June Celebrating Freedom & Fathers
Clara R. Odom, Newsletter Editor
New African American Museum of History and Culture at Loray Mill Board of Directors Named
Clara R. Odom, Marketing and Communications Director
Clara Rudisill-Odom is a Federal Government retiree. She gained professional experience with the Agencies, General Services Administration and the Securities Exchange Commission as a Realty Specialist and Contracting Officer with unlimited contracting authority. Clara was responsible for leasing commercial office space to house over 250 federal agencies. This position required the ability to write Solicitation For Offers to lease space, evaluate technical and financial offers received, negotiate lease contract terms, award contracts and manage the construction and build out of the office space.
Clara is a native Gastonian and a graduate of Hunter Huss High School. She received her BS degree in Public Administration from Upper Iowa University. She has a keen interest in African history and is a museum enthusiast having served as a museum docent at the Mint Museum of Charlotte NC.
She is married and mother of two sons, three stepsons and one stepdaughter. During her spare time, she enjoys traveling, binge-worthy Turner Classic Movies and cheering as the number 1 fan of the Pittsburgh Steelers!
Susan Maxon, Grants Management Director
Susan Maxon grew up in a military family, moving from Kansas around the country until settling in eastern North Carolina, where she was the valedictorian of her high school class. She graduated from East Carolina University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Biology and completed post-graduate courses in botany at the University of Maryland, College Park, and other courses at the USDA Graduate School, Washington, D.C.
Ms. Maxon's career as a botanist with the U.S. Department of Agriculture brought her to Gastonia in 2003, where she served as Deputy Director of the Seed Program. Her mentees there are now heading the program. She retired in 2013 after 40 years of service.
Ms. Maxon is a lay minister at All Saints Episcopal Church in Gastonia and previously served as branch secretary of the Gaston County NAACP. She currently serves as an officer of the Gaston County Senior Democrats. She and her husband enjoy nature walks and visiting museums and historic sites.
Michele Geathers McPhatter, Compliance Director
Michele Geathers McPhatter is a native of Kannapolis, North Carolina and has enjoyed living and working in her beloved Tarheel state for most of her life. In 1992, she attended North Carolina Central University as a North Carolina Teaching Fellow and graduated with honors with a Bachelor of Arts in Education in 1996. After a brief stint in teaching, she decided to follow her deep rooted passion for the law and attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Law, graduating in 2002 with her juris doctorate degree. For almost twenty years, Michele has enjoyed a productive career as a litigator and trial attorney in North Carolina and the state of Georgia. She began her legal career working in civil litigation as a staff attorney with Legal Aid of North Carolina in Winston-Salem. She later served as an assistant district attorney for the Brunswick Judicial Circuit in Georgia for 12 years, prosecuting an assortment of crimes, including crimes against women and children, financial identity crimes, drugs, and homicides. She is currently licensed in the State of North Carolina and Georgia and is the founder and owner of The Law Office of Michele Geathers McPhatter, PLLC, with a principal office in Gastonia, NC. In her spare time, Michele enjoys spending time with her husband, Quentin McPhatter, and their two children, Kendall and Krista.
Larry Louis Moore, Director of The Arts and Special Programs
Larry Louis Moore, B.A., Western Carolina University; graduate studies in history, UNC-Charlotte; and M.A. with honors, Belmont Abbey College. Further studies include Hollins College, East Carolina University, Ohio State University, UNC-Chapel Hill, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Georgia State University, UNC-Wilmington, San Diego State University as well as Canada and Europe. Interests include music, writing, reading, playing tennis, and traveling.
Mary Ann Smith, Board of Director at Work in Belmont, NC
Oscar Reid, Uses A Map - Not The Green Book
Visitors will find many interesting facts about the museum's staff's visit to the Town of Belmont by making an in-person visit to the museum.
Let the celebration begin!
JUNETEENTH A PROMISE OF FREEDOM
IN THE KNOW - BLACK HISTORY MOMENT
Did you know that the Tulsa massacre was one of the worst acts of racial violence in American history and ironically is one of the least known? For 18 hours during May 31 to June 1, 1921, a white mob violently attacked the Black people, their homes and businesses in the Greenwood section of Tulsa, Oklahoma. For decades there were no news reports despite the fact that hundreds of Blacks were killed and thousands were left homeless.
The massacre began on May 31, 1921 and was sparked by a 17-year-old white female elevator attendant claiming to be offended by a 19-year-old Black man. What that exact offense was is unknown. The story was hyped up in the local newspaper reports calling for the arrest of the young Black man. A white mob quickly gathered to serve vigilante justice as was the tone during that day and time. They were met by African American soldiers whose intent was to protect the young man.
