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African-American Literature Celebration
February 07, 2014 — Charleston, Kanawha

Poet Norman Jordan to headline African-American Literature Celebration

The 2014 African-American Literature Celebration, held in the Norman L. Fagan Theater in the Culture Center, Capitol Complex, on Friday, February 7, 2014, 6 – 7:30 PM, will feature Norman Jordan, an internationally published poet and West Virginia’s most-published African-American poet. Jordan’s poetry has been anthologized in 41 books, the most recent being Make a Joyful Sound: Poems for Children by African-American Poets, In Search of Color Everywhere: A Collection of African-American Poetry and Wild Sweet Notes: Fifty Years of West Virginia Poetry 1950-1999.

Jordan, co-founder and director of the African American Heritage Family Tree Museum in Ansted and president of the West Virginia African American Arts and Heritage Academy, will read his poems and discuss the Black Arts Movement, his self-publishing experiences and the art form of “Stick Poetry.” He will also talk about one-time Fayette County resident Carter G. Woodson and his significance to Black History Month.

Affrilachian poet and Charleston resident Crystal Good will join Jordan and share her poetry with the audience. West Virginia author and filmmaker Danny Boyd will attend the reading as well.

A reception in the West Virginia Library Commission’s J.D. Waggoner Reading Room will follow the event. Books by Jordan, Crystal Good and Danny Boyd will be available for sale and the authors will be available for autographs.

The African-American Literature Celebration is held each February as part of Black History Month. The event is sponsored by the West Virginia Center for the Book, an affiliate of the Center for the Book in the Library of Congress and a project of the West Virginia Library Commission. The West Virginia Center for the Book promotes the importance of books and reading and highlights the state’s unique literary heritage, from its earliest storytellers to modern novelists and poets.

For information, please contact Information Specialist Preston Richardson at (304) 558-3978, extension 2010.
Archives and History Thursday Lecture: African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective
June 26, 2014 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, June 26, 2014, Thomas Tyree will present “African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

A native of Charleston, Thomas Tyree will talk about his early years living and growing up in the capital city and the impact that it had on his life. Included will be a discussion of those individuals who had the greatest impact on his life and what propelled him to a successful career.

Tyree is the founder and president of North Carolina-based TWT Distributing, Inc., a full service distributor of ethnic health and beauty products serving grocery, drug, and discount retailers and mass merchandising chains. He has spent more than forty years in the ethnic health, beauty, and cosmetics industry and works with some of the largest retailers in the United States.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Thursday Lecture: African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective
July 24, 2014 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, July 24, 2014, Charles H. James III will present “African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective Part II” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the second of The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

A native of Charleston, James will discuss his family’s history in Charleston and the Kanawha Valley from 1865 to the present. His great-grandfather started a retail produce business, later the wholesaler C. H. James & Co., in Charleston in 1883.

Charles H. James III graduated with honors from Morehouse College in Atlanta in 1981 and earned his masters’ degree in Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in 1985. He has served as the Chairman and CEO of C. H. James & Co. since 1988. The company celebrated its 130th anniversary in 2013 and has been recognized as one of the oldest family-owned businesses in the United States. James represents the fourth generation of his family to own and operate the business. Under his leadership, C. H. James & Co. grew from a local food distributor in southern West Virginia to a leading international supplier to the U.S. government and multinational foodservice clients. In 1992, C. H. James & Co. was named “Company of the Year” by Black Enterprise magazine and has been listed numerous times in the magazine’s annual BE 100 listing of the nation’s largest black businesses.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective, Part III
August 28, 2014 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, August 28, 2014, Barbara Hicks Lacy will present “African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective, Part III” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the third of The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

A native of Charleston, Lacy spent the first six years of her life at her mother’s Shrewsbury Street boarding house, which was located in the middle of “The Block.” She continued to maintain strong ties to the area until 1957 as an employee at her father’s restaurant, the Block Cafe, located first at 908 East Washington Street across from the post office and later on the ground floor of the Ferguson Hotel.

Barbara Lacy is the only child of the late Edward Luther Hicks and Mary Arlena Waller Hicks. She graduated from Garnet High School in 1951 and from West Virginia State College in 1956 with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a secondary teacher certification. Lacy also holds a master’s degree in education administration from West Virginia University.

