Greetings to the members of fi Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated and welcome this Monument’s occasion dedicated to the Celebration and remembrance of black history We Gather here today not as Spectators but as a active participant in the Journey of acknowledging honoring and embracing the rich tapestry of our Collective past as
We embark on this program it is imperative that we understand the profound significance of preserving our history history serves as a compass guiding us through life helping us with our identity and reminding us of the struggles and triumphs that have shaped our existence to forget our history is
To lose a part of ourselves a part that is instrumental to defining our present and charting our future our commitment to remembering Our Roots is not just an existence our commitment to remembering Our Roots is not just an exercise it is an act of empowerment by understanding
And appreciating where we come from we understand ourselves with the knowledge and resilience to face the challenges of today and tomorrow black history is Sigma history and it’s a testament to the spirit of a people who Against All Odds have contributed to the World Tonight we are honored to have with us the executive director of high de Sigma fraternity Incorporated The Honorable Daryl a Amerson please join us in extending a warm welcome to Brother Anderson following Brother Anderson will be our prayer led by our International chaplain Brother Gary Hogans good day my
Name is Daryl Anthony Anderson and I’m the international executive director for Sigma fraternity Incorporated we welcome you to another of our Black History Month programs we the men of Sigma continue to highlight and Spotlight significant contributions made by black men in America and other countries for
Us it is easy to understand why our celebration of black history happens for more than just one month you see we find irony by acknowledging the fact that the word history is actually Greek in its origin and is defined as the act of seeking knowledge as well as the
Knowledge that results from the inquiry by the nature of our organization 5 Beta Sigma men are researchers sigmas are Learners sigmas are documenters and in today’s world we understand that if it is not written that means it did not happen history as defined in the Oxford English Dictionary involves the
Recounting of a whole series of past events connected with someone or something and as sigmas we are okay with that definition because we are men and each one of us is something special we know why we were created in whose image we were created that’s fact we do not
Want these acts these clearly defined moments in time to be forgotten by anyone author and civil rights Advocate James wwin once said if you know when she came there’s really no limit as to where you can go so we ask that you join us on this Limitless journey and how we
Document this journey this reliving of life’s opportunities as a fraternal organization we exist to explain why we are the manifestation of the word history it is history and we’re a part of that narrative again we welcome you and thank you for spending your time with the men of 58 sign Fraternity
Incorporated as we celebrate our moment in Blackness Blackness Blackness Well good evening everyone it is a pleasure to be a part of this uh program this first virtual black distory program we thank God for uh president Ray being inspired to have such an event such as tonight the men of sik have been such a vital part of uh black history not only
In America but in other countries as well so we want to carry that excitement into prayer right now so let us pray so Heavenly Father we come before you tonight with the excitement of this being black history month we know that for many people this the only time uh
They think about blacks and what we’ve done and our impact on the world but for those that are black people of color we are a part of black history each and every day so we thank you for this opportunity to share what role the men of Sigma have played in the history of
This country and in other countries around the world we thank you for giving our president International president Ray the inspiration to have this meeting uh this evening so we pray for every part and aspect of this program here tonight for everyone that will come to the screen take a mic sing a song
Whatever that they’ll do that you’ll be a part of it we pray for the technology that will cooperate and work well for us this evening and we pray for just attentive ears and that the Brotherhood will be excited about what they experience here this night so we thank
You so much for it and we ask all this in Jesus name amen as president of 5A signal Fraternity Incorporated The Honorable Chris V Ray not only embodies but amplifies the principles of Brotherhood scholarship and service that lie at the very heart of our esteemed organization his unwavering commitment to uplifting
Communities and fostering educational Excellence resonates profoundly with the noble cause We Gather to Champion tonight please join me and welcome the international president of f Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated The Honorable Chris V Ray greetings brothers and welcome to F Sigma fraternity incorporate black history program today we get an
Opportunity not only to celebrate the history of 5B to Sigma but to go in depth about our organization as it relates to one of our members history continues to be one of the greatest pieces of a fraternal life and we have a responsibility as an organization to
Make sure that we not only protect our history but that we share it with the Next Generation I hope that you will enjoy this program we’re absolutely looking forward to it God bless you All for 110 years education has been the Cornerstone in a 5 Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated since 1914 the Brotherhood has aimed to enhance and Elevate the lives of communities we serve from the very beginning Sigma man have made a Major Impact in the field of Education leading with our very own founder
Honorable Leonard F Morris who was the first student at Howard University to obtain two diplomas and two degrees in his third year at College after graduating he became a dean of both Payne College and bethl college and ultimately the president of Edward Waters College the sigma role of predominant
