Correspondence from Watson to Peppler; Pickens County and The Old South Refuses to Die Articles from Ebony; Robert Hugh Kirksey News Clipping

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1v)9 ^r @e.,oruffiittee
ContrlbutloB to:
P.O, Box 13,064
New York 10049

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iIrop pAUr 

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Menrbers:
I lcnry Aaron

M()il rs B Abra,n
,;l(jv. All{tn

Ailh r n Ashe
.loan Baez

flrrch Bayh
Vrvian., Lleamon

llaily Belalonte
Saul Bellow

John C Bennett
Lorone Benneti, Jr

Viola W Bernard
Leonard Bernslein

Hans A. Belhe
Eugene Carson Blako

Sarah Gibson Blandrng
JUlran Eond

llenry T Bourno
George P Brockway

Edward W Bn)oke
Yvonne Brathwarte Burke

Holen L. Buttenwieser
Munel M Butlrnger

Diahann Carroll
James E Cheek

Shrrley Cl)isholm
Ramsey Clark

Aaron Copland
Brll Cosby

Maxwell Oano
Ossie Davis

RUby Dee
Vr( tor ra DeLeo

Rrtoh Ellrson
Lours Frnkelstein

John Hope Franklrn
Mrs A G Gaslon

Kennelh A Gibson
Harry O (irdeonse

Roland B (irttelsohn
Charles F Goodell

John llnnrmond
Rrchar(l (; tlatclter

Theodore M tlesbrtrqh
Manlyr ll()rne

I r, , 'h .lnvrls
Johr) li .lohnson
Mrs Pe,r;y Julran
Horace M Kaller,

E thr'r K.rnnedy
James I n*,er)ce. Jr

l"1dr Icrner
W Arlhur Lowis

Sarah I arlin Loenrnq
,rohn A Mackay

Archrbal.l t\,lacLersh
H,)racp S Manqes
ll,rrry I Mar,;tl. lll
R"nja,,rrr f Mays

Wrllrarn .1,ril, \ McGrll
Lrnda U McKean

Karl M{,rr|[rqer
Ch,rl, r Merilll
Arthrr Mrtchell
lrall N.wman

Anlhr)nv Nowlcy
[.leanor l]()lri',' r Norlr)n

Rrchar(, t ()ttrreor
Ieon l Panelta

Gord()r) n B P^rks
:ir(,r,'y,,r)rlror

.,oscl)lr I ll.ilrh, .lr
(';rrl I ll0wi[)

.1.)hil I :lirll,)|,,t;tll. .rr
Wrlltorr ll 'i( lIr(lo

Arlhur !i..lrl,',,,il,Jnr. .tr
Charkrs l .,lbr.rrnarr

.iotr.r t, Sproqel
Wrllrarn Styron
Iott,'r,! laylor

liarrlt,, C t.Jrey
Roborl P0r)n Warrcn

Rot,ort C Y/r,ilcr
To,ir W,ckcr

MyIlre Evers y'Jrllrams

JAMES R R()NINSON
Secrctat y

ef 100"
IN SUPPORT OF THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC.

SUITE 2030 / 10 COLUMBUS CIRCLE, NEW YORK, N.Y. 10019 / Telephone (212) 586-8397

May 25, L982

To: James PePPIer
Apartment #16
80 Jericho TurnPike
Syossetr New York II791
Telephone: Area Code 516 (home) gZL-l548i

(photo desk) 454-2838

David Watson
826 Polk Street
MontgomerY, Alabama 36107
Telephone: Area Code 205-264'4089

From: James R. Robinson
Telephone: Area Code 212 (office) Se6-8397 and

(home) t 99-7130

I am enclosing xerox copies of the arti-cl-e in the
May l9B2 issue of EBONY magazine. The photographs may
not be very clear, but I think the overall article will
give you some sense of the area and of the two women
who are involved

PROR4BLE
I

R TO CALL ME RIGHT AWAY ON HIS RETURN IF THIS WEEKEND

NOT WORK.

