham, Mrs. L. K. Kyles, Mrs. Phyllis McArthur
(Registrar), Miss Helen Wright, Miss Frankie P. Ware, Mr. R. T. Albritten, Mr. B. F. Bandy, Mr. Henry B.
Russell, Mr. Darcus Haslip, Mr. Lee T. Watts, Mr. Jesse J. Moton, Mr. William H. Bryant and Mr. Nathaniel
Scarlark. In 1954, the United States Supreme Court considered segregated schools unconstitutional, but Leeds
Schools remained segregated. In 1958, Moton High School mysteriously caught fire and burned down, but was
immediately rebuilt on t same foundation. Some additions were made along with a few structural changes in
design.
8
History of R. R. Moton High School (Cont’d) Mr. Bill Dorrough, Mayor of Leeds donated $500,000 to help build a new gym and a swimming pool on the
southwest corner of the land. A new science building and library were later added to the school.
From 1948 to 1970, Moton High School graduated a total of 891 students. After the graduation of the 1970
senior class, the school was closed by order of Federal Judge Pointer. His desegregation decree allowed all
Black and White students to attend the formally all White Leeds High School and surrounding schools.
The former Moton High School was later re-opened as Moton Junior High School and one year later was
renamed Leeds Junior High School. The old building still remains the same since closing, with the exception of
the upholstery and mechanic shops, which were removed for the construction of a parking lot. These buildings
were used to teach students and veterans. Many of the young men and women who attended Moton High
School have made significant contributions to society, hold responsible positions in their chosen professions
and serve as leaders in many civic, political, social and religious circles.
Compiled by:
Mr. Lonnie Marbury, Historian
R. R. Moton High School
The Faculty
9
Biography of Robert Russa Moton
Robert Russa Moton August 26, 1867- May 31, 1940
Robert R. Moton High School in Leeds, Alabama, is named after Robert Russa Moton, the second
President of Tuskegee Institute.
Robert Russa Moton was an African American educator and author. He served as an administrator
at Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, and was named principal of Tuskegee Institute in 1915
after the death of Dr. Booker T. Washington, a position he held for 20 years.
Robert Russa Moton was born in Amelia County, Virginia on August 26, 1867. He graduated from
the Hampton Institute in 1890. In 1891, he was appointed Commandant of the male student cadet
corps the equivalent to Dean of Men, serving in this position for more than a decade. He was
informally known as the "Major". He married Elizabeth Hunt Harris in 1905, but she died in 1906.
He then married his second wife, Jennie Dee Booth in 1908 with whom he had five children.
In 1915, after the death of Dr. Booker T. Washington, he succeeded Washington as the principal
of the Tuskegee Institute, a position he held until retirement in 1935. He attended the First Pan
African Congress in Paris in 1919. Moton was a member of the Gamma Sigma graduate chapter
of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., along with George Washington Carver.
Moton was well-read, athletically and musically inclined, and a skilled fisherman. He wrote two
books-Finding a Way Out: An Autobiography (1920) and What the Negro Thinks (1929)-while still
managing to lead the singing of spirituals at Sunday evening vespers. He advised presidents on issues
of concern to the black community and arranged for federal appointments for blacks. He was
appointed by U. S. president Herbert Hoover to serve on the Mississippi Valley Flood Disaster
Commission and on the United States Commission on Education in Haiti.
10
In 1922, he delivered a major address at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. In
addition, Moton was a trustee of numerous black colleges and several philanthropic funds and was the
recipient of many honorary degrees and awards, most notably the Spingarn Medal for service to African
Americans.
Moton led the Institute from 1915 until retirement in 1935. During this period, he agreed to donate
300 acres from the Institute property to enable development of what became the Tuskegee Veterans
Administration Medical Center, a home and hospital to serve African-American veterans from World
War I, of whom there were an estimated 300,000 in the South. Moton, together with the NAACP and
the National Medical Association (a group of black doctors), appealed directly to President Warren G.
Harding to gain a commitment for blacks to have access to these jobs, as whites were trying to take
control of the facility. This center soon hired numerous black professionals, attracting doctors and
nurses from across the country.
