- Good evening.

I wanna thank you all for
coming to this month's series

on Blacks in America.

This is in collaboration with
the Beloit Public Library.

My name is Terese Craig,

and I'm excited to present
Linda Fair this evening

as your facilitator.

We will be exploring
Beloit's black history

and some of the first, many
of the firsts here in Beloit.

And for those of you, if this
is your first time joining us,

we began a monthly
series back in April,

and we're just doing different
topics of exploration

regarding the contributions
of black Americans

from a narrative that is
not about enslavement,

so about the contributions
to our country.

So I'm really
excited that we get

to explore our
hometown of Beloit.

And at this point,
with no further ado,

I will turn it
over to Linda Fair.

[audience applauding]

- Thank you, Terese.

Thank you all for
being here tonight.

"History, despite its wrenching
pain, cannot be unlived,

"but if faced with courage,

"need not be lived
again," Maya Angelou.

Today, I will be talking to you

about Beloit's black history,

some of the best-kept
secrets in this state.

Today's presentation
will feature subtopics

on the beginning,
the Great Migration,

education, faith in
the black church,

employment opportunities,
healthcare,

and Beloit black history firsts.

The beginning.

In the beginning, there was
Mr. And Mrs. Emmanuel Craig.

They were the earliest blacks
to settle in Beloit in 1839.

He was a coachman who
lived to be 115 years old.

In 1855, there were
2,753 people in Beloit

and only 18 blacks.

In 1860, there were 4,098
people with only 27 blacks.

1910, the number increased
to 15,000 people,

and only 60 blacks.

Then we get to 1920, where
the population became 21,284

with 834 blacks.

Now fast forward to 2019,

the city is populated with
15% African Americans.

Besides the Craigs,

there were other people,
too, Joseph Bowling.

He came in 1846 from
Raleigh, North Carolina.

And he was the first boot maker.

And also, the
Gilliam Perry family.

The Craigs were among those
who witnessed the formation

of the township
government in 1842,

and the founding of
Beloit College in 1846,

two years even before
Wisconsin statehood.

Then there was
the Waffle family,

William and his
mother and brother.

They settled in
Beloit in the 1850s

and was one of the
town's first blacksmiths.

Then came the Strothers family

and along with the Bond family.

Each of these people came
seeking greater change,

greater prosper
for their family.

Then we get to the good part,

one of the better
parts I like to say.

"Beloit, Beloit, Beloit,"

said the train conductor as
he carried loads of people

from the South to the North
to work at Fairbanks Morse.

He called out again,
"Beloit, Beloit, Beloit."

No one moved.

Then he said, "Fairbanks,"

and the whole train emptied.

[audience laughing]
They didn't know

where they were going
except to Fairbanks.

They knew they
were coming north.

They knew they were
coming to Fairbanks.

They had no idea what
the name of the city was,

but they knew that they
were going to Fairbanks.

So they unloaded the train,

and that's when the
Great Migration began.

There was a labor shortage
Fairbanks was facing,

but the work was still
there and great in need.

World War I had just started,

and most of the white
laborers had joined the army

to go fight in the World War I.

So that became a labor shortage.

Then when John McCord,
one of the janitors

that worked at Fairbanks
cleaning the main office

and some of the bigger
offices, told them,

"I know how to
get some good men.

"I can get you a few good men."

And they said, "Well,
what do you mean?

"What are you talking about?"

He said, "I came
from the South."

1918, John McCord,

I mean 1914, I'm sorry,
he came to Beloit,

and this is now 1918.

And he said, "I know where
to find a few good men.

"I know where to
get a few good men."

They said, "We're gonna
send you down south

"to bring us back 18 men."

"Bring us 18 men who are
church men, hardworking,

"and looking for change."

He said, "No problem,
I can do that."

So he went down in
search of a few good men.

He made four recruiting trips.

