Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds, Alabama

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

2017

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

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!

Picture of Robert Russa Moton High School

Robert Russa Moton High School Leeds, Alabama 35094 April 1961

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.

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

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.

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

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

Our Teachers

Ms. Cunningham Ms. Massey

• • _ • .....;._ # ..

Ms. Brown

Ms. Canady \

Ms. Smith

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

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

Mr. Marvin Anderon Mrs. Vivian Harper Guidance Counselor Physical Education

Mr. Alonzo Pace Science

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

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

Mr. Roberson BS Degree Alabama A & M Masters Degree UAB

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

Ms Carolyn Flakes Registrar

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

Necrology List

Necrology List (Cont’d)

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)

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)

Since 2015 Reunion

Bennett, Minnie Jones Clayton, Areatha Cattlin Dawson, Simon Fortenbury, 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

Class of 1949

Class of 1950

Class of 1951

Class of 1952

Class of 1953

Class of 1954

Class of 1955

Class of 1956

Class of 1957

Class of 1958

Class of 1959

Class of 1960

Class of 1961

Class of 1962

Class of 1963

Class of 1964

Class of 1965

Class of 1966

Class of 1967

Class of 1968

Class of 1969

Class of 1970

It’s All About the Legacy – Pass it On!

R. R. Moton High School

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