Lacy has served as a social worker and social worker supervisor for the Division of Health and Human Resources, instructor for Job Corps, program director for Multicap Headstart, the interstate program director for the Department of Employment Services, a Civil Rights compliance officer for the Inspector General’s Office, a minority business counselor and information specialist in the Governor’s Office of Employment and Training, and the director of the West Virginia Foster Grandparent Program. She has served as a representative on both the Region III and the National Headstart Advisory councils and is a former commissioner on the Kanawha County Planning and Zoning Committee.

Among her numerous community service activities, Lacy was a charter board member of the Community of Rand Association and has served on the boards of the Kanawha Valley Mental Health Association, Kanawha Valley Senior Services, Children’s Home Society, Kanawha Valley Extension Service, YWCA, and the WVDHHR Credit Union. Currently, she is on the board of the East End Family Resource Center. She also has served as a mentor for Kanawha County Board of Education’s “Keep a Child in School Program.”

A widow, Barbara Lacy is the mother of two children, one deceased, and the grandmother of three

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Thursday Lecture: African American Life in Charleston: A Personal Perspective
September 25, 2014 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, September 25, 2014, James Preston Estes Sr. will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective, Part IV” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the fourth of The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Born on Charleston’s West Side, Estes attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar Elementary, Cabell Jr. High, and Henry Highland Garnet High School. He served in the U.S. Army from 1951 to 1953. Estes attended vocational school at West Virginia State College and completed continuing education courses at The Ohio State University and Ohio Dominican University.

Estes spent 36 years with the Sherman R. Smoot Company, a construction company, and was vice president of John James Estes and Associates. He has served on the boards of the Southwest Recreation Corporation in Urbancrest, Ohio, Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission in Franklin County, Alvis House in Columbus, and Lifecare Alliance in Columbus.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Lecture: African American Life: A Personal Perspective
May 21, 2015 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, May 21, 2015, Lewis R. Smoot Sr. will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the first of the 2015 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Smoot graduated from Garnet High School in Charleston in 1951 and received a B.S. in building construction management from Michigan State in 1956. He also received honorary doctorates from Ohio Dominican and Franklin universities. After a couple of years with the Army Corps of Engineers, Lewis Smoot went to work at the Sherman R. Smoot Company, a masonry company that had been started by his father Sherman and other relatives in Charleston.

Today he is chairman and chief executive officer of Smoot Construction Corporation. He is responsible for executive management operations for Smoot Construction Company of Ohio, Smoot Management Corporation of Ohio, Smoot Construction LLC (Indiana), and Smoot Construction Company of Washington D.C. Smoot has received numerous awards for his participation in the community. He has a long and distinguished career in both construction and community involvement in the central Ohio area, Indianapolis, and Washington D.C. and has served in varied capacities as trustee or on the board of directors of many organizations or foundations.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Thursday Lecture: African American Life: A Personal Perspective
July 23, 2015 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, July 23, 2015, Hubert S. “Rabbit” Jones will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the second of the 2015 The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Jones was born in Laing, West Virginia, three miles above Kayford at the head of Cabin Creek, delivered by the father of the late musician and radio personality Hugh McPherson. After graduating from Washington High School in London WV, in May 1949, he joined the Air Force, where he spent his tour in Hawaii with administrative support. He also became a self-taught musician in the military with his upright bass and played in the band.

Jones entered West Virginia State College in 1956 to pursue a degree in business administration. He came under the musical tutelage of music department head Dr. Leon Thompson who recruited him to play in the classical orchestra. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in 29 months to make room for his younger brother.

His love of music led him to associations with musicians such as The Drifters, Solomon Burke, Bill Doggett, Rashan “Roland” Kirk, and Sony Turner who was the lead singer for The Platters. He later joined with MacDonald Cary Jr. and Warren Pope Sr. to open the first licensed black-owned night club and restaurant in West Virginia. Jones was called to play in jam sessions with Tommy Corey, Count Basie, Lionel Hampton, Ray Charles, and Amos Milburn. They played at The Greenbrier, Crazy Horse Café, Juke Box, and Tight Squeeze; Edgewood, Berry Hills and Meadowbrook country clubs; and Shalamar and BJ’s. His name first appeared on a 45 rpm with the Billy J Trio and a memorial album recording with Bob and Frank Thompson.

