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Ife Carruthers came to Garden Spices through her brother, Charles Cole. Fifteen years ago, when I met Charles and discussed Garden Spices, he immediately told me I had to meet his distinguished sister, Ife Carruthers. She resides in Chicago, my hometown, where I visit annually. Ife and I have likely crossed paths, as we run in similar circles. However, we only connected by phone this year.
Now, Garden Spices has the privilege of sharing the words from her insightful keynote speech at a historic Black school reunion. Gate open - Victorine
Good Evening. Thank you, Tawa, for the beautiful introduction. I am delighted that my daughter Tawa is here with me and has had an opportunity to see and meet you, who is such an essential part of my upbringing. I would also like to thank the Sterling High School reunion committee, especially my cousin Elaine Eggleston, for inviting me to speak at this School-wide reunion with special recognition of the classes of 1961 and 1962. I am so honored to be here on the 51st anniversary of my graduation to celebrate this grand reunion with fellow alums, friends, and family. I also want to recognize my brothers, Arthur, Charles, and Chris, in the audience; my cousin, Frances Watts, from Cleveland, Ohio, a proud alumna of the class of 1955; and my play brother William Black (a 1954 alum) and his wife, Ludell, who are here from Gaithersburg, Maryland.
As I reflected on our theme, “Purple Reigns, 1923-1968—Keeping Our Heritage Alive Through Ties that Bind, and thought about what I might say to you tonight, I focused on the word heritage. We share a great heritage, not only as graduates of Sterling High School and natives of the Sheffield, Alabama, African-American community, but we are tied in an unbreakable bond to more than 1 billion persons of African descent worldwide and thousands of years of African history, culture and, civilization.
Like other Black people in the Western Hemisphere, we also share a common heritage of captivity and enslavement, segregation and discrimination. Our shared heritage of struggle against oppression is equally important, including many victories. Tonight, we are here to commemorate one of those victories--the life of Sterling High School and its many successes.
When the black men and women of the East 20th Street Baptist Church rejected the lack of educational facilities for their children and decided to establish their school, they followed the tradition established by our ancestors thousands of years ago. This tradition of African people’s love for education began with the earliest civilizations, such as ancient Egypt’s scribal schools. It included the university at Timbuktu, West Africa, and other educational systems throughout the continent. Our ancestors continued the tradition of education even under slavery, although it had to be done in secret due to the laws against Black literacy. Our enslaved ancestors risked beatings, maiming, and even death to learn to read and write and to teach their children and others. They saw education as the path to freedom and happiness.[1]
After the Civil War and emancipation, freedmen began establishing schools. They also made demands for education to the government, achieving federal funding through the Freedman’s Bureau for more schools. W.E. B. Du Bois attributed the idea of “public education at public expense” to southern Blacks.[2] When Reconstruction ended, and funding was withdrawn, our ancestors took from their meager incomes to help maintain schools for their children. While it is estimated that only 5% of our ancestors were literate during slavery, even under segregation and Jim Crow, by 1910, 70% of our people had achieved literacy. These achievements were made in the face of intense economic and violent intimidation by the Planter class using the Ku Klux Klan as a tool. Education and literacy had “important cultural significance” for African Americans then, just as now.
The founding of Sterling High School in 1923 is part of this great educational heritage and persisted under these same adverse social, political, and economic conditions. Beginning with Professors Benjamin J Sterling and E. Z. Matthews and continuing through Rev. R. A. Stewart, Sterling’s administrators and teachers shared the same vision as our ancestors for all of us. They instilled in us the importance of education for a meaningful life through the high standards and expectations they set for us. Not only were we required to master the academic curriculum, but our families and the community taught us the value and dignity of hard work, perseverance, and love for ourselves and others.
Our memories are the repository of many great works of our families, community, teachers, and administrators. When I think of my school days at Sterling and growing up in Sheffield, I have so many memories; I will share a few of my remembrances and remembrances of other Sterling graduates I asked to share with me.
I began my career at Sterling in second grade in 1950 under Mrs. Bonner. I remember doing poorly on my first spelling test and Mrs. Bonner telling my mother I would have to do better. I quickly improved with Mrs. Bonner’s instruction and my mother’s tutelage and never looked back.
