Black History Month: Remembering Mary Washington

During Black History Month every year we get the opportunity to honor the legacy of Mary Washington, a nurse and advocate for seniors, and for whom our Mary Williams Community Senior Center is named.

Washington grew up in Charlottesville and wanted to be a nurse. Because she was Black she couldn’t attend school here to become one, so she had to move away to fulfill that ambition. When she returned with her degree she found that she had to leave town again because she couldn’t find a job here. After a successful career elsewhere, she retired and returned to Charlottesville, only to discover that many seniors, especially Black seniors, had no adequate place where they could gather, have lunch, and socialize. There was a senior center located at the Jefferson School, but the space was in such disrepair that the local Health Department had threatened to close it down. So Williams helped organize a protest downtown demanding that the City help provide a senior center, and with signs in hand she and her fellow seniors headed to a City Council meeting to voice their concerns.

“I could not attend school here to get a nursing degree, so I had to leave town,” Williams told Councilors. “When I returned as a nurse, I could not get a job because I was Black. I had to leave town again. Now, I’m back and don’t tell me I have to leave my town again to go to a senior center.”

In 2011, William’s granddaughter, Michele Gibson, joined former JABA CEO Gordon Walker at the opening exhibit for the new Jefferson School City Center, where he announced that JABA’s Charlottesville senior center located in the building would be named in honor of Williams.

“Mary and her colleagues in arms were women of dignity, pride and self-determination; virtues honed by an era of segregation, yet motivated at the time to seek a better future,” said Walker.

While JABA’s Mary Williams Community Senior Center is no longer located at the Jefferson School, having moved into a newly renovated space at JABA’s main offices on Hillsdale Drive, Williams’ legacy is still alive and well.

“Ms. Williams was a wonderful leader in advocating for the needs of seniors, both at the community level, and even within the center to expand activities of interest, something that continues today,” says current JABA CEO Marta Keane. “It is wonderful to honor another strong woman of color, who made such an impact on her community, in so many ways.  We are glad that Mrs. Williams set her sights on helping create a space for seniors in Charlottesville, and we are glad to honor her by naming our Charlottesville/Central Albemarle Community Center for all her efforts and wisdom.”

Black History Month: Center members recall their Burley High School days

For Black History Month this year, current members of the Mary Williams Community Senior Center in Charlottesville shared their memories of attending segregated Jackson P. Burley High School on Rose Hill Drive. Jackson P. Burley was an educator and prominent African American Businessman who sold 17 acres he owned on Rose Hill Drive for the construction of the school, which opened in 1951 and graduated its last class of seniors in 1967, eight years after school integration began in Charlottesville. Later, the school became Jackson P. Burley Middle School, which serves students from Albemarle County. Center members recalled the amazing Burley Band, which was always the highlight of local parades, and their famed football team, the “Burley Bears.” The 1956 Burley Bears were memorialized in a documentary by local filmmaker Lorenzo Dickerson called “Color Line of Scrimmage.” Not only did the team go undefeated that year, but none of their opponents scored against them, and their home games were more popular than UVA football games. They also highlighted the Monument Wall that was placed in front of the school and dedicated in 2018 to honor that history.

Members are also excited to read the new book that was just published, “Unforgettable Jackson P. Burley High School” by author Lucille Smith, which the Daily Progress called "the most comprehensive record of Burley’s history written to date."

“Black history matters,” Smith told the Progress. “The students are now senior citizens and many are no longer with us. Going forward, we can preserve, honor and never forget the past we document to secure the future because this is a brave and powerful story of African American students in the city of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.”

Black History Month: Celebrating senior advocate Mary Williams

Mary Williams grew up in Charlottesville and always wanted to be a nurse.  However, being a Black woman, she was unable to attend a college in town to achieve her goal.  So she moved away, got her degree, and had a wonderful career as a nurse.  She loved what she did and who she helped.  She was saddened to not be able to do it in her hometown, for the people she cared about.  When she retired, she moved back to Charlottesville.  And that was when JABA’s and Ms. Williams’ paths crossed and aligned.

