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NEWS
Hall of fame recognizing black educators, achievers
HUNTINGTON -- Many people say the history of black education in West Virginia has been ignored for too long. A new Hall of Fame hopes to change that by recognizing many of the role models of the state's formerly all-black schools.
The West Virginia All Black Schools Sports and Academic Hall of Fame was founded in September 2006 to preserve the state's history of black education. This weekend the Hall of Fame honors its second group of inductees for their academic and athletic contributions.
Huntington citizens Dallas A. Jones and John W. Kinney are among those being honored.
In 1965, Jones went with the Gary District High School basketball team as its manager to the state basketball tournament. The entire McDowell County team will be recognized this weekend.
"We were the first all African-American team to win a state championship in West Virginia," Jones said.
Kinney, who died in 1998 at age 90, also will be honored. Kinney lived in Huntington for eight years, long after he taught industrial art, math and history at Lincoln High School in Wheeling. Kinney also coached football and basketball at the all-black school.
Jones said he feels particularly honored to be included in this weekend's induction. He said Gary District High School was a launching pad for he and many other students. He went on to Marshall University.
Jones said the Hall of Fame is a great opportunity to look at the past and see how it compares to today. He said it may also inspire today's children to do well in school, while showing them what life was like decades ago.
"When integration came along, all the black schools in the state of West Virginia were closed. A lot of that history was lost," he said.
Kinney's daughter, Patricia Hill, also said much of the black schools' history has been forgotten. Her father taught for 40 years, and most of that time was spent in segregated schools. She and her six siblings all attended segregated schools for at least some time.
After the Lincoln County school closed, much of its past was ignored, Hill said. At some point, someone contacted her father saying they had some old trophies and photos if he wanted them, she said.
She said recognition of people like her father and the schools they worked for is long overdue.
"It's wonderful for the black school because it's just been ignored like it didn't exist," she said. "It played a very integral part in a lot of people's lives."
Hill said her father was well respected and had a great relationship with his students. Many of them spoke at his funeral, she said.
She recalled times as a child when her father would bring students home to eat with the family. She said another time Kinney learned that a student was thinking of quitting school to work because his father had died. He made a plan so that the student could attend class in the morning and work in the afternoon.
"There were just a lot of stories like that," Hill said.
Hall of Fame ceremonies began Friday and are scheduled through Sunday, Sept. 7, at the Charleston Marriott. Activities include special presentations, induction ceremonies, dinner and more. Events are open to the public and include presentations from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 6, and ceremonies from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 7.
More information is available by calling Helen L. Jackson-Gillison at 304-748-7116.