After the first trip,
another gentleman

by the name of Walter Ingram,
who played semi-pro baseball

and knew the ins and
outs of the South,

he said, "I'll go with you."

It was a treacherous
trip sometimes

because they were faced
with those labor laws,

where a lot of the whites

in the South didn't
want you recruiting

and bringing people
from the South up here

for a chance of
hope and prosperity.

So after about four
trips, they stopped.

But by this time, they
had well-enough laborers,

and people were bringing
back their families.

He was a well-liked janitor,
and from that moment on,

Fairbanks really entrusted
their faith in him.

By this time, Beloit
had over 2,000 blacks.

It was a dangerous venture.

One day on a trip coming back,

they stopped in
Memphis, Tennessee,

and they witnessed a lynching.

And that was the
end of those trips.

They were too frazzled
to want to go back

and pursue just
for their safety.

And by this time, their
families were saying,

"It's not worth it for
you to bring others.

"We need you here as well."

After they got all
the people up here,

they're like, "What are
we gonna do with them?

"Where are they gonna stay?

"We promised them this.

"We promised them housing,
we promised them employment."

And that's when they created

what's called the
Fairbanks Flats.

Fairbanks Flats is
still in existence even.

It was built to
house the workers

over on the west side of
town just off Shore Drive.

They have all these people here.

And they're like, "Who's
gonna manage them?

"What are we gonna do?"

So they felt, we have a group
of African Americans here.

They're in a strange land.

We don't want them to turn

to other things that
might distract them.

They brought in another black
man from South Carolina,

J.D. Stevenson, and he was
like their superintendent

of the Edgewater Flats
and the Edgewater YMCA.

His job was to find recreational
activities for them,

and kinda like a chaperone.

Keep his eye on 'em, provide
opportunities for them,

and just as they
say, manage them.

Can you manage this population?

They're doing work for us.

We're appreciating it,

but we wanna make
sure they're managed.

So in comes J.D. Stevenson
from South Carolina.

The Great Migration hit a lot
of the cities in the North,

from Chicago to Milwaukee.

Lot of families stopped just
short of Wisconsin in Chicago.

Some went over to
Milwaukee area.

But Beloit was situated
in an ideal location

on a border of
Illinois and Wisconsin,

so they could still get
reach of their family members

that might be in Chicago.

The Great Migration in
Beloit has been mentioned

plenty of times on national
websites, TV shows,

and even in the greatest,
latest publication,

The Warmth of Other
Su

ns by Isabel Wilkerson,

an author who I'm pleased
to say I've met personally.

And in her book, there's a story

about my maternal
grandmother, Callie Williams,

so that touches my heart, too.

So as you can see, this
really plays an important role

in my life, and why I'm
here, and how I got here,

besides the fact that my
grandfather came north

from Mississippi as well, to
work at the Iron Works foundry.

Once we start populating
this area and community,

we're working hard,
we're helping people out,

there became a shortage of
housing, housing inequalities.

Blacks were not allowed
to purchase homes

in certain areas of the city.

Again, they were
trying to corral us

in just one area of the city.

There was the tracks down by
what's called Turtle Creek,

Short Street, Keep Street.

And then there were the flats
over on the west side of town

with Shore Drive,
that neighborhood.

Realtors and financial
institutions

would not rent, sell,

or finance property to blacks

unless there were already
blacks living in that area.

There was even ads that
promoted Caucasian only.

I remember seeing an ad
as I was researching,

talking about house for sale
in the Todd School District,

and it said, "Caucasian only."

Two places would give loans to
African Americans in Beloit,

the Beloit State Bank

and the Beloit Building
& Loan Association.

And do you know
that black females,

whether married or not,
income was not included

in their husband's
housing application.

Even if she was the breadwinner,

making more than her husband,

they didn't count
her income at all.

But yet, a white female, they
would count 50% of her income

towards their income to
help purchase a home.

So in some of the clauses,
you would see on the deeds,

Caucasians or whites only,

or only two black families
per six-block radius,

things of that nature.