Jones worked with the state tax department for several years and became its first black auditor in 1961. In 1964, he became the first black manager with C & P Telephone Company, where he spent 25 years. The West Virginia Symphony’s Principal Bass Violin Chair was endowed by Lyell Clay under the name of Hubert S. “Rabbit” Jones.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
August 27, 2015 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, August 27, 2015, Richard H. Payne will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the second of the 2015 The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Payne graduated from Garnet High School in Charleston in 1954. He received further education from West Virginia State University, with graduate studies at West Virginia University, Indiana University of Bloomington, Indiana, and Marshall University. A lead equal opportunity specialist with more than 40 years of experience, Payne served as the principal on-site Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity civil rights official. Payne’s responsibility in cooperation with the director of the Pittsburgh Field Office was to enforce the Fair Housing Act and other civil rights laws to reduce the level of housing discrimination. His duties also included promoting economic opportunity by providing technical assistance and conducting monitoring reviews of public housing authorities, reducing the number of aged Title VIII, and ensuring proper use of fair housing funds.

Payne was instrumental in the establishment of the West Virginia Human Rights Commission, the Charleston Human Rights Commission, the Huntington Human Rights Commission and the Monroeville, Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission. He is a life member and former president of the Charleston Branch of the NAACP, West Virginia NAACP youth advisor, and a co-founder and former president of UNION, a civil right organization consisting of 35 independent organizations under the umbrella of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference headed by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Payne is the father of four daughters, all of whom have achieved advanced academic degrees.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
August 31, 2017 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, August 31, 2017, Chlorine Grigsby Carter will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, the fourth in the 2017 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The oldest of two children born to the late Yorty and Lillian Grigsby, Chlorine Grigsby attended McKinley Elementary in Pittsburgh before the family moved to Charleston when she was eight years of age. In Charleston, she attended Boyd Elementary and Junior High and in 1953 graduated from Garnet High School, where she ran for class president and Miss Garnet. In 1954, Chlorine Grigsby married the late Herman Carter of Cabin Creek/Chesapeake. They had three children: Jovalene Booker and Alexandria Acholonu, both deceased, and Maurice of Stone Mountain, Georgia. She has six grandchildren, four great-grandchildren, and two step granddaughters.

Carter began a new chapter in her life in early 1960 with her husband when they began operating a canteen for youth in Rand and later, before it closed, in the American Legion Post 57. She reopened the business on the West Side of Charleston with new partner Robert Mahone, and she later had a family restaurant on the East End, Clo’s Uptown Eatery.

Chlorine Grigsby Carter worked at the Coyle and Richardson Department Store, the Security Building, as a teacher’s aide in specialized reading at Rand Elementary, in the registrar’s office at West Virginia State, and at BB &T for 23 years until retiring in 1995.

She has been a member of Post 57 Auxiliary of the American Legion, the Conservative Clubs Auxiliary, Charleston Women’s Improvement League, American Cancer Society, and the American Lung Association of Charleston. She currently is a member of The Silver Haired Legislature and has served as Speaker of the House. Carter is a member of the Levi First Missionary Baptist Church.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on August 31 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
May 31, 2018 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, May 31, 2018, Anna Evans Gilmer will kick off the 2018 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” programs in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Charleston native Anna Elizabeth Evans Gilmer was the fourth of eight children born to the late William H. and Ollie Brown Evans. After attending Boyd Grade and Junior High schools, she attended Garnet High School, where she was editor of the school newspaper The Eye. Garnet valedictorian in mid-year 1942, she went on to graduate from Bluefield State College in 1946 and complete post graduate work at West Virginia State College and the College of Graduate Studies for certification and enrichment. Gilmer taught English for six years at Sissonville High, substituted for ten years, and taught English at Carver Career Center for three years. She and her late husband of 58 years, the Reverend Paul Gilmer Sr. (Garnet class of 1942), are the parents of five children: Paul Jr, Rodney, Vikki Gilmer-Bayes, the Reverend Charles, and Janet Gilmer-Rowser. She also has 21 grandchildren, 21 great grandchildren, and 2 great greatgrandchildren.