Mrs. Minor was my teacher and piano instructor in third grade. My love of music began with her and continued with Mr. Waddy Williams, who taught music appreciation to my 7th-grade class, and later Mr. Richards, my band instructor. You probably remember Mr. Williams as Sterling’s first band director. I remember him as the teacher who made us listen to classical composers and identify their concertos. We also had to listen and learn to differentiate the sounds of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. I have never been to Orchestra Hall in Chicago without considering Mr. Williams. Just recently, I attended a concert celebrating the 75th birthday of Ella Fitzgerald, and my mind drifted back to music appreciation class at Sterling.
Another musical remembrance that greatly impacted my life was seeing the great Louis Armstrong when he came to Sheffield. Even though he had to play a concert for us late in the evening, he gave a memorable performance after giving the white audience an earlier concert. This was my first jazz experience, and it impacted me indelibly. Today, I am a jazz aficionado and will always be grateful to Mr. Williams for encouraging Sterling students and my parents, who sacrificed for me to attend. So many of our parents denied themselves and sacrificed so we could have experiences that would enhance our lives.
My final music remembrance is playing clarinet in the Sterling High School marching band under the direction of Mr. James Richards. Being a part of the band was a great and fun learning experience. Playing at football games and marching in parades was exhilarating. But my fondest memories are of our annual Thanksgiving trips to the state capital in Montgomery, Alabama, to participate in the Alabama State-Tuskegee Football Classic and parade. Participating with other schools from all over the state allowed us to see how we measured up and challenged us to do better. Also, seeing all the college-educated Black people, all dressed up in their finest, was inspirational and exciting!
Not only do I have fond memories of my music education, but I also have great memories relating to my Sterling education. When we were children and immature teenagers, we often thought, “Why do I need to learn this? I’ll never use it again in life!” But I can genuinely say that I have used everything my teachers taught. Each of the Sterling faculty contributed to my development.
Mrs. Clara Hodges Howlett, our librarian, challenged us to read beyond our assignments to learn about other peoples and cultures as a path to world citizenship. She encouraged us to keep a log of all the books we read, perhaps because our sense of accomplishment would motivate us to keep reading. Thanks to her, I am a member of a book club and a voracious reader to this day--I still record all the books I read.
In my travels, I have relied on my Sterling education to enhance my trips. My French—thanks, Mrs. Webb! —has served me well in France, French-speaking Africa, and the Caribbean. When I stood at the point on the Cape of Good Hope where the Atlantic and Indian Oceans meet, I immediately thought back to Mr. Milton Franklin’s social studies class.
When we read about the Cape of Good Hope, I never dreamed I would actually see it for myself. Not only was Mr. Franklin my teacher, but he and his wife were mentors to me and friends of my mother. I babysat their children, and they were supportive throughout my high school career.
Mrs. Garrett taught us cooking and sewing in Home Economics, and I am sure all her students are as thankful for those skills as I am. Mrs. Lewis, our Senior English teacher, obtained a Phelps-Stokes grant, which allowed us to learn all about newspapers. As a culminating activity, we made a presentation on the newspaper we had created at Alabama A&M. We got a preview of college campus life, which made us even more excited about college. Attending college was something that all of the teachers at Sterling continually pushed us to do.
Our teachers were wonderful people and role models, but let me not forget to mention two of the sweetest teachers, Mrs. Nelson and Mrs. Wilson. The Sterling faculty built our self-esteem with their kind and encouraging teaching styles. As a teacher, I have tried to be as kind and encouraging to my students.
We knew and interacted with all of the Sterling family, not just our teachers and Mr. Stewart, but the janitorial staff, the clerical staff, and the lunchroom staff. Our lunchroom staff included my great-aunt, Julia Pillar, head cook, and Mrs. Hattie Elston. Our school lunches were always excellent. Everyone was excited when Aunt Sis made homemade rolls; I still use her recipe today.
Our teachers and our immediate families were not our only influences. Growing up in small-town Sheffield, we were fortunate to have many role models in our community—both—professional and non-professional. We had a Black doctor and dentist, a tailor, independent contractors, restaurateurs, morticians, ministers, skilled artisans, factory workers with TVA, Reynolds, Union Carbide (where my father worked), and domestic workers who took care of other people’s homes and children, while still managing to take care of their own. We knew all about “The Help” before Hollywood decided to tell us about it.