At the end of the violence, 35 blocks of what had been a bustling, business hub and commonly known as Greenwood's Black Wall Street was completely destroyed.
The Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma was a thriving city within a city—it was economically independent, a self-contained symbol of pride, and proof of the success and wealth accomplished by the Black race. Subsequent generations of people, including those born and raised in Oklahoma, had never heard of the event until the 1990s.
Clara Rudisill-Odom
AAMHC Newsletter Editor
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY--WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO BE A DAD?
What does it mean to be a Dad? This question was posed to a God-fearing man that is loved, adored and respected. As he paused in contemplation, his initial response was that it can mean different things to different people. He went on to say that for him it means loving unconditionally, giving as much wisdom as you can, and taking responsibility for the life that you helped to create. That's a pretty decent answer and very close to what the scriptures teaches us about Fathers and Fatherhood. You are encouraged to develop your own list of core values that define what it means to be a Dad.
As a gesture of gratitude and in celebration of Father's Day, to all Grandfathers and Fathers, Grandads and Dads, Pops, Papa and Pawpaw, or whatever your endeared title may be, the African American Museum of History and Culture of Loray Mill wishes each of you a Blessed and Happy Father's Day!!
The History
The Hope
The Hoke Sisters of Dallas, North Carolina
On May 27, at the picnic shelter across the street from the Dallas High School Apartments, two sisters, Shirlene and Brenda Hoke, told their stories of growing up in the Jim Crow era in Dallas, NC from the the Black community's perspective. Present for their talk was Dot Guthrie and Karen Bringle of the African American Museum of History and Culture at Loray Mill and Tarik Cranke, videographer.
Shirlene announced that she had chosen the Dallas High School Apartments to be the setting for their talk because the building carried special meaning for her. The first time in her life that she experienced racial animosity occurred when she was walking with her brother pass the segregated Dallas High School to get to the bus that would take them to the Black High School in Lincolnton, several miles up the road. As they passed the school building, a white male student scowled at them and made a crude gesture. Later in life, as a music teacher, Shirlene became part of an integrated staff that taught an integrated student body in that very same school building. Her experience as a teacher and staff member was a positive one. She made friends with white teachers and was highly regarded by her students across racial lines.
Both Shirlene and Brenda noted that the textbooks they were given in school “had no place for us to write our names” because they came to them already having several years worth of use by the students in white schools. Some were so badly worn that “the backs had come off.” The teachers in their underfunded schools worked hard to compensate for the lack of resources. They were intent on doing their best to educate and care for their students, believing that “It takes a village . . .”
Shirlene and Brenda were the second and third children born to their parents, who had a total of six children. Their family was close-knit, and the importance of education was stressed by both parents. Neither of the sisters spoke of having discussions with their parents about racial issues. They seemed to adhere to the belief that things were just the way they were, and it was best to go along with the status quo. They did recall attending movies at the theater and being required to sit in the balcony. They spoke of establishments in town where they were not allowed to enter by the front door.
They both were aware of the Civil Rights Movement in the ‘60s and that the “Freedom Riders” came through Alabama where Shirlene was attending college. The sisters were ambivalent about whether they should have become activists themselves. Shirlene indicated that she was held back by fear and concern that activism could jeopardize the education her father had worked hard for her to attain. Brenda advanced her own education to the Ph.D. level and became a college professor of sociology. She was reminded of an unspeakable term that referred to people who stood back and did not become social change activists, but who nevertheless benefited from the efforts of those who did. Brenda pursued her career in Atlanta and New York. In her ongoing studies she has taken a special interest in how “race, class, and gender” intersect with status in our social systems.
Both sisters seemed to have found fulfillment in their teaching careers and continue to enjoy contact with former students. They take pleasure and pride in being involved in the lives of their siblings’ children and grandchildren, some of whom continue to live in the Dallas area.
These two sisters had much to impart to the many fortunate students over many decades. It seems apparent that they continue to have much to teach the rest of us. At one point, Shirlene asserted that her goal had always been to be “a credit to my race.” From the time spent with Ms. Shirlene Hoke and Dr. Brenda Hoke, this writer has concluded that each have accomplished this goal and are credits to “the human race.”
Karen Bringle, Writer
AAMHCLM Board of Director
How To Make a Museum Donation
We thank you, DONORS! Your thoughtfulness, generosity and contribution to the History and Culture of African Diaspora is greatly appreciated.
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Museum Sponsors - Thank You!
CaroMont Health
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Newsletter Editor: Clara R. Odom
Background Photo: The Late Mr. James "Ed" Odom, Businessman