Mildred Mitchell-Bateman

The first African-American woman to head a West Virginia state government agency

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman was the first African-American woman to be named to a high ranking office

in West Virginia state government. In 1962, she became director of the Department of Mental Health and served in that capacity for fifteen

years.

J. R. Clifford

Pioneer journalist, lawyer, and civil

rights leader

J. R. Clifford was a trailblazer in many aspects of West Virginia's black history. He broke ground in education, journalism, law,and civil rights.

Some of Clifford's most important contributions to black history were in the field of law.

He was the first African American to pass the West Virginia bar examination.

In 1896, Clifford brought the first legal challenge of the state's segregated school system to the court.

In the case of Martin v. Board ofEducation, the Supreme Court ruled the

Martin children were not allowed to attend the white school even though the alternative meant not receiving an

education. The Martin decision upheld the state's segregation policy, which was not overturned until the Brown v. Board of

Education of Topeka, Kansas decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1954.

John W. Davis

President of West Virginia State College and civil rights leader

JohnWarrenDavis

John Warren Davis emerged from the prejudices of the Deep South to become one of the nation's most distinguished educators and earliest civil rights leaders.

John Warren Davis became president of West Virginia Collegiate Institute (present-day West Virginia State College) at Institute upon the personal recommendation of famed educator Carter G. Woodson.

During Davis' tenure, West Virginia State became one of the leading black colleges in the country in both academics and athletics.

Martin Delany

The highest ranking black officer in the Union Army during the Civil War

MartinDelany

MartinDelany

Martin Delany was born a slave and rose to the rank of major, the highest ranking African American in the Union Army duringthe Civil War.

Delany was involved in the early planning stages of John Brown's raid on Harpers Ferry. He was interested in establishing a safe haven for runaway slaves. However, Delany and other prominent blacks, such as Frederick Douglass, distanced themselves from Brown as his actions became more militant and unpredictable.

During the Civil War, Delany served as a physician and became the first commissioned black officer in the Union Army.

Elizabeth Simpson Drewry

The first African-American woman elected to the West Virginia Legislature

ElizabethSimpsonDrewry

In 1950, Elizabeth Simpson Drewry became the first African- American woman elected to the West VirginiaLegislature.

In 1948, she ran for the House of Delegates (McDowell County) for the first time, but was defeated in the primary election

In 1950, Drewry ran again and won the fifth spot on the Democratic ticket. In the general election, she received nearly 18,000 votes, becoming the first African-American woman elected to the legislature.

In 1927, Minnie Buckingham Harper was appointed to succeed her late husband in the West Virginia Legislature, becoming the first black woman in the nation to serve in a state legislature. However, Harper was never elected.

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Renowned black literary scholar and chair of Harvard University's African- American Studies Department

With the publication of his 1989 book, The Signifying Monkey: Toward a Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism, Gates was recognized widely as one of the leading scholars of African- American studies.

In 1991, Gates was named chair of Harvard University's African-American Studies Department. In 1994, Gates' award-winning book Colored People was published, chronicling his youth and the black community in Mineral County.

Hal Greer

Huntington native and member of the basketball hall of fame

Hal Greer is the only black West Virginia native enshrined in a major sports hall of fame. He was born in Huntington on June 26, 1936, and was a basketball standout at Frederick Douglass High School.

In 1955, coaching legend Cam Henderson recruited Greer, a 6'2"-guard, to attend Marshall College (now Marshall University). Greer became the first African American to play for amajor college team in the state.

During his fifteen-year career with Syracuse and the Philadelphia 76ers, Greer was one of the NBA's most dominant guards, averaging 19.2 points per game.

Greer's number 15 jersey was retired by the 76ers and in 1981, he was elected to the Naismith Pro Basketball Hall of Fame.

Greer was honored by his native city of Huntington on two occasions. In 1966, Mayor R. O. Robertson hosted "Hal Greer Day.” Twelve years later, 16th Street, which runs by Marshall's campus, was renamed Hal Greer Boulevard.

John C. Norman Jr.

Noted thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon and researcher

Noted thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon and researcher John C. Norman Jr. was born May 11, 1930, in Charleston, WestVirginia.

After graduating valedictorian from Garnet High School in 1946, John Norman entered Howard University. He later transferred to Harvard and graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa in 1950.

John Norman received his M. D. from Harvard Medical School in 1954.

While in Boston Norman began important research into a left ventricular assist device for cardiac patients. This research took him to the prestigious Texas Heart Institute in 1972. For the next several years, Norman worked on development of the first abdominal left ventricular assist device (ALVAD), which could be implanted temporarily in patients suffering cardiac failure after open-heart surgery.

For his work in medical research, Norman was awarded the 1985 Congressional High Technology Award. He previously was honored as the Charleston Gazette-Mail's West Virginian of the Year for 1971.

Christopher Payne

The first black member of the West Virginia Legislature

Christopher Payne was the first African American to serve in the West Virginia Legislature. He was born a slave in Monroe County on September 7, 1848, and was educated by his mother.

After attending night school in Charleston, he became one of the first black teachers in present-day Summers County. Payne was ordained as a Baptist minister and organized the Second Baptist Church in Hinton.

Payne was a pioneer in the field of black journalism and established three newspapers -- the West Virginia Enterprise, The Pioneer, and the Mountain Eagle.

In 1896, Payne was elected to the West Virginia Legislature as a Republican delegate from Fayette County.