JABA was trying to find a space to create a community center in Charlottesville.  And nothing was working out.  Ms. Williams knew that there were many seniors, especially black seniors in Charlottesville, who would benefit from the opportunity to socialize and have a nutritious lunch together.  She organized a group and led a march down Main Street.  She didn’t need to get very far before it caught the attention of the City Council, and all worked together to identify a space for the first center in Charlottesville.  Ms. Williams and her sister enjoyed several years of attending the center.  Ms. Williams was a wonderful leader in advocating for the needs of seniors, both at the community level, and even within the center for the activities that were expanded.

Marta Keane, JABA CEO

Message from Marta: A time to celebrate Black History and strengthen our commitment to equity and inclusion

February is Black History Month. This is a time to celebrate the achievements of African Americans and for recognizing their central role in U.S. history. Dr. Carter G. Woodson, referred to as the Father of Black History, chose the second week in February initially as “Negro History Week” to include the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln (president who formally abolished slavery) and Frederick Douglass (abolitionist who escaped slavery). Dr. Woodson was among the first black scholars to receive a doctoral degree. After getting his Ph.D. in history from Harvard University, he joined the faculty at Howard University as a professor and historian.

Recently Maya Angelou, poet, memoirist and civil rights activist, became the first Black woman to be commemorated on the U.S. quarter.  She worked with Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, was a Pulitzer Prize-winning poet, wrote seven autobiographies, performed in plays, films, and on television, and received over 50 honorary degrees. Here's a wonderful quote from her:

I’ve learned that people will forget what you said,

People will forget what you did,

But people will never forget how you made them feel.

Harriett Tubman, abolitionist, nurse, and human rights advocate, has been commemorated on a sculpture, Journey to Freedom. This sculpture demonstrates her heroism and determination as she helped to free others from slavery.  

Throughout JABA, we will be celebrating Black History Month, at our Centers, in our newsletter (subscribe here!), and in our social media posts. Join us in embracing our second value of Inclusion, through learning more about important people in our community.

Marta M. Keane
Chief Executive Officer

Woman's History Month & Black History Month: JABA celebrates the life of Alice Coleman

March is National Women’s Month. And there is still one more person to celebrate for Black History Month. And so to bridge the two months, I want to share a story from Ginger Dillard, our Director of Advocacy Services, about one of her favorite people that she worked with as an Options Counselor in Louisa.

Alice Coleman, a life-long resident of Louisa County, turned 97 on May 5, 2007 (the time of this short biography). Mrs. Coleman resided in the same house she was born in and the home in which she raised her own children. This delightful woman was the youngest of nine children of William Henry Haynes and Mary Scott, and at this point, she was the only surviving member of her brothers and sisters.

Mrs. Coleman is part of the living history of the Louisa community. She fondly recalled the stories of her life and her family. “My grandfather came to Louisa from Africa, [being enslaved]. He asked his boss what his name would be and the man said ‘You’ll take my name, Haynes. You will be Alexander Haynes’. I never met my grandparents. They passed before I was old enough to remember. My parents told me about them.” Both sides of her family have lived in Louisa as far as anyone knows. Her father hauled lumber and fertilizer with horse teams for a local family. Her mother was a well-known midwife and delivered many children. The last baby she delivered was Mrs. Coleman’s own daughter, Jean.

Mrs. Coleman attended school in a log building next to Philippi Church. “The land for the church and school was donated to the blacks by Dr. Pendleton and his family. I say I graduated from the seventh grade, but I spent the last year looking at a cute boy.” Mrs. Coleman eventually found her true love with her husband, Edward Coleman, from nearby Apple Grove. Edward and Alice moved into her family home to care for her mother until she passed, and Alice lived there until she was 100, much as she always had.