And this is all
real talk, people.

Some things that are
definitely for certain

with African Americans and
has been in our pipeline,

couple things you
could bet on for sure,

education, the black
church, and a strong faith.

And education, we feel
was the root to success.

Even if our foreparents,
our grandparents,

if they didn't even
have education,

they knew to let us know
and tell people to know

that you need an education,
some form of fashion.

Please make sure you
get your education.

More than 130 years ago,

siblings Grace and
Laurence Ousley grew up

at 731 Church Street.

30 years even before
the migration,

the only black household
located near Beloit College.

Grace Ousley was the first black

to graduate from
Beloit High School.

Notice, this was before it even

became Beloit
Memorial High School.

It was called
Beloit High School.

She was also the
first black female

to graduate from
Beloit College in 1904.

Along with Grace was
her brother Laurence,

who attended Beloit College
as well for three years.

He was in a program
called the Beloit Academy.

The Beloit Academy was
part of Beloit College,

and what it consisted of

was almost like a
pre-college program.

This is where they kinda
watched you, monitored you,

to kinda help you
become successful

and complete your schooling.

He went three years, and was
just one year shy of graduating

when duty called
for him to work.

Because at that time,
he had to help his mom,

had to help his siblings.

But he encouraged
Grace to go forward

and complete her education
and supported her.

But that's what we did.

And if anything can be brought
out of these Ousley family,

one thing he did
for sure upon dying,

he donated $10,000 to
be given to someone

to help people of color
attend Beloit College.

He believed in reaching
back, giving back,

and that's exactly
what we're trying to do

and mention to our
younger people today.

It's all about giving back.

If he was even on his lowest
times, willing to put up

and work hard to make sure
they have money to give back,

that's what we need to continue

to instill in our
young people today.

He set aside that
for people of color

that would need
help with school.

What he did was work as
a janitor at guess where?

The Beloit Public Library.

It was the Beloit Library.

So coincidence that all of
this is coming full circle.

Here, we're speaking
about this tonight.

Here's where he lasted.

He worked there 30-plus years

at the Beloit
Library as a janitor.

This story of perseverance
lives through academic programs

and physical spaces
at Beloit College.

There's residence
scholars programs.

They're even considering
naming some rooms

in the new Powerhouse.

There's a conference room
named after Grace Ousley

in South College,
Beloit College campus.

Their story is definitely
a story of perseverance.

Then again, I talked
about neighborhoods,

and the restructuring, and how
they tried to corral people

to be just almost segregated
to one portion of the city.

There was only one school

that it was 95%
African American,

and that school
was Strong School.

Strong School was located
where Rock County Christian

is located now, right across
from Horace White Park.

So again, remember I was
talking about Turtle Creek,

if any of you are
familiar with that.

That area, Keep Street,
all in that area

is where majority of
African-American families lived.

So the school that they could
only go to was Strong School.

But they weren't sought
after like at other schools.

They were put in a portable,

like a portable trailer type
of deal, outside of the school,

which was seen as
a premeditated tool

to segregate black students
from the white students.

All of the educators were white,

which led to students of color

often being overlooked
and ignored.

The school closed in 1964,
it's no longer there.

Another facet of education,

you might see a familiar
face in the room.

[audience laughing]

Barbara Hickman,

she was the first
African-American principal

for the School District
of Beloit in 1975.

Prior to that, she was the
first African-American female

to graduate from
UW-Stevens Point.

Now fast forward, I mean
rewind from 1975 to 1971,

a star was born, her
daughter, Linda Fair.

[audience laughing]

So again, gotta put my
mom in it, sorry, guys.

She's been with
the district still.

Her only employer
ever in her life

is the School
District of Beloit.

I've been through 1,000 jobs.

[audience laughing]
But that's her only employer.

She still works for them.

She's retired three times,

and she's approaching 60 years

with the School
District of Beloit.