Educators also adorns the ledgendary Dr Elaine Leeroy lock the first African-American Road scholar and head of the Department of philosophy at Howard University this University Wisconsin University and the national school for the social research he was the architect of the new negro movement and the Harlem Renaissance we’re honored
To present our Scroll of predominant Sigma Educators Yeah Brother Dr Kenneth W Lewis brings a wealth of knowledge passion and expertise to our esteemed fraternity as an established scholar and historian his commitment to documenting and celebrating our journey is truly commendable Dr Lewis has dedicated his career to earthing the narratives that shape our Collective identity and we are
Fortunate to have him take on the role of preserving our cherish Legacy on an international scale his academic achievements and tireless dedication to historical research have positioned him as a beacon in the field and we are confident that under his guidance our fraternity’s Rich tapestry will be meticulously preserved and thoughtfully shared
With current and future Generations so without further Ado please join me in extending a warm welcome to our new international historian brother Dr Kenneth W Lewis good evening Brothers of 5 Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated I am your International historian brother Dr Kenneth Lewis of the alpaca Sigma chapter of Petersburg Virginia Eastern
Region and interestingly enough it was also the chapter of our very first initiate brother Abraham McCartney Walker that when we were online when we called it that we were motivated to quickly learn am Walker who knew that I would come to this point and learn that
He was actually in this chapter that I’m in and so I’m honored to have been chosen as your International historian I hope I do the job the most humble and effective way and that we will continue to move forward with uh the great history the the great story of Five Beta
Sigma fraternity Incorporated my presentation tonight is entitled educated lives matter an our storic perspective of the trials and tribulations of black education in America and I’m going to talk about some things related to our issues that we’ve had had when it has come to uh the privilege or the right to be
Educated and then go into a bit of story about our famous brother Abraham McCartney Walker who lived in Petersburg Virginia So Brothers as I proceed with my presentation I’m going to share something with you and that is to you and to whomever may watch this I might offend you with my opinions but I can’t offend you with my facts because facts are facts and that’s my own quote so let’s get
Started how do we begin this conversation when it comes to reporting our story we have multiple options we can allow others to D our story and here’s what I mean we can allow others to defame delay delete denigrate deny destroy dictate diffuse dilute diminish discredit dismiss disorient disparage
Dissolve divert our story or brothers we can allow ourselves to direct document and deliver our story and then I ask you how can we be begin this conversation when it comes to reporting our story let me remind you a four words especially when it comes to education and those four words are petition
Permission law and Theory we had to petition for the right to receive a public education or an education period we had to ask permission for the right to receive a public education we had to abide by law that denied us from receiving a highquality public education and we had
We were impacted by theory that limited us from receiving a full public education and what do I mean by that let’s look at the words again for a moment a petition a formal written request typically one signed by many people well black people had to petition to City governments to ask permission to
Have the right to provide public education to the colored School of aged uh children of those cities other people did not have to have that petition they did not have to ask for a petition but we did permission black people had to ask permission to become educated from
Persons who held Authority or who could Grant permission or deny it or allow it or not allow it to black people to become educated then there’s a law a rule defining correct procedure or behavior in a sport or activity the laws of the game the system of rules which a
Particular country or Community recognizes it was a violation of law for black people to become educated in America there were stiff penalties enforced for breaking that law and then there’s Theory a conjecture a presumption a contention an idea used to account for a situation or to justify a course of
Action and so it is logical to ask why did black people people have to ask permission to be educated what’s your theory on that why were black people treated as 3- fifths of a human being why were black people not allowed to enter a building through the front door
Why were black people not allowed to vote in a local state Regional or national election why did black people have to sit in the balcony of a movie theater or even a church why have there never been successive black presidents in the White House we’ve been here 400 plus years now
The answer to those questions might require a theory or a supposition or a system of ideas intended to explain something especially one based on general principles independent of the thing to be explained in this case Brothers I guess one would propose a theory about race in America I guess
That proposed theory about race would be critical I guess that would amount to a critical race Theory and remember a supposition or Theory does not describe what what Behavior happens a supposition or Theory justifies or explains why the behavior happens and here’s a theory for you the Constitution of the United States of
America is a theoretical document because it is always being challenged in a court of law especially when it comes to education if a school system is not going to talk about the concept of critical race Theory then guess what they need not talk about gender Theory geriatric Theory marital Theory