Mrs. Coleman couldn’t say what she thought the most amazing change had been in the world over her 97 years. She said that she always treated people well, and they always treated her well. She had many close relationships with family and neighbors, and they looked after her. Maintaining her independence was the most important thing to Mrs. Coleman. She knew all of her neighbors even those who had only moved to the area recently, after she was unable to leave her house. Everyone had their task. One person checked her mail every day, one did banking, one brought in wood, one picked up groceries, and Ginger didn’t think any of them knew about the others. She had it all worked out. Ginger and her father cut and delivered specially cut small pieces of wood for her because she had what they call a baby bear wood stove, it was narrow and she could not handle wood any larger than that.

JABA provided many services to help her stay in her home, despite all of the challenges. Eventually at 100, she went to live with her daughter. With an entire community returning her caring, she was able to realize her dream of independence. She died in 2013 at the age of 102.

We celebrate Mrs. Coleman for a life well-lived, and her lasting impact on so many in Louisa, and now across JABA.

Black History Month: JABA celebrates Elva Key and Waltine Eubanks

JABA is honored to have two long-standing members of our Advisory Committee: Elva Key and Waltine Eubanks. Both Ms. Key and Ms. Eubanks provide wonderful role models of service and commitment to their communities. And we are glad to celebrate them! - Marta M. Keane, JABA CEO

Paul H. Cale Jr. (left) speaks with Waltine Eubanks before a meeting at the Albemarle County Office Building. Credit: Billy Jean Louis/Charlottesville Tomorrow.

Waltine Eubanks

Ms. Eubanks is a product of the Esmont community. She built her life on community service, as exemplified by her great-grandparents, grandparents, and parents. She has always lived in Esmont because she felt there was no other place more outstanding than her home town in Albemarle County.

Education was an important keystone for success in her family. She followed in the footsteps of her grandmother and aunt, graduating from Virginia State College. Ms. Eubanks taught elementary school in Nelson County while going to classes after work, on Saturdays, and summers at UVa to obtain her M.Ed. in elementary education. She taught for 22 years in Albemarle County.

Ms. Eubanks served on the Albemarle County Parks and Recreation Committee, and advocated for a community park in Esmont. She was president of the Southern Albemarle Community Health Advisory Council, which established a community health center in Esmont. As the patient load grew, she helped apply for a federal grant to relocate the center to a larger facility. Since her retirement in 2000, she has volunteered on the JABA Advisory Council for the betterment of “seasoned citizens” (her words).

She continues to serve her community through service hours at Esmont Community Senior Center, Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, New Hope Baptist Church, the Community Advisory Council for Southern Albemarle County, and the Slave Descendants of President James Monroe’s Highlands Advisory Council.

Elva Key

Ms. Key is a lifelong native of Fluvanna County and has served from childhood as an active member of Evergreen Baptist Church. Together with her husband, Herman, Ms. Key supported and delivered Meals on Wheels. They also had a vested interest in the Charlottesville Cardinals Wheelchair Basketball Team, providing support at the local games and transportation to games.

She is proud to have worked as a secretary at Central Elementary School during the segregated and integrated school years. During those years, she feels she was able to effectively make a positive impact on children from all races and backgrounds in Fluvanna County. She diligently supported the Toy Drive at the school. Ms. Key, along with the past principal of Central, the late Paul Spraggs, Sr., was honored in 2019 with the naming of the Central Elementary School Auditorium as the Spraggs-Key Auditorium. This is great recognition of the impact she had at the school.

Her influence spread through her church community, teaching Sunday school, singing in the choir and serving as trustee. She has served on local committees and boards to influence changes within Fluvanna County, where her goal has always been to make it a better community for all people. Through her work with the JABA Advisory Council, she has influenced other members in her community to participate in the community senior center. She single-handedly built the attendance at the Kent Store program, often by offering friends rides. She was determined that her part of the county needed services that were closer to home and she made it happen.