She has served in every
building in the school district

in some capacity,
from Title I director

to principal,
administrator, mentor.

She's had her foot
in every building.

There's one school in
Beloit that's paid homage

to a lot of African Americans
here in our community,

and that's the newest
intermediate school,

Fruzen Intermediate School,
located on Milwaukee Road.

In that building, there is
the Grace Ousley Library,

there's the Jim
Caldwell Gymnasium,

and the Barbara Hickman
Fine Arts Center.

As stated earlier, the
foundation for African Americans

has always been the church.

When we didn't know anything
else or what else to do,

we knew to fall
down on our knees,

and pray, and get to church.

That was our saving grace.

That's what led us
through all these years.

That's what has
helped us persevere.

And that's what continues to be

one of the greatest things
about us, is the black church.

Church has served as a
religious and social center.

Especially, think about all the
people that transported north

from Houston, Pontotoc,
some of those cities,

they didn't really know
much about the area,

so their hangout was the church.

They had Bible meetings.

You had choir rehearsals.

It was just their
social gathering place.

They rely heavily on
their religious beliefs.

It stood as a refuge,
as a safe haven.

They were firm believers in
the power of prayer and God,

which has gotten
us through a lot.

Throughout time, the
black church stood

as a stronghold of
the black community,

fighting for equality and
economic self-sufficiency.

Now as you know,
back in the days,

they tried to strip
that even away from us.

They didn't want us to
sing the Negro spirituals.

They didn't want us to
do any of those things.

And as slaves, that's
when they began

to come up with beats, and
drums, and different things

to still get their
message across

so that no one would understand
what they were saying,

but they knew, even if it
was just humming, humming,

and that's how you know,

"I Know the Lord,
He Heard My Cry,"

if you're familiar with
that Negro spiritual.

That's one of the things that,
that's what they were saying,

"I know the Lord,
he heard my cry.

"If nothing else, he's
gonna make a way for us.

"He's gonna bring
us out of here.

"I know the Lord,
he heard my cry."

Faith has kept us going.

Faith will continue
to keep us going.

The oldest black church
in Beloit is Bethel AME.

Bethel AME is over
135 years old.

The founder of the Methodist
church was Richard Allen.

Following the Methodist
church was the Baptist faith.

The Baptist faith formed
Emmanuel Baptist Church

April 17th, 1917, to
meet the spiritual needs

of the Great Migration.

'Cause now you have
all these people here.

We can't all be in
one denomination.

We can't all be in one church.

So they began to spread
off, and break off,

and venture off, and create
their own type of church.

So later, a few
months after Emmanuel,

came New Zion Baptist Church.

And both of these
churches just celebrated

their 100th-year anniversary
about a year ago.

They are still pillars
in our community.

Their pastors, the Dr.
Reverend Floyd Prude, Jr.,

may he rest in peace.

They led their
congregation to continue

to have a stronghold
on their faith.

Reverend U.S. Pride from
New Zion Baptist Church,

there's U.S. Pride Park on
Shore Drive named after him.

Reverend D.W. Johnson, who
was instrumental as well

with the Edgewater YMCA
and the Fairbanks Flats,

and he was helping J.D.
Stevenson keep control

of the migrants that
came up from the South.

So it's really been
that teamwork approach

with the black church
and the community.

Even now when all else fails,
you turn to the black church

when things aren't going right.

Your spirituality
is what's leading

and helping you along the way.

I can just keep
remembering as I'm speaking

is another Negro
spiritual that says,

"If it hadn't been for
the Lord on my side,

"where would I be?"

This is what kept
our people going.

This is why I'm here
to talk to you tonight,

because I know someone
believed and prayed for me

and had that faith.

Employment opportunities.

Of course, the big houses
were Fairbanks Morse,

Beloit Iron Works, the foundry.

The people that came
up from the South,

they thought they
were in heaven,

but they were still faced
with some of the segregation.

