In celebration of West Virginia Day (June 20), West Virginia State University’s Douglass Land-Grant Institute is joining several other West Virginia bloggers in raising our voices, or our keyboards, to participate in a statewide blogging "carnival" organized by Jason Keeling, owner and operator of abetterwestvirginia.com.
Our call - to work together towards redefining and building a new stereotype of West Virginia and the people that call this great state home. We are honored to be a part of this campaign and think this will be extremely well received.
We have all heard the negative stereotypes of West Virginians and have probably heard recently the negative comments from our Vice President of the United States. Comments like this have got to change; and it starts with us. We need to give our selves more credit and be proud of our heritage and accomplishments. As West Virginians we need to work together to define who we are from within - meaning to change the outside perception it has to start right here inside the state.
WV State’s Douglass Institute believes that education and preparation is the key. We are going to highlight three people that were educated at West Virginia State College who broke down stereotypes and forged new paths.
Earl "Big Cat" Lloyd (http://www.hoophall.com/halloffamers/bhof-earl-lloyd.html), the first African American to play basketball in the NBA, played college ball at West Virginia State College. He was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. Prior to Earl “The Big Cat” Lloyd’s appearance on the basketball floor with the Washington Capitols on October 31,1950, the NBA had no active Black players or coaches. However he grew up in Arlington, Virginia.
Rev. Leon Howard Sullivan (http://www.medaloffreedom.com/LeonHowardSullivan.htm), was a minister and founder of Opportunities Industrialization Centers (OIC). He was the first Black man to serve on the Board of Directors of General Motors. His “Sullivan Principles” led to the end of apartheid in South Africa. Rev. Sullivan was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George Bush November 18, 1991, and has a main downtown road named after him in Charleston, West Virginia - “Leon Sullivan Way”.
Robert H. “Bob” Thompson (http://www.colortones.com/bioBobThompson.htm), renowned Jazz musician studied music and graduated from WVSU in 1966. His music has allowed him to travel the world, representing the US and West Virginia wherever he goes. He represented the United States at the International Student Music Festival in Nigeria where he worked as an artist in residence. Mr. Thompson has many albums featuring his musical voice, along with his jazz/fusion styles. He has written a book about jazz harmony and improvisation. He used the method described in the book at Charleston Conservatory of Music and Fine Arts of the University of Charleston, where he used to teach one day a week. Thompson can be found playing many venues in and around downtown Charleston on a regular basis, and of course with his regular gig as a member of the Mountain Stage Band.
We hope you enjoy learning more about West Virginia and the many things and people from our state that we can be proud of. These accomplishments bring positive attention and help to shed a new light on West Virginia and our people. Please add to this post and enjoy the other blogs who are helping build this new, progressive image of the people of our state!
Who or what would you add to this list? How can we share this with the world?
African American leadership heritage
It is not widely known, but West Virginia has many African American leaders and influencers who have hailed from or spent significant time in WV. Dr. Henry Louis Gates, Jr.,of Harvard is one of my favorite modern examples.
I think the existence of historically-black colleges like WV State and Bluefield State are significant and need to be promoted more within and outside the state. These are schools with rich histories and powerful roles to play in today's 21st century West Virginia.
African American heritage
Thanks for your meaningful post. I agree that WV State and Bluefield State are both flush with rich histories that need to be shared.
Come back to the blog often!
West Virginia Day
I hadn't hear of Robert Thompson until now. Going to have to try and see him play. Thanks for the info and for doing your part for the project.
WV Day
Thanks for your comment Rebecca, I'm glad I've shared Bob Thompson with you. He is a wonderful musician and a great West Virginian!
What a Rich History
Todd - what I really liked about this was how you highlighted three persons that I, perhaps shamefully, knew nothing about. The nice thing is that you chose three people with very different backgrounds, each who's story will resonate more strongly with some individuals than others. I particularly enjoyed learning more about Mr. Sullivan, whose namesake street I had driven on, but knew nothing about. What a rich history you have shared with the world while promoting both West Virginia and WVSC.
PS - What a cool idea this was by Jason - I hope we all continue the effort and it doesn't become a one-time thing.
Rich History
Thanks for the post Justin. I'm glad I could share some meaningful background information for you. Now when you drive down Leon Sullivan Way, you can drive a little slower and remember a little bit of what he stood for. WV has so many unknown stories like this, we need to share as much as possible.
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