With James Randall, Gilmer co-authored Black Past, a record of area businesses, schools, churches and organizations in the Kanawha Valley. She was a member of the special committee for the West Virginia Women’s Commission and researched and wrote some of the entries in the commission’s book, A Sampling of West Virginia’s African American Women of Distinction. In addition, she was charter member of the Henry Highland Garnet Foundation and an advisor in preserving the African Zion Baptist Church and reconstructing Booker T. Washington’s boyhood cabin in Malden. A West Virginia History Hero, Gilmer also is the recipient of the Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission’s Living the Dream Award, the West Virginia Women’s Commission’s “Unsung Hero” Award, and the West Virginia Black Schools Sports/Academic “Hall of Fame” Historian and Legend Award.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on May 31 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
June 28, 2018 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, June 28, 2018, Edward Hargro will be the speaker in the second program of the 2018 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

The son of a Tuskegee Airman, Edward Hargro attended Bluefield State College, where he received a bachelor of science degree in physical education and biology. He also played and lettered in football. In 1967, Hargro achieved the rank of lieutenant in the United States Army in Officers Candidate School, and he later served six years in the West Virginia National Guard.

Hargro taught biology at Triadelphia High School from 1967 to 1972, during which time he also served as an assistant coach and was a member of Big Brothers of Wheeling. He was a pharmaceutical sales representative with Ayers Laboratories, 1972-1982, and with Glaxo Smith Kline Pharmaceuticals, 1982-2008.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on June 28 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
July 26, 2018 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, July 26, 2018, Sim E. Fryson will be the speaker in the third program of the 2018 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

A native of Charleston, Sim Fryson is the sixth of eight children born to the late Sim Fryson and Dorothy Hawkins Fryson. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in education from West Virginia State College and an associate degree in business and marketing from the University of Detroit through the General Motors Institute. Fryson served four years in the United States Air Force and is a veteran of the Vietnam War.

Fryson began his automobile career while attending college by selling used cars on a small independent used car lot. He then became a sales person at C & O Motors, the largest automobile dealership in West Virginia. He was the first black person in West Virginia to become a new car sales person, F & I manager, sales manager, and general sales manager. In 1995, he became president and CEO of Sim Fryson Motor Company in Ashland, Kentucky, and most recently he owned a dealership in South Charleston. Fryson has received numerous awards and honors, including WSAZ Hometown Hero, and his company was named by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the top 100 black businesses in the country from 1985 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 2005.

He is married to Susan Fryson and they have three children, Brent, Sydnei, and Sierra. He is a Seventh-Day Adventist Christian and is elder at the Shiloh Seventh-Day Adventist Church in Huntington, West Virginia.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on July 26 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective
August 30, 2018 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, August 30, 2018, Dr. R. Charles Byers will be the final speaker in the 2018 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Byers received a bachelor’s degree in education from West Virginia State University (WVSU) in 1968, an M.F.A. from The Ohio State University, and his Ph.D. in higher education administration from Kent State University. After teaching high school for several years, he joined the faculty of West Virginia State, where he taught for 22 years. He worked in college administration for the remainder of his 41-year career at the university and was provost and vice president for academic affairs when he retired in 2014.

After retirement, Byers formed the higher education consulting company, RC Byers Consulting, LLC. He is also an adjunct graduate faculty member in the Multicultural Instructional Leadership Program at WVSU. In addition, he is an active artist and enjoys visiting historic places.

Byers is a board member of the Central West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Booker T. Washington Foundation, the WVSU Research and Development Corporation, and the WVSU Foundation, and he is chair of the trustees at the First Baptist Church of Charleston. He is the recipient of the Distinguished West Virginian Award.

Dr. Byers and his wife Edithe, a retired high school and college English teacher, are the parents of Charles, Kevin, and Deborah and proud grandparents of five grandchildren.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on August 30 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective Block Speaker Series
May 11, 2019 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Saturday, May 11, 2019, Dr. Monique M. Chouraeshkenazi will be the first speaker in the 2019 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 3:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Chouraeshkenazi was educated at Pratt Elementary School and graduated with honors from Riverside High School in 2002. She spent the next 13 years in the U.S. Air Force but also continued her education. After graduating with honors from American Military University in 2011 with a B.A. in homeland security, she received an M.S. in criminal justice from Boston University in 2013, again graduating with honors. In 2015, she earned a PhD in public policy and administration with a concentration in terrorism, mediation, and peace from Walden University, graduating high honors of 4.0 GPA. Her doctoral thesis, “Qualitative Case Study on F-35 Fighter Production Delays affecting National Security Guidance,” was published in Scholar Works that year.