Robert Russa Moton retired from Tuskegee in 1935 and died at his home, Holly Knoll, in Capahosic,
Virginia, on the York River, on May 31, 1940. He was buried at the Hampton Institute. Moton
Field at the Tuskegee Institute, where the black pilots known as the Tuskegee Airmen trained during
World War II (1939- 1945),was named for him in 1941. He was 73 when he died.
Robert Russa Moton High School Alma Mater
Hampton Institute – Burial Place of R. R. Moton
11
School Song – Old Moton High
Oh Moton High, Oh Moton High
We will all be true to thee.
At work and play All through the day,
We will ne'er forsake your ways.
We will honor, praise and cherish thee
And in our hearts you'll always be.
Our allegiance we pledge be true, God bless and keep you.
Oh, Moton High, Oh Moton High To thee we proudly hail.
Oh Moton High, Oh Moton High Your spirit will prevail.
We'll always love and cherish thee
And sing your praise eternally.
Oh Moton High, Oh Moton High
We will all be true to thee.
-Florence Zelois
Hosea Class of 1953
Colors: Maroon & White
Mascot: Hornet
12
• • _ • .....;._ # ..
I
t
\
Our Teachers
Ms. Cunningham Ms. Massey
Ms. Canady
Ms. Brown
Ms. Smith
13
MARVIN L. ANDERSON Homeroom - 9B
English and Social Studies
A. B. Miles College Graduate
Study Univ. of Cincinnati
BENJAMIN F. BANDY
Upholstery
Daniel Payne College
Ala. State College
Ala. A & M College
RONALD R. BELL
Homeroom - 7A
Band
B.S. Ala. State College
MRS. ANNIE P. BENTLEY
Physical l Education & Health
A. B. Miles College
Graduate Study-Tuskegee Institute
MISS ANNIE C. CONNER
Homeroom - 7B
Mathematics & Science
A. B. Miles College
Graduate Study - University of
Cincinnati and Hampton Institute
WILLIAM J. DOWDELL
Auto Mechanics
A. B. Miles College
I
14
MRS. ERNESTINE NUNNALY
Homeroom - llA
Homemaking
B. S. Ala. A. & M. College
M.S. Tuskegee Institute
MRS. EMMA C. PETERSON
Homeroom - 9A English
B. S. Ala. State College
M. A. Columbia University
MR. HENRY B. RUSSELL
Homeroom 7C Mathematics
B.S. Ala. State College
M. Ed. Ala. State College
MR. LEE T. WATTS, JR.
Homeroom - 12B
Counselor
B.S. Ala. A. & M. College
Graduate Study – A. & T.
College, Ala, A & M. College
15
Mr. Marvin Anderon
Guidance Counselor
Mrs. Vivian Harper Physical Education
Mr. Alonzo Pace Science
16
MRS. NOTRICE EDWARD
Business and Office Education
B. S. Miles College
MRS. WILLIE M. C. FANIEL
HOMEROOM - 8A English
A. B. Miles College
Graduate Study - Atlanta University
WILLIE J. GAINES
Homeroom - Social Studies
B.S. Ala. A. & M. College
CHARLIE HARDY
Homeroom - 9C
Science, Physical Education
A. B. Miles College
MRS. VIVIAN W. HARPER
Homeroom -118 Social Studies
B.S. Ala. State College
MRS. GWENDOLYN S. HARRIS
Homeroom – B.S. Science,
Mathematics
A.B. Miles College
17
MRS. GWENDOLYN S. HARRY
Fourth Grade
B. S. Ala. State College
MRS. ROSA W. NIBLETT
Fifth Grade
A.B. Miles College
Graduate Study Auburn University
MRS. EVELYN A. REAVES
Fifth and Sixth Grades
B. S. Ala. State College
MRS. MARGARET H. BERRY
Sixth Grade
B. s. Hampton Institute
M. A. New York University
Mr. JOHN T. SMITH, I, Principal
B. S. Ala. State College
A. Univ. of Michigan Graduate Year –
University Of Cincinnati