Samuel W. Starks

Local and national leader of the black Knights of Pythias fraternal order

On September 18, 1892, Starks formed a West Virginia Grand Lodge of the Knights of Pythias, one of the leading secret blackfraternal orders of the day. The organization included representatives from lodges at Raymond City, Huntington, Charleston, and Montgomery.

The black Knights of Pythias was an important social organization for African Americans. "It and other secret orders enhanced the sense of community and national connection among blacks, providing them with opportunities to share in business, social, and civil activities under the lodge's aegis.”(Dr. Ancella Bickley)

Leon Sullivan

Charleston native and civil rights leader

Famed civil rights leader Leon H. Sullivan was born in Charleston on October 16, 1922.

He was raised in a small house in a dirt alley in one of Charleston's poorest sections.

At the age of twelve, he tried to purchase a Coca-Cola in a drugstore on Capitol Street. The proprietor refused to sell him the drink, saying, "Stand on your feet, boy. You can't sit here." This incident inspired Sullivan's lifetime pursuit of fighting racial prejudice.

Sullivan attended Charleston's Garnet High School for blacks and received a basketball and football scholarship to West Virginia State College in 1939. A foot injury ended his athletic career and forced Sullivan to pay for college by working in a steel mill.

During a visit to West Virginia, noted black minister Adam Clayton Powell convinced Sullivan to move to New York to attend the Union Theological Seminary.

He moved to Philadelphia to take over the Zion Baptist Church in 1950. Under Sullivan's leadership the congregation grew from 600 to over 4,000 in just a decade. He also began organizing a civil rights movement in Philadelphia. Sullivan believed jobs were the key to improving African-American lives and asked that the city's largest companies interview young blacks.

Sullivan realized one of the key employment problems for blacks was a lack of training for the changing job market. African Americans had been excluded from the types of training which led to better paying jobs. He formed the Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) to train and instill pride in African Americans.

In the 1970s, Sullivan turned much of his attention to ending the system of apartheid in South Africa. Again, he looked to financial pressure to bring about change. Sullivan was the first black board member of General Motors and encouraged the company and other corporations to use their economic influence to end apartheid.

Booker T. Washington

Noted educator and first president of Tuskegee Institute

Booker T.Washington

Booker T. Washington is undoubtedly West Virginia's most famous African American.

During the Civil War, his family was freed and Booker's stepfather, Washington Furgenson, moved to Kanawha Salines (Malden), Kanawha County, to work at the salt furnaces.

Washington worked at a salt furnace at the Salines at the age of nine and later in a coal mine along Campbell's Creek. He attended public schools for a brief time under noted Kanawha Valley African-American teacher William H. Davis. Washington was also a servant for Viola Ruffner, who taught him how to read.

In 1872, Washington began attending the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia. After graduating in 1875, he returned to Malden to teach school for both black children and adults.

After studying at the Wayland Seminary in Washington, D.C., he taught at Hampton Institute. In 1881, he was chosen to direct a new normal school for blacks in Tuskegee, Alabama. Under Washington's leadership, the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute became one of the leading African-American educational institutions in the country.

Washington presided over Tuskegee Institute until his death on November 14, 1915. He wrote twelve books, the most famous of which, Up From Slavery (1906), recounted his early life in Malden.

Carter G. Woodson

widely regarded as the leading writer on black history of his

time.

His founding of the American Association for the Study of Negro Life and History in 1915 has been called the start of the black history movement.

Quiz

Who was the first African American woman to head a

West Virginia state government agency? What agency did she

direct?

Mildred Mitchell-Bateman, Department of Mental Health

Who was the first African American to pass the West

Virginia bar examination? In 1896 what system did he

challenge in court?

J. R. Clifford, segregated school system

 

Explain the case of Martin v. Board of Education.

the Supreme Court ruled the Martin children were not

allowed to attend the white school even though the alternative meant not

receiving an education.  

What distinguished educator became president of West

Virginia State College? Who personally recommended him

for the job?

John W. Davis, Carter G. Woodson

 

Who became the highest ranking African American in the

Union Army during the Civil War?

Martin Delany 

Who was the first African American woman to be elected to the West

Virginia legislature? What office did she hold?

Elizabeth Simpson Drewry, House of Delegates (McDowell County)

 

Who was the first black woman to serve in the state legislature?

(She was appointed not elected.)

Minnie Buckingham Harper

 

What renowned black literary scholar became the chair of Harvard University’s African American Studies Department? What is

the title of his award winning book? What county did he grow up in?

Henry Louis Gates Jr., “Colored People”,

Mineral County.

Who was the first African American to play for a major college team

in the state of West Virginia? What College did he attend?

What sport did he play?

Hal Greer, Marshall, Basketball

 

What Charleston born African American became a noted thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon? What award was he honored with by the

Charleston Gazette-Mail?

John C. Norman Jr., West Virginian of the

Year for 1971.  

Who was the first black member of the West Virginia

Legislature? He was a pioneer in what field?

Christopher Payne, black journalism

Who was the local and national leader of the black Knights of Pythias

fraternal order? Why was this an important social organization?

Samuel W. Starks

, It and other secret orders enhanced the sense of community and national

connection among blacks, providing them with opportunities to share in business, social, and civil activities

 

What prominent African American formed the Opportunities Industrialization Center to train and instill pride in

African Americans? He was also the first black board member of what major

corporation?

Leon Sullivan

General Motors  

Who was West Virginia’s most famous African American? Where in WV did

he grow up and why did his family move there? What school did he direct

in Alabama?

Booker T. Washington,

Kanawha Salines (Malden), Kanawha County,

Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute

 

What African American is widely regarded as the leading writer on black history of his time?

Carter G. Woodson