They still were
getting overlooked

for positions
within the company.

They still were
getting overlooked

to become superintendents,
foremans, and all those things.

All they wanted was their labor,

but at the time, that's
what they needed,

and they would bring back...

Thank you.

They would bring
back their families.

If they weren't bringing
their families back,

they were sending money home.

Sending money south, preparing.

Here, when they were here,

you had tons of family members
staying under one roof.

Just till we make it, till
we get on our own feet,

they stayed under one roof.

You had grandparents, aunts,
uncles, siblings, everyone,

'cause that's all about family.

They were reaching back and
taking care of each other.

Some employment
opportunities that we had,

most of the black males
worked at Fairbanks

or Beloit Iron Works.

Beloit Iron Works changed
from Beloit Iron Works

to the corporation,
Beloit Corporation.

Black females could work
as maids or prostitutes.

It's a reality.

They were doing
what they had to do,

but that was something
that they did.

The City of Beloit didn't
hire any blacks at all.

And there were no retail
or office jobs available.

A lot of times, the
dad or the husband

will work the foundry
12, 14 hours a day,

come home to a meal.

And all the mom did was
take care of the house,

get the food together,
take care of the kids,

make sure they get there.

And that's why they
kept instilling in them,

education, education,
education, get your education.

And that was their ticket.

They figured if you
get your education,

this'll be your
ticket out of here.

You saw your dad
coming in with the smut

and all of that from the
foundry all over them.

You saw later in life that
some people got cancer,

based off of inhaling all of
those chemicals from that.

But they did what
they had to do.

They did that to satisfy
their family needs.

They had to do what
they had to do.

We have been a
people of hard work

and dedication for a lifetime.

That's what we do.

You do what you gotta do
to make it for your family.

Healthcare.

Until 1928, there were
three Beloit hospitals.

Now we only have the one,
Beloit Memorial Hospital.

Blacks were able to get
wards or semiprivate rooms.

1929, Beloit Municipal Hospital,

which was located over
on Olympian Boulevard,

known as Hospital Hill for
the sledders in the place,

they were one of the--
opened a segregated hospital,

and no blacks could
have wards there at all.

There was a doctor by
the name of Dr. Evans,

and he would see
patients only on Sundays.

So if you were sick
or needed to be seen,

you had to wait till Sunday.

Dr. William Marshall was the
first black doctor in the city.

And Alta Gordon was
the first black nurse

at Beloit Municipal Hospital,
at the old hospital.

Then you fast
forward to the '90s,

and we had Dr. Cheryl Peterson

become the first female doctor.

She worked for Beloit Health
System in the early '90s.

And she was also the
first Beloit doctor

to do the Norplant
contraception implant.

Along with some of the
struggles with trying to satisfy

and fill the need of recreation,

families started turning
to drugs, alcohol,

anything to just
kinda keep going.

And it became an epidemic
definitely in the '80s

with crack taking
over the scene.

And Mrs. Mardella Shipp,

she began what's called Beloit
Inner City Council in 1984.

It was a substance abuse center

for those families
who needed to come in

and have counseling, receive
some education about it,

and just to help.

It was called Beloit Inner City,

and it helped reach
out to others.

And it was like a sliding
paying scale, sliding fee scale,

no real money if
you had insurance.

But she was just there
to work with our families,

so they would know they had
a place to go for refuge

or to get the help they needed.

Beloit black history firsts.

We have tons of black history
firsts that we could mention.

One I'm gonna share, too,

this wasn't planned,
ladies and gentlemen,

but Walter Knight who's
in our room as well,

he was the first city
councilor in 1976,

the first African-American
city council member,

elected in 1976.

And besides that, he
also ran the union

at Fairbanks Morse
for over 25 years.

Then he was the loan
executive director

of what's called
Rock County OIC,

Opportunities
Industrialization Center,

which was a on-the-job
training center

which helped with
education, GED,

a trade, construction,
all of those things.