These fine men and women, mothers and fathers, labored under the unjust weight of segregation but with great dignity, taught us what we could achieve, and inspired us to greater heights. Dr. Ruffin, a very fine family physician, was not allowed to practice medicine at the hospital, yet he provided excellent services to our community. The same is true for Dr. Coker, who took care of our dental needs. He would be proud to know that Sterling produced a dentist in the person of Dr. Richard Harden. During my senior year, I was assigned to write a biography of his wife, Mrs. Coker. While spending time in their home, learning about her life and educational journey, I also learned much about his path to medicine. Mr. P.B. Swopes’ tailoring business was the only Black business in downtown Sheffield. My cousin, Frances, a member of Sterling’s first marching band, reminded me that he mended, altered, remade, and dry cleaned the old band uniforms handed down from Sheffield High so that our band would have uniforms. And he did this free of charge!
Again, not all of our role models were professional people. The majority were ordinary, hard-working men and women, common laborers, factory workers, and domestics who provided for their families, instilled positive values in their children, looked out for the community children, and strove to make their children’s lives better than their own. Mr. and Mrs. Fannie and Ed Williams lived across the street and were wonderful neighbors and friends. Their sons, Edgar James and William Black, were like members of my family. Willie has been my play brother since I was a young girl. Both Ms. Fannie and Mr. Ed were particularly kind to me. I am going to share a story about Mr. Ed Williams.
One day, when I was about 12 or 13 years old, I was home alone, and a bill collector came to my house. I told him my parents were not home when I answered the door. He could see the piano from the door and asked me if he could come in and if I could play the piano for him. I don’t know what his intentions were—to make a note of the possessions in the house? Or to harm me? Mr. Ed, sitting in his yard and having his usual refreshment, observed this. He rushed over, began cursing the man out, and ordered him out of the house immediately. I have never forgotten this. He was not afraid to stand up and speak up to a white man. Looking back at our history, I see that we have always had courageous Black men and women who were not afraid to speak up and stand up for what is right. I will always appreciate Mr. Ed for protecting me in the absence of my parents. Our ancestors had it right when they said, “It takes a whole village to raise a child.” That is the community I remember from growing up in Sheffield.
Now, I would like to share some remembrances of my class, 1961. We began 7th grade (which we called high school) in 1955, one year after Brown v. Board of Education, the historic U.S. Supreme Court decision overruling “separate but equal” in public education and declaring all segregated schools in America to be unconstitutional, and a few months before the Montgomery Bus Boycott began in December 1955. Two years later, in 1957, we witnessed the Little Rock School crisis. While what was happening in Little Rock, Arkansas, seemed a world away, one of our Sterlingites, my cousin Frances, would later become a fellow schoolmate of Ernest Greene (one of the Little Rock 9) at Michigan State University. We graduated from Sterling one year after the founding of SNCC (the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee). All of these historical events would impact our lives and the life of Sterling High School. Some of our teachers talked to us about these events and prepared us for the integration challenges. They told us that we would soon have to compete in a world with people who did not look like us. They encouraged us to study hard and prepare for the academic challenges ahead. I think we proved that we were up to the challenge.
The valedictorian of my class, Cassie Roberson, was one of the most brilliant students I have known. The salutatorian, my best friend in high school, Dorothea Scruggs, was multitalented. She went to college to pursue a chemistry degree and spent the last years of her life as an artist. Her artwork hangs in my home today.
Several years ago, I was shocked when my Sterling classmate, Nellie Vinson, registered for a Teaching About Africa class I was coordinating. She received a Fulbright scholarship and traveled to several African countries for further study. I admired Nellie, Dot, Helen Davis, Lucille Jackson, Gloria Bonner, and Alberta Bryson, my classmates who made up the Sterling Sextet-- I would have loved to sing with them, but my voice wasn’t good enough. Another classmate, James Thompson, was a talented mechanic.