Political Theory constitutional Theory any kind of theory and that would be reasonably fair so we will always be inated with these four words when we talk about the acquisition of Education in America for all types of people petition permission law theory now now why did I bring that up I
Bring that up because contrary to what myth Tim Scott and Nikki Haley will try to sell you America has always been a racist country and it may very well continue to be a racist country and by the way that Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina and the former Governor narata
Nikki Ron haa Haley of South Carolina and Ambassador and I want you to listen to their version of race in America Republican presidential candidate Nikki Haley says we’ve never been a racist country let me take off my hat a lot of politicians make the ridiculous argument
That America is not a racist country but Nikki Haley Goes One Step farther we’ve never been a racist country in 1776 41 of the 56 men who signed the Declaration of Independence were slave owners we’ve never been a racist country in 1788 the US Constitution counted black slaves is
Only 3 of a person we’ve never been a racist country in 1857 the US Supreme Court ruled that Dread Scott and all other black people were not citizens of the United States we’ve never been a racist in 1861 Nikki Haley’s own state of South Carolina declared war on the
Union to defend slavery we’ve never been a racist in 1865 Abraham Lincoln was assassinated after pushing Congress to pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery we’ve never been a racist country in 1915 the popular racist film The Birth of a Nation portrayed the KK is Heroes trying to defend white people
From black oppression we’ve never been a racist country in 1921 white people in Oklahoma killed dozens of black people and destroyed a thriving black community in the Tulsa Race Massacre we’ve never been a racist country in 1955 14-year-old imit till was lynched in Mississippi and 42-year-old Rosa Parks
Was arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white man on a city bus in Alabama we’ve never been a racist country in 1961 civil rights activist John Lewis was beaten at the Edmund Pettis Bridge brid in Selma just for demanding the right to vote we’ve never
Been a racist country in 1963 four black girls were killed in a racist church bombing in Birmingham Alabama we’ve never been a racist country in 1968 Dr King was assassinated in Memphis Tennessee we’ve never been a racist country in 1976 Ronald Reagan ran for president blaming welfare Queens for
White people’s problems we’ve never been a racist country in 1986 Reagan vetoed a bill to impose sanctions on the racist apartheid government in South afca we’ve never been a racist country in 1988 George Bush ran for president with a racist campaign scaring white voters about a black inmate he dubbed Willie
Horton we’ve never been a racist country in 1989 Donald Trump called for the execution of five black and Latino teenagers wrongly accused of raping a white woman in New York Central Park we’ve never been a racist country in 1992 an all-white jury acquitted four white police officers for the videotaped
Beating of Rodney King we’ve never been a racist country in 2005 President Bush took days to respond to Hurricane Katrina when it struck the mostly black City of New Orleans we’ve never been a racist country in 20111 Donald Trump launched a 5 and a halfe campaign questioning Barack Obama’s birth
Certificate we’ve never been a racist country in 2015 a 21-year-old white supremacist in Nikki Haley’s home state of South Carolina murdered nine black people at the Emanuel am Church in Charleston we’ve never been a racist country in 2020 Donald Trump tried to throw out millions of black votes in
Atlanta Detroit Philadelphia and other cities we’ve never been a racist country and in 2024 white people in Iowa voted to return to twice imp Peach quadruple indicted insurrectionist to public office we’ve never been a racist country even in Nikki Haley’s own life I faced racism when I was growing
Up but aside from that we’ve never been a racist Country so that’s Tim Scott and Nikki H’s version of saying saying that America has never been racist and then Tim Scott may have gotten a dose of reality when you see what he has to say here I recall walking into an office building just last year after being here
For 5 years on the capitl and the officer looked at me a little attitude and said the pen I know you I don’t show me your ID I’ll tell you I was thinking to myself either he thinks I’m committing a crime impersonating a member of Congress or or
What well I’ll tell you that later that evening I received a phone call from a supervisor apologizing for the Behavior Uh Mr President that is at least the third phone call that I’ve received from a supervisor or the chief of police since I’ve been in the
Senate so while I thank God I have not endured bodily harm I have however felt the pressure applied by the scales of Justice when they are slanted I have felt the anger the frustration the sadness and the humiliation that comes with feeling like you’re being targeted for nothing more than being just
Yourself that’s the other side of Tim Scott this is the other side of narata Nikki Rond waha Hal you’ve been asked about your comments on on slavery we don’t need a rehash that but there were some critics uh that that criticized your comments last night about having black friends as
Sort of using a Trope what do you say to people who say that you’ve really had challenges when it comes to talking about race and are worried about what that would mean for the general election we were the only Indian family in our small southern town I was teased every day for being
Brown so anyone that wants to question it can go back and look at what I’ve said on how hard it was to grow up in the Deep South as a brown girl anybody can look at my record and see when Walter Scott was shot down by a dirty
Cop how I made sure that the Walter Scott family didn’t suffer because we put the first body camera bill in the country in place anybody can look at the fact that when we had nine amazing Souls ding mother Emanuel Church I did something that no Republican or Democrat