Now fast forward to 2019,
two or three days ago,

they just dedicated the Portland
Avenue Bridge, Highway 213,

in honor and remembrance--

in honor of Mr. Walter Knight.

It's now called the Walter
Knight Memorial Bridge.

So I believe in
giving people credit

[audience applauding]
where credit is due.

Stand up, Mr. Knight.

[audience laughing]

[audience applauding]

As some of the older people say,

"Give me my flowers while
I can yet smell them

and see them,"

so we're giving you your kudos.

But again, he paved the
way for so many of us

to be able to do
what we're doing.

And he was strictly
a politician,

kept a game face
on all the time.

As you noticed, he
still has one on.

And he's shy and very
humble, so we appreciate you.

Then there was Dr. Rosa Smith,
superintendent of schools.

She was the first
African-American superintendent

for the School
District of Beloit.

Clarence Bolton was
our first mail carrier.

And his wife, Carolyn Bolton,
was the first councilor

for the School
District of Beloit.

There's Diane Henry, she
was the first city clerk

back in the '70s when they
finally started to hire blacks.

She was hired as the city clerk.

Otha Williams,
school psychologist,

still works for the
School District of Beloit.

Some of you may just know
him from Otha's Ribs.

That's his part-time job.
[laughing]

His real profession is
school psychologist.

And Mr. Bob Gilliam,
the fire chief.

He was the first
African-American fire chief

for the City of Beloit.

And Edie Caldwell, the
first female police officer,

she was hired in 1977.

And then there's Johnny Watts.

He was a basketball player,

and the first African American

to play in the state tournament.

Tons of other people
have paved the way

and done many things.

And it's all, you
know, very impressive.

And at the time when they
were doing these things,

they weren't doing it so that
I could stand here in 2019

and shout their names out.

They did it because
it was in their heart.

It was in their mind.

It was embedded into
them to reach out,

do what you gotta do,
take care of your family,

and help leave a legacy
for some others to follow.

Now we must never forget,
"Sometimes it is impossible

"to know where you are headed

"without reflecting on
where you came from.

"Understanding your
heritage, your roots,

"and your ancestry
is an important part

"of carving out your future."

And nevertheless, I
couldn't say it louder,

I'm from Beloit and
couldn't be prouder.

Thank you.
[audience chuckling]

[audience applauding]

Now if we have any questions,
comments, cares, concerns?

Yes, Terese?

- Terese: Can you just share
your interest in this topic?

Because I'm aware that
you do this every year

during Black History Month.

But I've always
been amazed at here

and how you pull
together this info.

- Yeah, some people say,
"Are you a history buff?"

Most recently, I
became into that.

I think the older you get,

you find your interests
lead you a different path.

And when Black History Month
came 2017, I think it was,

or 2018, I'm getting older,
I'm losing track on that,

so I just thought, first
of all, we don't teach

this type of stuff in a
school, in a classroom.

You're not gonna
find this in a book

that you're gonna go
home and do a report on.

Different schools have
different approaches

for Black History Month.

And a lot of our young
people have no idea.

They think life is grand.

I got a iPhone, I got a
iPad, I got the PlayStation.

This just all came.

I didn't have to
do anything for it.

So I just think that
they need to know

and reflect on where we've been.

And it generated
a lot of interest.

So I said, "Each day,
I'm gonna share a fact."

As I mentioned before,

I was born and raised
here my entire life,

so I've seen the city transition

from back in the '70s to now.

I know what I went through.

I sat around, listened to my
mom talk, listened to others.

I've been dragged to
meetings my whole life

[audience laughing]
sitting in the back

of a room listening,
finding out about issues

that they were trying to fought,

from the Black Teacher
Caucus to the NAACP,

to the Greater Beloit
Minority Coalition

to the OIC Auxiliary.

So I'm there just
taking in everything.

But who knew that
I would retain it?