Since March 2019, Chouraeshkenazi has been chair of the National Security Program at the Daniel Morgan Graduate School of National Security in Washington, D.C. She also teaches part-time for the School of Graduate and Degree Completion at Tiffin University and at Southern New Hampshire University. An African-American Jewish author, professor, and researcher, she specializes in domestic extremism and global terrorism. She was inducted into Oxford’s Who’s Who in 2016 for “Tier of Excellence” in personal and professional development as an educator, entrepreneur, and leader in homeland and national security and graced the cover of Oxford’s Elite Magazine “Special Edition” in April 2017.

While serving in the military, Chouraeshkenazi specialized in administration, communications and security management. Among her positions were Chief of the Special Security Office for the 18th Wing Intelligence Unit at Kadena Air Base, Japan; Enlisted Military Assistant and Assistant Noncommissioned Officer-in-Charge for Secretaries Ash Carter, Christine Fox, and Robert Work for the Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense at The Pentagon; and Military Executive Assistant for former Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization Director, Lieutenant General John D. Johnson. She received numerous medals, including Afghanistan Campaign Medal with gold star, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, Korean Defense Service Medal, Air Force Expeditionary Service Medal with gold border, NATO Service Medal, and Office of Secretary of Defense Badge.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective Block Speaker Series
June 29, 2019 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Saturday, June 29, 2019, Betty Cardwell Spencer will be the next speaker in the 2019 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 3:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Betty Cardwell Spencer was born in Institute, West Virginia, the daughter of Mark H. Sr. and Jenny Williams Cardwell. She has one brother, Mark. Her formal education began at Institute Elementary School on the campus of West Virginia State College (now University) and continued until she graduated from Dunbar High School in 1963. Spencer attended West Virginia State College, graduating in 1967 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education, then attended West Virginia University to obtain a master’s degree in Education.

Spencer began teaching in Kanawha County schools at the age of 21 and continued for more than 43 years. A school principal for 32 years, she briefly served as director of elementary and secondary education for Kanawha County (1989-1990) before returning to the principalship for the remainder of her career. Spencer has received many honors, including the Title I Award for Distinguished Schools at Ford Elementary and Dunbar Intermediate; the Dr. Hazo W. Carter Jr., West Virginia State University Educator of the Year Award; Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., Educators and Civil Rights Activist Award; and the National Sorority of Phi Delta Kappa Education Award. She also was inducted into the West Virginia State University Sports Hall of Fame.

She is a lifetime member of All Saints Episcopal Church. She was briefly appointed to serve on the Kanawha County Board of Education and was employed with the Kanawha Institute for Social Research and Action as the director of pre-school/after-school programs.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
African American Life: A Personal Perspective - Block Speaker Series
July 20, 2019 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Saturday, July 20, 2019, Elliot G. Hicks will be the next speaker in the 2019 Block Speaker Series of “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program will begin at 3:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Elliot Hicks, a native of Charleston’s West Side, has practiced law in Charleston for thirty-eight years. Specializing in the areas of product and premises liability, corporate and commercial litigation, and insurance and medical malpractice defense, he has taken more than 100 cases to jury verdict in state and federal district courts. Hicks was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers in 2007 and is a member of the Federation of Defense and Corporate Counsel. He served as president of the West Virginia State Bar, 1998-1999, and has been a regular panelist on The Law Works, a West Virginia Public Television show on legal issues of interest to the public.

In 2014, Hicks opened Ellerbee Enterprises, Inc., an engineering and environmental consulting company providing services to the energy sector and other traditional businesses. He continues his work in the legal world, however, in the area of mediation and arbitration under the name of Hicks Resolutions.

After attending Washington and Lee University, Hicks and graduated from West Virginia University with a bachelor’s degree in political science in 1978. He received his doctor of jurisprudence degree from West Virginia University College of Law and was admitted to practice law in West Virginia in 1981.