Ever wanted to tell touch which was called for the Confederate flag to come down because it would take 2third of the House and Senate and was an impossible feat I don’t know what you’re implying with that but what I will tell you is saying that I had black friends is a
Source of Pride saying that I had white friends as a source of Pride if you want to know what it was like growing up I was disqualified from a beauty pageant because I wasn’t white or black because they didn’t know where to put me so look I
Know the hardships the pain that come with racism it’s the reason that I fight bullies every day when it comes to racism anti-Semitism or hate and I always will if I didn’t mention slavery on that day it’s because that’s an automatic there’s always been the Civil War has always been known about slavery
I misread it and thought he was looking for a bigger answer going forward so critics can say whatever they want I’m very comfortable in my skin I’m very comfortable with what I believe and my job is not to convince them and so brothers that’s the other side of Nikki
Haley so you see you can’t say that there’s no racism in America on Mondays Tuesdays and Wednesdays and then silently talk about racism on well yeah on Thursdays Fridays and Saturdays and may maybe take the day off but as I said earlier I may be able to offend you with
My opinions but I certainly can’t offend you with my facts and facts are facts and so Nikki and Tim told the truth the second time but when they were in front of a camera they were trying to distort our story and that’s what I want all my brothers to understand don’t let anybody
Distort or deter or or or deny our truthful story and so what are some of the facts that impacted the trials and tribulations of black education in America well brothers let’s follow the facts here they are there was an act against the education of slaves in South Carolina 1740 and in Virginia in
1819 and here is an excerpt of what that legisl uh legislative law said said fearing that black literacy would prove a threat to the slave system which relies on slaves dependence on Masters whites in many colonies instituted laws forbidding slaves to learn to read or write making it a crime for others to
Teach them so Brothers this not my opinion that there was discrimination against slaves it’s a fact not only is it a fact it was legislated into being a fact here’s another excerpt from the South Carolina Act of 1740 whereas the having slaves taught to write or suffering them to be employed
In writing may be attended with great inconveniences be it enacted that all and every person and persons whatsoever who shall Hereafter teach or cause any slave or slaves to be taught to write or shall use or employ any slave as a scribe in any manner of writing whatsoever Hereafter taught to write
Every such person or person shall for the very such offense for fit the sum of 100 pounds current money so if Master caught you being able to read or if Master caught somebody teaching you to read somebody’s going to pay a penalty for that and that’s not an opinion
That’s a fact and not only is it a fact but it was legislated into being a fact here’s another one from the revised code of 1819 of Virginia and it’s rather lengthy but it says school or schools for teaching them that would be us reading or writing
Either in the day or the night under whatsoever pretext shall be deemed and considered an unlawful assembly and any justice of County wherein such assemblage shall be either from his own knowledge or the information of others of such unlawful assemblage May issue his warrant directed to any sworn
Officer or officers authorizing him or them to enter the house or houses where such unlawful assemblages may be for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing such slaves and to inflict corporal punishment on the offender or offenders at the discretion of any justice of the peace not exceeding 20 lashes so at
Least the revised code of 1819 was merciful because if they caught us reading they weren’t going to give us any more than 20 lashes we could tolerate 19 or 20 but I guess we couldn’t tolerate 32 again brothers that’s not an opinion that’s a fact that’s legislation come forward to 1960 in my
Little of Petersburg Virginia the Petersburg Public Library was a segregated library and in February of 2 thou in February of 1960 some students from Virginia State University it was called Virginia State College and Peabody High School went to the white section of the Petersburg library and they were arrested here is a
Picture of Miss Lillian Pride a student at Virginia state at Virginia State College at that time and she’s been served a warrant by police chief William trailer here are two Peabody High School students Lenard Walker and horis Brooks and they’re seated in the white section of the Petersburg Public Library the
Same library that their parents paid city taxes to support and they are being informed that they are trespassing by Sergeant AV Bowen and both students were arrested along with nine others and youth participation in 1960 uh was an essential element in the Petersburg protest for civil rights there were Mass meetings and
Boycotts uh you see the name Joseph Owens uh made uh brighter well Joe Owens is a brother Joe Owens he’s deceased of course but he was one of our brothers of the Alpac Kappa Sigma chapter F Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated he was a Civic leader he was a business owner he
Ran a little bus uh dry cleaners in the black neighborhood of on Halifax Street and everybody knew him just like everybody knew Hermon fontleroy and Herbert Colton here is a picture of Courthouse uh protest where you had a whole lot of folk come out on again February 27th
1960 to ask to petition to ask permission to use the library that uh our tax dollars paid for and if you see the words it says this the library sit in we had a small library at PE High School recall Peggy Lee sometimes you couldn’t get everything you needed for
Research and attempted to come to the public library on Sycamore Street but you just couldn’t walk in and say I need this book I want you to hear me say this if it wasn’t in the Negro section the receptionist had to retrieve it for you whites had more volumes of books and the
