Cleo Coleman (Photo Brenda Van Ness, 2/11/12)
Knowing laughter and amens greeted Cleo Coleman as she regaled the audience about teaching 4th graders what it was like to be a student in the 1930s. Cleo invites classes to the restored Rosenwald School in Port Royal, VA, every summer and fall. After restoring the school, Cleo and her late husband Robert furnished it with the help of the school’s former teacher. A history lover, she is also noted for her portrayal of Harriet Tubman and is involved with other preservation projects, including a museum opened in 2011 at what was the African-American John J. Wright Consolidated School in Spotsylvania County.
Pastor, civil servant, teacher, veteran. The Reverend Reginald Green has a long record of good works and many accomplishments. However, it is because of his courage as a young man that he spoke during this year’s Black History Celebration. While a student at Virginia Union University and a member of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE), on June 7, 1961, Rev. Green boarded a Trailways bus as one of the
Rev. Reginald Green (Photo, Brenda Van Ness, 2/11/12)
“Freedom Riders” who challenged segregation on interstate buses. Just as the Supreme Court’s ruling to integrate schools under Brown v. Board of Education was ignored, so was its decision outlawing segregation on interstate transportation. Green’s destination was the county jail and penitentiary in Jackson, Mississippi. Following his release, he met Martin Luther King in Atlanta. A PBS American Experience documentary about the Freedom Riders premiered in May 2011. The photo shows Green in the mugshot taken the day of his arrest.
We owe a lot to the Civil Rights activists who risked their lives on behalf of social justice. Both speakers reminded us that we should not take these freedoms for granted. Interspersed with our speakers was the uplifting music of the Unity Choir, comprised of members from several local churches and led by Alfreda Dean.
We extend our gratitude to all our participants, the Scrabble board members who provided a wonderful soup supper following the program, and to Rev. Dallas Smith of Mount Lebanon Baptist Church and Senior Center Director Darcy Canton and the Rappahannock-Rapidan Community Services Board for their assistance. Our thanks also to Brenda Van Ness for the wonderful photographs documenting the event.
For more information about the Freedom Riders, go to <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/freedomriders/about>
The Unity Choir (Photo, Brenda Van Ness, 2/11/12)
the only organization that received the full amount we requested attests to the value of this work not just to Scrabble, but to the broader community of Rosenwald Schools. It also reflects the confidence we have earned based on our work to date and the expertise of the team we have gathered for the project. That includes Dr. Andrew Mink of the UVA Curry School of Education, historian Lynn Rainville of Sweet Briar College, and filmmaker Lance Warren. Lynn and Lance did an incredible job on the first phase of our exhibit, and we are delighted to work with them again. This is SSPF’s 4th VFH grant.