Hicks served on the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, 1999-2006, and currently serves as the chairman of Concord University’s Board of Governors. He also has served on the board of trustees at the First Baptist Church and at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation, both in Charleston. In 2019, Hicks was awarded the Governor’s Living the Dream Award by the Martin Luther King Jr. State Holiday Commission.

For additional information, contact the Archives and History Library at (304) 558-0230.
Sixth Annual Otis K. Rice History Lecture
September 25, 2014 — Montgomery, Kanawha

Thursday, September 25, 2014 at 6 p.m. in WVU Tech’s Engineering Auditorium in Montgomery, West Virginia. Q&A and reception will follow formal presentation.

Dr. Connie Rice, state history scholar, WVU lecturer and Assistant Editor at West Virginia History: A Journal of Regional Studies, will discuss slavery and emancipation in Civil War-era West Virginia at the sixth annual Otis K. Rice lecture at WVU Tech. The free lecture is open to the public, and will be held on Thursday, September 25 at 6 p.m. in the WVU Tech engineering auditorium.

Dr. Rice, who serves on the Governor’s West Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, has conducted extensive research and penned numerous publications on the history of women and blacks in the Appalachian region. Her lecture is particularly timely, as history marks 150 years since the American Civil War. Her lecture, “Nothing but Freedom: Bondage and Emancipation in West Virginia,” will examine slavery, the Underground Railroad and political attitudes towards black citizenship during the statehood movement. Dr. Rice will also discuss post-war freedoms, registration laws targeting free blacks and petitions made by African Americans to the Virginia legislature during the period.

The memorial lecture series was started in 2009 to honor the legacy of noted West Virginia historian, Dr. Otis K. Rice, who served at WVU Tech for 30 years between 1957 and 1987, authored numerous books on state history and became the state’s first Historian Laureate in 2003.
The Blaxploition Film Mystique
February 04, 2015 — Bluefield, Mercer

Bluefield State College has released a list of activities planned for its 2015 Black History Month celebration.

On Wednesday, February 4th, 2015, Bluefield State College professor of English, Dr. Sean Connolly will host a discussion on “The Blaxploition Film Mystique.” This event will be held in Basic Science, room 111 at 11 AM. This event is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 11 AM, Bluefield State College will host the stage production of “The Meeting” in the Basic Science Auditorium on the campus of Bluefield State College. The presentation depicts a fictional conversation held between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Minister Malcolm X. This event is sponsored by the Bluefield State College Student Government Association and the Title III office of Bluefield State College. This event is free and open to the public. Schools are invited to attend.

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, BSC hosts special guest lecturer, Dr. Karsonya Wise-Whitehead, association professor of Communications at Loyola University Maryland. She will present and discuss on her book, Notes From A Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Francis Davis, an examination of African American life during the end of the Civil War through the diary of northern African American free woman. This event takes place at 11 AM in the Hebert Gallery, Harris-Jefferson Student Center on the campus of Bluefield State College. This event is sponsored by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical Education, and the office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Free and open to the public.

Three films will also be shown during the course of the month. Dr. Rodney Montague, associate professor of History will host discussions on the Exploration of Blaxploitation Films. February 5th – “Superfly”; February 12th – “Coffy”; February 19th – “Shaft.” All films will be shown in the Game Room, Harris-Jefferson Student Center, on the campus of Bluefield State College, at 4:30 PM. Free and open to the public.
Book discussion: Notes From a Colored Girl
February 25, 2015 — Bluefield, Mercer

Bluefield State College has released a list of activities planned for its 2015 Black History Month celebration.

On Wednesday, February 4th, 2015, Bluefield State College professor of English, Dr. Sean Connolly will host a discussion on “The Blaxploition Film Mystique.” This event will be held in Basic Science, room 111 at 11 AM. This event is free and open to the public.

On Wednesday, February 11, 2015 at 11 AM, Bluefield State College will host the stage production of “The Meeting” in the Basic Science Auditorium on the campus of Bluefield State College. The presentation depicts a fictional conversation held between Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Minister Malcolm X. This event is sponsored by the Bluefield State College Student Government Association and the Title III office of Bluefield State College. This event is free and open to the public. Schools are invited to attend.

