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Robert Russa Moton High School

Leeds, Alabama

The Moton High.... A Reflection of Our History

2017

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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

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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!

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Picture of Robert Russa Moton High School

Robert Russa Moton High School

Leeds, Alabama 35094

April 1961

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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.

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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

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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.

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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

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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

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• • _ • .....;._ # ..

I

t

\

Our Teachers

Ms. Cunningham Ms. Massey

Ms. Canady

Ms. Brown

Ms. Smith

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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

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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

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Mr. Marvin Anderon

Guidance Counselor

Mrs. Vivian Harper Physical Education

Mr. Alonzo Pace Science

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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

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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

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Mr. Roberson

BS Degree Alabama A & M

Masters Degree UAB

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Mr. Lee T. Watts, Jr. Administrative Assistant &

Counselor

Ms Carolyn Flakes Registrar

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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

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Necrology List

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Necrology List (Cont’d)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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Class of 1949

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Class of 1950

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Class of 1951

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Class of 1952

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Class of 1953

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Class of 1954

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Class of 1955

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Class of 1956

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Class of 1957

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Class of 1958

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Class of 1959

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Class of 1960

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Class of 1961

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Class of 1962

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Class of 1963

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Class of 1964

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Class of 1965

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Class of 1966

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Class of 1967

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Class of 1968

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Class of 1969

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Class of 1970

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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