I did retain it,
[audience laughing]

and it became an interest to me.

So I said couple
years ago, "Each day,

"I wanna share
something about Beloit."

Because you hear so
often Harriet Tubman,

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

You might hear
Frederick Douglass.

You might hear Sojourner
Truth, Rosa Parks.

You hear the same five over
and over and over again,

but there's things, gems
in your own backyard

that you can reflect on

and know that they've
done great things,

and the ways they paved
for you to be able

to do some of the things you do.

We have pre-collegiate programs

at Beloit College
now, Help Yourself.

We have students going
there, the black student.

Different things
that are going on,

but there were people who
fought for those rights,

and I don't think our
students knew that,

or the young people knew that.

So I said, "I'm just
gonna toss it out.

"Each day, I'ma give a fact."

So I started
reading, researching,

interviewing people,
talking to people.

And then it became just like,
you don't even wanna sleep

because you just start reading,

and you just get thirsty for
more knowledge and information,

and you're like,
"Ooh, ooh, ooh."

So it just really
became like a bubble.

So I did it for the first
year, and I was like,

"Hmm, I don't know if I
could find anything else."

I did 28 whole days with a
lot of information one year,

and came back the
next year with it.

And then to hear the feedback

and the positive feedback
from our community members

from all walks of
life, from all colors,

and they're sharing it.

And they're like, "Thank
you for this information."

Because they never knew.

'Cause where would
you find out about it?

We don't have encyclopedias
anymore, [laughing] you can't go

unless you maybe
google some stuff.

So they didn't know where it
was and what to do about it,

so I just thought
that each time,

that'll be my giving
back to the community.

I'm gonna share with you

and hope that you
pass the torch on,

and maybe someone keeps
this legacy going.

Been approached to write books,

which has always been one
of my bucket list items,

different things of that nature.

So I'm hoping that
I can just continue

to reach this, inspire some,

'cause if we don't teach
each other, who else will?

We have to share
the information.

So again, and it became
just that passion,

so it just kinda
took off like that.

And again, like I said,

you just get thirsty
for more knowledge,

and then you just read and
read, and then you cry some,

you laugh some, you smile
some, but it's our history,

and we cannot sweep
it under a rug.

It needs to be told.

Yes.

- Woman: So first, thank
you for your commitment

to do all the
research 'cause I know

it's quite a commitment.

But for the community at
large, what would you say

or how you would ask
the community at large

to help spread this
type of message

and get this information out
to the broader community?

- And her question was, how
can we get this information out

to the broader community?

I would say, as far as
if you're a teacher,

or if you're involved in
different community groups,

invite speakers, read,
hold book club meetings,

find a topic that
you want to research

and get more in depth on it.

Bring in people, like I said,
we have two living icons

in our presence right now
that will be more than glad

to come talk someday, you know.

So just kinda reach
back and do that.

And don't be afraid to ask.

Again, 'cause it takes teamwork
to make the dream work.

We all gotta put
our heads together.

My way may not be the right way.

Maybe someone else
has another idea.

But the more we get
the information out,

maybe it starts with the
Da

ily News putting in something.

Maybe again, like I said,

it starts with the afterschool
program type of deal,

a club, whatever.

We just gotta come
together on it

and see ways that we can
utilize this information.

- Woman: So you had

the names of two of
the towns in Georgia?

- In Mississippi.

- Mississippi.
- Mm-hmm.

- And I know you said,

and I know this from
other reading I've done,

there were four towns.

- Pontotoc, Mississippi.

These all are cities in the
northern part of Mississippi.

And they used to call
Beloit "Mississippi North,"

because the city was
heavily populated.

Even like right now,
there's so much population

that derived from the South.

Houston, Mississippi,
Pontotoc, Mississippi,

New Albany, Mississippi,
and West Point.

- This is all--
- All in Mississippi.

- In all northern part?

- Northern part of Mississippi.