On Wednesday, February 25, 2015, BSC hosts special guest lecturer, Dr. Karsonya Wise-Whitehead, association professor of Communications at Loyola University Maryland. She will present and discuss on her book, Notes From A Colored Girl: The Civil War Pocket Diaries of Emilie Francis Davis, an examination of African American life during the end of the Civil War through the diary of northern African American free woman. This event takes place at 11 AM in the Hebert Gallery, Harris-Jefferson Student Center on the campus of Bluefield State College. This event is sponsored by the West Virginia Higher Education Policy Commission, the West Virginia Council for Community and Technical Education, and the office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion. Free and open to the public.

Three films will also be shown during the course of the month. Dr. Rodney Montague, associate professor of History will host discussions on the Exploration of Blaxploitation Films. February 5th – “Superfly”; February 12th – “Coffy”; February 19th – “Shaft.” All films will be shown in the Game Room, Harris-Jefferson Student Center, on the campus of Bluefield State College, at 4:30 PM. Free and open to the public.
Lecture on Story of Storer College and African-American School Teachers in WV
September 14, 2015 — Charleston, Kanawha WVHC Event

The lecturer will focus on how Storer College helped create the West Virginia schoolteachers who brought literacy to former slaves. 7PM, September 14 at Taylor Books in Charleston. Free.

This project is funded in part by a West Virginia Humanities Council grant.
Chautauqua Scholars Panel & Symposium – Rebuilding a Nation: Fulfilling the Promise of Freedom
February 21, 2016 — Morgantown, Monongalia WVHC Event

This scholars panel and symposium features historical portrayals of influential Civil War-era African Americans. The panel’s historical figures will address important questions of their day, followed by a discussion with the audience about what it means to be an American and how our experiences are shaped by race, class, and gender.

3:00 PM February 21 at St. Paul AME Church in Morgantown. (304) 259-5777

http://wvhumanities.org/event/event-2505/
Archives and History Block Speaker Series: Joseph E. Turner
May 26, 2016 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, May 26, 2016, Major General (Retired) Joseph E. Turner will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the first of the 2016 The Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Turner is a native of Charleston and the son of the late Sargent Joseph Turner and Annetta Ellis. He attended Boyd Elementary and Junior High schools and graduated in 1956 from Garnet High School. He received a Bachelor of Science Degree in mathematics from West Virginia State College.

General Turner began his military career in 1961 as a second lieutenant commissioned in the Signal Corps through the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC). He has held many command and staff positions prior to his assignment as the commander of 335th Theater Signal Command. He served two combat duties in Vietnam, the first tour as an aviator, 17th Aviation Company, and the second as commander, HHC, 210th Combat Aviation Battalion , 1st Aviation Brigade, in Long Thanh, South Vietnam. Turner has received many awards and decorations including the Legion of Merit, Bronze Star Medal (with Oak Leaf Cluster), Meritorious Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal, and the Air Medal (with 10 Oak Leaf Clusters).

In his civilian life Turner was a commercial airline pilot employed by Delta Airlines flying the Los Angeles, California/Honolulu, Hawaii, route and return. Turner is married to the former Norma J. Sims, and they have three sons (Dr. Alan T. Turner, Brian D. Turner and Joseph E. Turner Jr.) and eight grandchildren.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on May 26 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Block Speaker Series: Dr. Cubert Smith
June 30, 2016 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, June 30, 2016, Dr. Cubert Smith will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the second of the 2016 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Dr. Cubert Smith grew up in St. Albans and is a graduate of Garnet High School. He received a bachelor’s degree from West Virginia State University, one master’s degree from Marshall University and another from the University of Guanajuato in Mexico, and a doctorate from Union Graduate College in Yellow Springs, Ohio. Smith also received additional post-doctoral credit from Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Smith taught in Kanawha County schools and at West Virginia State University. During Charleston Mayor Kemp Melton’s administration he served as director of Charleston-Korolev Sister City Program, a cultural exchange initiative with Korolev, Russia. Smith’s public sculptures are located around the Kanawha Valley, including at the South Charleston Mound, Charleston’s Haddad Riverfront Park, Yeager Airport, and West Virginia State University. Of special meaning to him are the bronze plaques he created for the doors at St. Paul Baptist Church in St. Albans.