Lighting system was very good the black session was poorly lit and had a small volume of books Herbert Colton noted we realized we were being mistreated blacks had to come in and out of the service entrance on the side of the library and a little cubby hole kind of place in the
Basement was the only area where they could read uh stated Dorothy cotton Dorothy cotton was a librarian at Virginia State College at the time so again to Tim and to Nikki it’s not an illusion that racism existed it really did exist and it existed for the very things that it
Should never have existed for the very basic rights and freedoms that we’re all allowed to have brothers if you’ve ever looked at an old black uh High School yearbook or if you ever looked at an older edition of a black college uh yearbook and you look at the faculty members you see that
Many of them may have gone to Florida A&M college or Florida A&M University or Alabama A&M university or Hampton Institute or St Paul’s college or some like that and then when you looked further you saw that they attended uh the University of Michigan or they went to the Ohio State
University or they went to Indiana or they may have gone all the way out to Montana they went to Colombia University they went to New York University and the reason that they were able to do that is because the state of Virginia and other Southern States said no hell no and
You’re not coming in here no and so the davel act provided scholarships for blacks to attend school out of state who wanted to get a master’s degree or higher I had a cousin Mary Marx who attended St Paul’s College in lawrencville Virginia she graduated the top of her class and somewhere about
1940 all she wanted to do was go to the University of Virginia and get a master’s degree in elementary education and teach first grade and the state of Virginia said to her the same thing that they said to Alice Jackson here no you’re not coming in here but we will
Pay you to go to New York University we will pay for your transportation for your housing for your tuition for your books for food will give you a stipend and so she went to New York University she got her master’s degree in elementary education and she taught
First grade in White Plains New York school system for about 40 years and then she came back home and all she wanted to do was just go get an advanced degree so that she could do in Virginia what she had to go to New York to do and
So that was a hardship because she had to leave her state of Virginia to travel to get a degree so even though she was paid to do it it was still discriminatory because somebody else didn’t have to travel as far to get the same thing that she had to travel to
Get so again whatever myth Tim and Nikki may try to tell you and try to sell you America has always been a racist country and it may very well continue to be a m a racist country and again remember I may offend you with my opinions but I can’t offend
You with my facts because facts are facts now when it comes to 58 Sigma you’re looking at the home where our brother Abraham McCartney Walker lived when he came to Petersburg he was the principal of Peabody High School from 1941 until his untimely death in 1952 and you see these
Additional names Laura wheer wearing black female artist Adrien Walker hord black female artist and Grace Jones Martin Luther King house at 514 Harrison Street this house is famous for two reasons this is the house where brother Abraham McCartney and his wife Hy I think that’s how she pronounced her name
Lived they rented a room from the Jones family and after he died and Martin Luther King was just coming on to the scene Martin Luther King would slip into Petersburg and this was the house that he stayed in while he was here because he had to come in under the shade of
Darkness because of his own uh security issues but he was always welcomed here there was always a place ready for him I mentioned Laura Willer wearing she’s a black female artist artist I’ll get to her a minute in a minute Adrien Walker horde is Abraham McCartney’s Walker granddaughter and she actually gave some
Information to the fraternity in 2014 when we celebrated our Centennial the photo on the on your left that’s how the house used to look it’s been abandoned and that’s what it looks like now and when you look to your right and you sort of see a driveway there’s some
Trees there Abraham McCartney Walker was leaving home to drive to pebody high school where he was the principal and he had a heart attack and died in his car so he never made it out of the yard and let me tell you something about the school that brother Abraham McCartney walker uh
LED it’s a Peabody High School and again contrary to my friend in Washington DC who profess that uh Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School is the oldest public black high school in the United States it’s not because the Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School concept was created in November of
1870 and it took the name Paul Lawrence Dunbar in 1916 the Peabody High School concept actually started before 1870 but the reason that it is given credit for uh January is it it took them a few months to renovate a building to put the high school students in because colored
High school students were a no no in Petersburg when the school board created itself in 1868 they created uh white high schools for uh White students they created elementary schools and maybe uh junior high schools up to the eighth grade for for black students but they said well
Why do black people need to be educated Beyond high school so the evolution of the Peabody High School started with the colored High School located at the First Baptist Church on Harrison Street there’s a marker for it then the first Peabody High School building was located
On Filmore Street and the reason it was named Peabody High School it was named because George Peabody a philanthropist gave money all across America to help build schools and build schools for black students it was built in 1874 the second Peabody High School building was built at 6:30 South Jones