And again, like I
said, a lot of times,

they did a lot of carpooling,

wasn't even cars, but
like walking in groups,

because they were afraid
to be alone by themselves,

because what they noticed is
that although we're north,

and although there's
no slavery here,

there's still that racial
tension in the area.

So they always wanted to be
safe and wanted to be secure.

That's when they
worked together.

If anything I could
take, what I found out

is it was more togetherness
to me back then.

It wasn't so divided.

Even though we were already
divided in the town.

You had your pockets here
on the east side of town.

You had your pockets on
the west side of town.

They had the two school
districts, they were called.

Beloit Public Schools 1, which
was east side of the river,

and Beloit Public Schools 2,

which was west
side of the river.

And the superintendent
of the school

was the president
of the school board,

and their wives
were the assistant.

[all laughing]

But like I said,
there's tons of stories.

There's a lot more that
I coulda elaborated on.

We could talk about social
and recreation clubs.

Again, blacks weren't
allowed in different areas

like the Alumni House,
which is downtown.

It was called the Pop
House back in the day.

And blacks were not
allowed to do that.

So that's when they formed
their own organizations,

their own social groups such
as the Women's Culture Club,

the Quest Club.

They formed their
own communications

and ways to dance,

and hang out, and
create their own.

Bell's Bar off of Maple,
the Socialite Club,

Leon Davidson, Davidson Square.

And then other pastimes
such as bowling.

They helped implement the
first black bowling league,

which it was called the
Saturday Night Major League,

and they bowled in
South Beloit, Illinois.

So they made their own way.

Sometimes, I don't know
if you guys watched

the award show the other
night, the BET Awards.

Tyler Perry said something
very, very dynamic and profound.

He said, "I stopped wanting
to sit at the table,

"and built my own."

And that's exactly what
African Americans did.

I can't join you at your
table, I'll build my own.

And that's what he did
with Tyler Perry Studios.

And that was just very
profound to me and inspiring.

And somehow, I just think
that our younger people need

to have that same energy, so
we just gotta kinda be in here.

I found out if it's on a screen,

they'll probably
read it or watch it.

Anything that's on with
technology nowadays.

But that was just so profound
to me that he said that.

- Woman: So I noticed
in your research

that some things
kinda changed mid '60s.

Would you say that has to do

with the national
civil rights movement?

- Definitely, I would
say definitely it did.

Because at this time
now, it's a national--

it's becoming national.

The laws are changing
all the way around.

There were places
still like Milwaukee,

who tried to not abide
by the national laws.

And then there was Vel
Phillips from Milwaukee,

who fought hard for rights
for the community of Madison.

Then there's people in Madison
like Velma Bell Hamilton,

different ones.

Every city, I like
to say, in this area

had one or two activists,
one or two leaders

that really tried
to press the issue

of equal rights for all.

And then there's
over by Lake Geneva,

the town of Ivanhoe,
I think it is.

It's a black community.

Our kids don't know
anything about that.

It was founded by blacks, owned
by blacks, and everything.

Just a few minutes
away from here,

over outside of Lake Geneva.

But that's not in a book,

so you almost gotta
just preach that word.

That would be a great
place for a field trip,

you know what I mean?

So this can really grow.

We can make it a
club type of deal,

those who are really
interested, families, parents.

This could be something
that we could really grow

and prosper to getting
to know your history

and knowing what's going on.

Reverend Pride, they
marched with Dr. King

back in the '60s, the
march to Selma march.

He was part of that,
Reverend U.S. Pride was.

Again, very instrumental.

And one other
thing, like I said,

the church has always
been our foundation,

and they weren't divided.

We had the Beloit Community
Ministers Fellowship.

We had people partnering
up and working together.

And if anything, that's
getting a little divided.

Everybody's just interested
in saving themselves

when we need to save ourselves.

Any other questions,
comments, cares, concerns?

Thank you.

- Thank you.
[audience applauding]