A Cubert Smith sculpture was one of the works selected to represent the U.S. in the 2nd Black World Arts Festival held in Nigeria. In 1984, Governor John D. Rockefeller IV selected him as West Virginia’s nominee to attend the American Academy in Rome. He was again honored by Governor Rockefeller as an Outstanding West Virginian and was later recognized as an Ambassador for the Arts for the State of West Virginia by Secretary of State A. James Manchin. Smith currently lives in Charleston with his wife and daughter and is serving his third term on the Charleston city council.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on June 30 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Block Speaker Series: Gary Mays
July 28, 2016 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, July 28, 2016, Garrett “Gary” Mays will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the third of the 2016 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Gary Mays, “The One Arm Bandit,” was born in Burnwell, a coal mining town in Kanawha County, on March 26, 1935. At the age of five, he lost his left arm in a shotgun accident. When he was 12, he moved to the northeast section of Washington, DC, where he started playing baseball at Logan Community Center.

Mays attended Armstrong Technical High School where he displayed his athletic skills playing baseball and basketball. It was Mays’ basketball coach Charlie Baltimore who gave him the nickname “The One Arm Bandit” because of his ability to steal the ball.

In 1954, Armstrong and Spingarn high schools played each other for the Inter-High Division II Basketball Tournament title. Spingarn was undefeated, and its star player, Elgin Baylor, had averaged more than 40 points in the school’s two victories over Armstrong during the regular season. Armstrong’s coach instructed his players to use a zone defense with the exception of Gary Mays, who was told to play “man-to-man” defense against Baylor. Armstrong managed to beat Spingarn 50 to 47, with Baylor only scoring 18 points.

The following year, Gary Mays attended the Washington Senators annual tryout camp at Griffith Stadium. Although he was not signed by the Senators, Mays, who threw out a base runner and hit the only home run in a camp-closing scrimmage, was unanimously voted camp MVP.

Mays attended The College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho, and went on to become a liquor store owner and cab, bus, and limousine driver. He was building chairman for the DC Chapter of Habitat for Humanity and the owner of his own construction company. Mays currently is vice president of the Armstrong Alumni Association.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on July 28 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.
Archives and History Block Speaker Series: Rosa Lena Pickel
August 18, 2016 — Charleston, Kanawha

On Thursday, August 18, 2016, Rosa Lena Pickel will present “African American Life: A Personal Perspective” in the Archives and History Library in the Culture Center in Charleston. The program, which is the fourth of the 2016 Block Speakers Series, will begin at 6:00 p.m. and is free and open to the public.

Rosa Lena Pickel was born in Charleston, the fourth child and third daughter to Samuel David Pickel Sr. and Lydia Byrd Plunkett. She attended Boyd Elementary, Boyd Jr. High, and Garnet High School and graduated as class valedictorian in January 1948. In 1952, she graduated magna cum laude from West Virginia State College, receiving a bachelor’s of science in education with majors in business administration and French.

Rosa Pickel was the first West Virginia State College graduate to receive the Fulbright Award to study and travel abroad. She studied at the Sorbonne in Paris and at the Université de Franche-Comté in Besançon, France, from September 1952 to June 1953 and received the Certificate of French Studies. In 1965, Pickel received a master’s degree in French Literature from Atlanta University.

Her teaching career began in 1955 at Morris Brown College in Atlanta, Georgia, and concluded at West Virginia State College in May 1996. During those years she taught French, Spanish, English, and Commerce in high schools and colleges from Maryland to South Carolina. She served as commencement marshal at West Virginia State College for many years and was grand marshal at her own retirement in May 1996.

Pickel is a member of Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church, where she has held many leadership positions. She has traveled to Europe, Africa, the Holy Land, Greece, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Egypt and currently enjoys preventive care exercises, short trips, photography, and her sorority Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. She also participates in the Henry Highland Garnett Foundation, Inc., and the WVSC Foundation, Inc., and is a member of the President’s Circle at West Virginia State and an annual scholarship donor.

Participants may park behind the Culture Center after 5:00 p.m. on August 18 and enter the building at the back loading dock area. There also is limited handicapped parking available in the new bus turnaround.

For additional information, call (304) 558-0230.

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