This photo of the Men’s Civic Club was taken in the home of one of its members in 1975. Though dated after the period of Black Wide-Awake, like this photo of the Book and Garden Club, it captures several men who came to prominence in Wilson’s African-American middle class in the first half of the 20th century.
Seated (all of whom were original members depicted in the 1941 photograph of the club):
- Spencer J. Satchell, educator.
- Edward M. Barnes, educator.
- Dr. George K. Butterfield Sr., dentist.
- Dr. Joseph F. Cowan, physician.
- William Hines, businessman, hospital administrator.
Second row:
- ??
- ??
- ??
- Rev. Talmadge Watkins, Baptist minister.
- Separise P. Artis, business owner.
- Rev. Obra J. Hawkins, Presbyterian minister.
- Dr. Frank N. Sullivan Sr., physician.
- John W. Jones, educator.
- ??
- Milton M. Daniels, educator.
- John M. Miller Jr., educator
- Cleveland W. Lewis Sr., educator.
- Walter Stevens, educator
Third row:
- Charles D. James, funeral home director.
- ??
- Elmer J. Cummings Sr., educator.
- Carl W. Hines Sr., educator.
- Frank E. Emory Sr., agricultural extension agent.
- Dr. Julian B. Rosemond Sr., dentist.
Any assistance identifying the other club members is much appreciated!
Photo from the collection of the late Susie Chavis Sullivan, courtesy of Frank N. Sullivan Jr. (who taught me to swim at Reid Street Community Center!) Thank you!
I believe the person standing in the third row is my dearly departed Grandfather Mark Sharpe. He worked to bring equality to the education system leading to the lawsuit and eventual building of two high schools in Wilson County. Thus, desegrating the education system there.
Hi, Ronald! I’ve posted quite a bit about Mark Sharpe, who was my parents’ neighbor for a while in Bel Air Forrest. He was absolutely instrumental in forcing Wilson County to build rural high schools for in Wilson County, though the schools were very much segregated. My mother taught at Speight in the early 1960s!