Graduate Study - Temple University·:
Philadephia; Sorbonne, France; University of
Exeter, England
18
Mr. Roberson
BS Degree Alabama A & M
Masters Degree UAB
19
·
Mr. Lee T. Watts, Jr. Administrative Assistant &
Counselor
Ms Carolyn Flakes Registrar
20
Leeds Negro Teachers
(The Founding Teachers)
Standing (L -R): Ms. Massey, Ms. E. B. Canady, Ms. Emma Peterson,
Ms. Cunningham, Ms. Ida Smith, Ms. Annie P. Brown, Ms. Roslyn Green,
Ms. McTier, Ms. Randall, & Ms. Rosa Niblett
Kneeling: Principal William Bolden
21
Necrology List
22
Necrology List (Cont’d)
23
Since 2011 Reunion
Barkley,
Barbara Gaddis
1962
Bennett, Mary 1967 Bradford, (Teacher) Raymond Brown, Carolyn Carter, Margaret 1962 Carter, Mary 1962 Clark, Robert Coleman, Jesse 1961 Craig, Jr. Robert Edwards, Percy England, Carolyn 1966 Felton, Tommie Feggins, Johnnie M. Formby, Carolyn Fulford, Annie Gaites Gaddis, Hilda Gaines, Willie Glenn, Charcey 1962 Glenn, Patricia Groce, Anita Looney 1961 Hall, Rochelle Harper, William Hawkins, Aszlene Abernathy Hinton, Lucky Beverly Horton, Fannie 1955 Hughes, Talmadge Jackson, Betty Jean Jackson, Willie Johnson, Gloria Jordan, Doris Pace Killian, John 1965 Kimble, Jacqueline
King, Earlene Jones 1956 Lake, Jerry Marbury, Robert James Marbury, Wallace
Necrology List (Cont’d)
24
Since 2013 Reunion
McAdory, Howard 1965 McAdory, Wallace 1959
McDaniel, Robert Earl 1962 Menson, Mary Jo Mitchell Miller, James Jack 1955 Morgan, Clarence 1961 Patrick, Lester Poole, Hazel Vann 1960 Porter, Cassie Powell, Joseph Radford, Voncile Ransaw, Jr Henry Reeves, Mary Reid, Henry Roberson, Edith Rogers, Lonnie Rose, Lonnie Savage, James 1961 Stone, Hattie Moore 1959 Stove, Gwendolyn Horton 1970 Strickland, Julia M Patrick Swope, Willie Charles 1962 Thomas, Calvin 1958 Thomas, Jerry Thomas, Richard 1959 Thomas, Roger 1965 Thompson, Eula Jones Threatt, Mary 1957 Truss, Addie Vann, Willie Joe Washington, Anthony Washington, Nancy Elois Webb, Mattie Wood, Dora Ann 1960 Wright, Mary
Necrology List (Cont’d)
25
Since 2015 Reunion
Bennett, Minnie Jones
Clayton, Areatha Cattlin
Dawson,
Fortenbury,
Simon
Edna Patrick
Smith, Patricia Glenn
Hall, Pauline Henderson Hall, Pauline Henderson
Hall, Vickie Render 1963
Hancock, Joseph 1961
Harris, Anthony
Harris, John 1957
Heard, Emory
Henderson, Dorothy Moore 1955
Kirksey, Mamie Felton 1961
LaMar, Jr. Aaron
Miller, Clara
Miller, Walter 1957
Miller, Marjorie Looney 1957
Montgomery, Robert
Powell, Lillie
Ragland, Johnny Bryant
Savage, Sylvester
Shelton, Linda Hillie 1972
Simmons, Larry 1971
Taylor, Howard
Webb, James Ray
Woods Hunter, Ella Mae 1960
Necrology List (Cont’d)
26
Class of 1949
27
Class of 1950
28
Class of 1951
29
Class of 1952
30
Class of 1953
31
Class of 1954
32
Class of 1955
33
Class of 1956
34
Class of 1957
35
Class of 1958
36
Class of 1959
37
Class of 1960
38
Class of 1961
39
Class of 1962
40
Class of 1963
41
Class of 1964
42
Class of 1965
43
Class of 1966
44
Class of 1967
45
Class of 1968
46
Class of 1969
47
Class of 1970
48
Souvenir Journal Designed by E▪B▪H & T Associates
Education, Business, Human Services & Technology
It’s All About the Legacy – Pass it On!
R. R. Moton High School