Street between Wesley Street and the Avenue was built in 1920 and the third pebody High School building was built at 725 Wesley Street between Federal Street and Jones Street and it opened in 1951 and the second PE body building and the third PE body building are the two buildings that our
Brother Abraham McCartney Walker presided over as principal and then there was an extension added in 1969 and the reason for that extension was because the state of Virginia had finally realized after 16 years that Brown versus Board of Education was going to stay it wasn’t going anywhere and they had to figure
Some way to integrate the schools so they took Peabody they made pebody the junior high school in 1970 they made Petersburg High School the Senior High School and then it went from there this is an image of the original colored high school of Petersburg Virginia ironically I’m an Episcopalian
My priest well I wasn’t born then of course but jby cook he was a priest at St Stevens and he was also the first principal of the colored high school and this is what it looked like this is what the 1920 Building look like at 6:30 South Jones Street there is
No image of the second building which was built on Filmore Street but this was the Peabody High School building it’s on the National Historical registry and you see it’s two buildings the building on the left is Peabody High School building and the building on the right is called
Was called Henry Williams and it house sixth and seventh well sixth seventh and eighth grade ERS and the building on the left has 9th 10th and 11th and 12th graders unfortunately in 1967 the building on the right hand side mysteriously burnt down and the only building that’s left now is the building
On the the left here’s another image of that building cost approximately $110,000 we wish we could get something like that nowadays this is what uh the 1951 PAB bodybuilding looked like it ended uh at the corner of Federal Street and Wesley Street and then later on to accommodate
Integration that street where the cursor is let me see the cursor is right there that’s Federal Street that build that street was cut off it was shut down and an extension was built and it was called the uh East wing of the high school here are the principles of Peabody High
School and you see the two names that are are bordered Donald C Wingo he was a charter member of our Alpac Kappa Sigma chapter of f Beta Sigma fraternity and of course brother Abraham and Walker came in 1941 so our alpaca Sigma chapter had already been created and so brother
Walker was a member until his untimely death here’s a picture of brother Walker in his kitchen with his granddaughter Adrien and this picture was probably taken somewhere around 195 52 or some uh well 51 1949 somewhere around there and that’s what he looked like if you look to your right you see
This statue this uh wonderful recognition of greatness and you’d have to look closely but you see it’s got the names of the principles there and one of the principal names of course is Abraham M Walker and that’s in Christianburg that’s the Christianburg Institute in Christianburg Virginia and
Brother am Walker was the principal of that school before he came to Petersburg to become the principle of Peabody High School here is peab high schools uh National Registry marker 1870 to 1970 and so I do not take anything away from Paul AR Dunbar High School in
Washington DC but you were not the first you may be the longest lasting now because you were still a continuously operating high school but Peabody started in January of 1870 and Paul Lawrence Dunbar started in November of 1870 and I would love to see a marker that recognizes brother Abraham
McCartney Walker in front of that building as well that’s something that perhaps the history committee and the fraternity can work towards making happen here are some images of Peabody High School it was a very proud school with a very proud alumni that building right there is it was called Federal Street Elementary
School but then it became known as Jiles be cook and it eventually became part of the Peabody campus and so you would go there for first second and third grades you would go to uh the Henry Williams building for fourth through fifth sixth seventh grade and You’ go to Peabody
High School for 8th through 12th and so you never had to leave you had a whole 13 acre campus right there uh of education and you had some of the best teachers ever unfortunately this is the state of the 1920 PAB bodybuilding right now it is on the national register of
Historic places and I am working with a group who’s trying to save it and restore it and the entire campus and turn it into a a useful place I wanted to share this with you brother Abraham McCartney Walker if you’re familiar with Virginia and there’s the Northern Neck area uh
Just southeast of Washington DC tied uh the the upper Tide Water Area he came from a place called Heathsville Virginia and after he graduated from high school there he came to Petersburg Virginia and he attended Virginia normal and Industrial Institute it was industrial Institute because the collegate status
Had been taken away Tim and Nikki all right and so he finished in 1907 and he did something but then he went to Virginia Union University and the whand academy and he was in this building Pigford Hall and if you look at graduates from the academy in 1912 you
Will see brother Abraham McCartney Walker way down here brother Abraham McCartney Walker of Avalon Avalon Heathville Virginia area and after he left Virginia Union University then he went to Howard University and when he got to Howard University and he became a member of f Beta Sigma he was about 26
Or so years old because he was born in 1886 so 1886 is 14 plus 14 uh 28 he was close to he was close to 28 years old when he crossed over into the world of Sigma the gentlemen in the blue frame is brother Abraham McCartney Walker principal of Peabody High School and
This is the 1942 bbody High School yearbook and he’s got his assistant principal of Mr CB Taylor and some other folk but uh there there he is Brothers there is our first initiate of f Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated brother am Walker and he had just the most distinguished and Gentile look about him