In Seattle, Washington, I ran into my old classmate James Mullins, a building contractor who owns his own business. I also had an opportunity to speak with another classmate, James Hampton, who was very ill at the time. Before his death, he had become a real estate magnate. John Hayes (or Little Buddy as we remember him) has become a minister and has substantial real estate holdings, and as a hobby is a numismatist (or coin collector). As you know, a rare penny, nickel, or dime can be worth thousands! My classmate Joseph Howell is very ill and cannot be with us tonight, but like John, his close friend in school, he has substantial business holdings--including nine Baskin Robbins/Dunkin Donuts franchises.
The class of 1961 was the largest in the history of Sterling, 34 of us. Unfortunately, we lost eleven of our number, including Earline Horton and my cousin Bailous Pruitt, one of my closest associates in high school. While I have not mentioned each of my classmates, as a whole, we have lived up to the high expectations our teachers and parents held for us. The same can be said for every class of Sterling alumni from 1923 - 1968.
We survived segregation. Growing up under Jim Crow, we learned to live within the limitations imposed upon us by the full force of the Alabama and U. S. legal systems. We could not even go to the library, not to mention the skating rink, or have a soda at the Walgreens lunch counter. Nevertheless, we managed to rise above those limitations and become sane, decent, successful human beings.
So, where are we now? What are our challenges today? Even though we helped elect our first black U. S. President, our people still face enormous social, educational, economic, and political challenges. The absence of living wage jobs in our communities has led to an increase in crime and drug proliferation. These conditions, in turn, have led to the creation of the Prison Industrial complex in which black and brown people are the victims of mass incarceration. The prisoners provide a new form of free labor for many businesses while providing employment opportunities for others. Schools throughout the United States are failing our children, with high school graduation rates as low as 30% in some schools. On the political front, the Voting Rights Act, which gave us self-determination in the South, is under attack.
As proud Sterling graduates who have done so well, we are responsible for upholding and sharing our heritage with others. Many of us participate in community, social, and faith-based organizations that attempt to address some of the needs in our communities. Our challenge is to remember that much has been given to us under great sacrifice and that we, in turn, must always do as much as we can and in the way that we can to improve conditions in our community. We must never forget that we stand on the shoulders of our ancestors and that our shoulders must be strong enough to lift up the next generations.
Our presence here affirms the value of our Sterling education. As Kwame Nkrumah, the first president of the first African country to achieve independence from European colonization, stated,
Education consists not only of the sum of what a man knows or the skill with which he can put this to his advantage. A man’s education must also be measured in terms of the soundness of his judgment of people and things and his power to understand and appreciate the needs of his fellow man and serve them. The educated man should be so sensitive to the conditions around him that he makes it his chief endeavor to improve those conditions for all good.3
The unity we all feel tonight proves that Purple Reigns, our extraordinary heritage lives, and the ties that bound us from 1923 to 1968 still hold and are still unbreakable.
[1] James D. Anderson, The Education of Blacks in the South (Chapel Hill, NC: University of North Carolina Press, 1988), 16.
[2] ibid. 6.
3. Kwame Nkrumah. Speech at Institute of African Studies 25 October 1963.
Ifé Carruthers has been a member of the Kemetic Institute (KI) since 1984. She is a lecturer and curriculum facilitator in the Teaching about Africa program, coordinator of the Issues in Contemporary Africa forum series, and member of the Editorial and Publishing Committee, the Council of Historians, and the Education Committee, which she chaired for over twenty years. A frequent contributor to the Kemetic Voice, she was also published in Kemet and the African Worldview and is one of the authors of the KI’s Language Arts Curriculum.
Her BA is from Tennessee State University, and her MA is from Northeastern Illinois University (now) Carruthers Center for Inner Studies. She is a retired Chicago Public Schools history teacher. A member of the Temple of the African Community of Chicago, she is also a charter member of ASCAC, where she serves as a member of the Executive Committee. Ifé Carruthers has lectured at Temple meetings, ASCAC International and Midwest conferences, including in 2007 in Egypt, and various community venues in Chicago, Seattle, and Kenya. As the widow of Jacob H. Carruthers, she regularly speaks and accepts awards in his honor. She has begun cataloging Dr. Carruthers’ manuscripts and unpublished papers.
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