My mother was in high school at that time and she always used to talk about how easygoing he was yet firm but easygoing this looks bizarre I know but I want you to focus on the black rectangle in the middle of this this is in the library at Virginia State
University and uh this particular display that you can’t see and I I made it that way deliberately and you still can’t see it but you can read this that was an article published by a member of the House of delegates of the state of Virginia in 1884 in the
Richmond Dispatch newspaper and I just want to read it because it’s so bizarre the title of it was an absurd proposition in 1884 to abolish the Virginia normal school and use the buildings for a colored insane asylum and Mr cable goes on to say one of the most important matters that can engage
The attention of the legislature and be acted into law is the reduction of expenses and one mode of doing this is to stop the annual appropriation to the colored normal school at Petersburg and convert that institution we’re talking about Virginia State University now convert that institution into a supplemental lunatic asylum
I’m officially informed that the cost of building the colored normal Institute at Petersburg was more than $17,000 that the cost of running it is $20,000 perom that the cost of building the colored Lunatic Asylum at Petersburg was $116,500 and the cost of running it $80,000 per anom and still there is
Urgent demand for increased accommodations for negro lunatics the Negro normal and agricultural Institute at Hampton now receives an annuity of 10,000 plus dollars and it strikes me this is more than they are entitled to considering that the Negroes of the Commonwealth pay less than one sixth part of the money that is
Contributed to negro education why should Virginia struggling to keep her head above water waste more money on an idea I accompanied the legislative committee that lately visited the Petersburg normal color color normal school and saw listen to this brothers and saw negro scholars in luxuriously appointed quarters and leure
Rooms learning or pretending to learn chemistry Latin and Greek I think it time for that sort of nonsense to stop and as the Negro lunatics are increasing at a fearful rate and we must take care of them I think it important to convert the normal school building into a
Supplemental Lunatic Asylum and let the money now wasted on the school be appropriated to care to the care and maintenance of lunatics and this continued Mr Cabell I am convinced would be the opinion of nearly every white man in Virginia if he only saw what I have seen I know my
Constituents would sustain my view unanimously so Brothers I may offend you with my opinion but I cannot offend you with that fact and that person was the legislature but I’m going to back up just a moment they did not shut down what was Virginia State University Virginia State University originally opened as Virginia
Normal and Collegiate Institute it was a normal school that is it taught people how to teach and it was a Collegiate School as well and In 1902 the state of Virginia said you know what you colored people don’t need a college program and so they took away
The collegate status of the school and Virginia state became known as Virginia normal and Industrial Institute so from 1902 until 1920 what is now Virginia State University was a 2-year college and you know uh the the tri Alpha chapter the alpha alpha alpha chapter five Beta Sigma fraternity
Incorporated did not get to uh Virginia state until what 1931 I believe and the other fraternity H sority chapters did not get there until after the after 1926 and why because Virginia state was a two-year school and so a two-year school could not uh accommodate fraternities and sororities so so that is why
Virginia state took so long to uh have fraternities and sororities put on its campus in 1923 Hampton Institute my school gave away its status of a land grant school they gave their land grant status to Virginia state and they went completely private and then in 1930 Virginia state normal and
Collegiate Institute it got its Collegiate status back it changed its name again to Virginia state college for Negroes and then in 1946 it became known as Virginia State College and then in 1979 it became known as Virginia State University so Nikki and Tim you cannot deny a fact by the way
Here is brother uh Walker’s death certificate and it shows that he died in his car at Residence at a approximately 8:40 a.m. on Thursday morning September 25th 1952 I feel like I know him because I know that house the house is only about a quarter mile away from where I live right
Now here is brother McCartney Walker here is his grave in Heathville Virginia here is his pertinent information he died in Petersburg Virginia he’s buried at Macedonia bapti Church Cemetery in North North umberland County Virginia this is his wife who after he died a couple of years later she married
His younger brother Dr Benjamin Walker senior and I don’t know how long they were married but she was Mrs Walker twice and that’s why when you see his grave you see that his years are 1886 to 1952 and you see that her years are 1894
For I think she’s buried next to uh Dr Walker versus School principal Walker this was brother Walker’s old Peabody High School this is Brother Walker’s new Peabody High School he only got to serve there for one full year he opened it in September of 1951 and made it through
The 1951 1952 school year and then he uh died next September so he was there really just inside of 13 months here is the 1953 class and they’re giving him this regard and I want you to see this also Brothers you notice that you see the word colored news this is the Progress
Index paper of Petersburg and the reason that I wanted you to see this is because when brother McCartney died there is the Progress Index that was the Evening Edition and if you can see Peabody High Principal dies they did not put his information in the regular uh obituary section of the
Newspaper they put him in the colored section of the newspaper because that’s how Petersburg was then so again remember I can offend you with my opinions but I can’t offend you with my facts because facts are facts I show you this picture this is a damaged portrait of Abraham McCartney Walker I recovered
It uh from the high school and that woman next to it is Laura Willer wearing she is a noted painter she was born in about 1886 as well she died in 1948 and she painted this picture of our brother well her Works hang in the Smithsonian institution her Works hang
All over the world I happen to have access to one of her works that hopefully we can restore because brother Abraham McCartney Walker deserves that and here he is again here is his faculty from pebody high school 1949 there he is front row Center here is his entry in the
1927 who’s who in colored America and I have a copy of that book here is his last year of being principal at Peabody High School and when you look at this picture you see the old Virginia Hall that was demolished in 1937 so this is the building that he studied in for four
Years at Virginia state and of course this is the building that he presided over on the right hand side at Peabody High School this his brother Donald C Wingo he was also he was a charter member of the Petersburg alphaa Sigma chapter of 58 Sigma fraternity Incorporated he only served three years
As principal at pebody high school but he was the charter he was a charter member of our chapter and brothers just to continue the ludicrousness of discrimination our church St Stevens’s Episcopal Church allegedly the oldest black Episcopal Church in the state of Virginia we helped create the bishop
Payne Divinity School which was located in a section of Petersburg and the purpose of the bishop Payne Divinity School was to serve as an extension of the Virginia Theological Seminary for Episcopal priests if you’ve heard of St Paul’s College in lawrencville Virginia the college created by James Solomon
Russell Arch deacon of the Episcopal Church during his time he wanted to become an Episcopal priest after slavery he learned to read he was old enough to go to uh Hampton Institute and then he came to Petersburg where he studied under jby cook and when he uh wanted to
Go to Seminary school again the very right religious Virginia Theological Seminary Nikki and Tim said no you can’t come here you could go someplace else but you can’t come to the Virginia Theological Seminary to become a colored priest we don’t allow that but you know
What we’re going to do we will send some of our priests instructors down to Petersburg and we will create the bishop pay Divinity School just for you and so here is one of the buildings uh where James Solomon Russell studied well later on he came back and he was on the
Board and here’s another building they’re torn down now it’s just a street okay but again racism has always been alive and well and I wanted you to see this factual evidence you’ve seen this before this is how we were brought over from Africa to America but we survived this is
How we are are visualized as leaving to go to Liberia and you see the Gucci clothing you see the Eve St Laurent luggage all right you see the Donna Kuran shoes no that’s not what happened but Tim and Nikki that’s truth that’s a myth and again let’s tell the truth here is
Uh a master’s thesis that I found regarding private schools it’s an entry from a master’s thesis and it talks about private schools for blacks in early 20th century in Richmond Virginia well many of the schools that black students had to go to were inferior and that’s not an opinion
That’s a fact the rooms were smaller the teachers didn’t get paid what white teachers got paid they were in horrible uh conditions they didn’t have bathrooms they didn’t have kitchens they didn’t have lunchrooms but the white schools did and so this is just an entry from that uh work at women Mary
College so again I say contrary to whatever myth Tim and Nikki try to sell you America has always been a racist country and it may very well continue to be a racist country and thank God for all of the sigas past and present and future who will fight to correct un incorrect stories
And who will always tell our story honestly because again I can offend you with my opinions but I can’t offend you with my facts because facts are facts so all I have to leave you with now is that the struggle continues Brothers I hope you’ve gotten something
Out of my conversation with you about the trials and tribulations of black education in America because educated lives matter and I thank you and that’s a wrap wow what an amazing program thank you so much to our International historian Dr Kenneth Lewis for that amazing information this evening my hope
Is is that you will take this information and that you will build upon it one of the things I’ve learned in being the international president of FB Sigma is that it is important for us to continue to protect our history and finding opportunities for us to share
Our history whether it’s when we adopt uh one of our schools and share it with the young people there or with our Sigma Beta Club we have a responsibility to make sure that our history is shared with the Next Generation until next time God bless you all and may God continue
Bless F Sigma fraternity Incorporated wow Brothers this was an exciting evening hope you really learned some things were excited about some things uh were really excited about the decision you made however many years months ago it was that you became a part of this Noble fraternity so with that
Excitement we just want to close this evening with a word of prayer so let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for this night we thank you for uh The Fellowship of the Brotherhood even guests that have tuned in to hear the role that the men of Sigma have played
Throughout history we thank you oh God for us being encouraged excited and now ready to share what things we’ve experienced with others that new blood may even uh be attracted to five Beta Sigma fraternity Incorporated because of our excitement about our role in history so we ask that you would keep us all
Keep our International president Reay the general board and the entire Brotherhood beta Fraternity Incorporated and we can’t leave out our sisters of zi betus award incorporated as well that you would keep us all keep us in perfect peace keep us healthy keep us whole and all these things we ask in Jesus name Amen [Applause]
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