I am holding space on a Delta flight from LaGuardia
leaving June 5 at 7 o'clock in the morning. It is a
direct flight with one stop and arrives in Montgomery
at 9,240 (which is the same as L0:40 New York time I believe).

I am also holdirrg space on a flight from Montgomery
leaving at 6225 on Sunday with a change in Atlanta and
arriving in LaGuardia at Llz20 at night. However, I am
going to check on a possible alternate flight from

THE NAACP LEGAL DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND is not parl ol the National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People allhough it was lounded by it and shares its commitmsnt to equal rights. LDF has had lor over 20
years a separate Board, program. stall, ollice and budget. A copy ol the last linancial reporl of THE NAACP LEGAL
DEFENSE AND EDUCATIONAL FUND, INC may be oblained by wnling lo The New York State Department of Stato,
lfi2 Waslrinqton Aventre. Albany New York 1?231. , ot to this oflrcc Pleasc usp s..paral6 envelope lo (€qiJesl ronorl

WEEKEND: Saturday and Sunday, June 5 and 6.



James Peppler
David l{atson

2.
May 25, 1982

Birmingham as David Watson teIls me that Pickeng County
is closer to Birmingham than to Montgomery, d }t might
make good sense to go and see Mrs. Bozeman and Mrs. Wilder
in Tuskegee on Saturday, drive back through to possibly
Tuscaloosa for Saturday night, and go to Pickens. County
on Sunday and then on to Birmingham for Mr.
his friend to take a flight back to New York.

The LDF attorney working on the Bozeman and Wilder
cases is Ms. Lani Guinier, and she is planning to come
down shortly after your visit -- the week of June 7 or
the following week.

My idea is to use photographs and quotes from the
two women so that we give a strong sense of personality
to the fund raising piece. It will need, of course, to
hint at and extend into the importance of our voting rights
work in general.

And, of course, the writing must be approved by
Ms. Guinier to make sure that, in the process of popularizing,
we 'do not misrepresent anything.

Many thanks,

James R. Robinson
Secretary



The Gounty Where
For many Blacks, Pickens Couf,ty,

DICKE.\S Countv, \labama. is
I much like the tvpical mral counties
in the Deep South. The summers are
hot, the winters mild, and the cotton
grows high. In Pickens County, buzz-
ing chain saws and the thunder of
crashinq tirnber can be heard from
Aliceville to Reform. In Carrollton. the
countv seat, everything is quiet until
people go into "town" on Saturday.
The first stop is Carrollton Supermar-

ket for the rveek's groceries, then
sometimes thinqs are needed from the
Carrollton Hardware Store across the
street.

But with all ofits similarities to other
Southern counties, Pickens Countv is
still somewhat different. In manv
wavs, it seems like this countv (90
rniles southwest of Birmingham) hrr.s

been covered by a protective bubble
and thus has escaped the effects of

-€
cllI0

r'lsfiUil t

Pickrns County, Ala- is one of those pkes where
the 'Old South is still verv much alive. Many
Blacks say the county "is 5 years behind other
Alabama counties."

-;:fr:irrir":-.-trr-
f-
l'
t_.,f,

:;'
ii I

tg

!

ln dorrtorn Carr0llto[, he county seat, there is little activi$' on the streets until the weekend when most people cb their shoppinq. The town is famous firr the
mvsterious reappearing '['ac'e in the courthouse window" said to be that of a lvnched Black man mused o[ rrping a White womm in 187ti

After all-lYhite juries conytcted \{rs. \laqgie lJozenran rleti) .rnd !lrs. Julia
Wilcler on vote-tiaud charges rnd sentenced them to harsh prison terrns.
anqru Blacks conducted a lil-dav rnarch lrom Canollton to Moutqomew to
protest the rtions.

1'E
ffl:

EBONY . Nt:v, l9g2



the 'Old South' Refuses to Die
Ala., is a painful reflection of the past
Freedom Riders, the civil rights
movement and the host of civil rights
acts that followed. "It's a shame, but
very little has chansed in Pickens
Countv since 1954," savs Willie Davis,
president of the Pickens County
Southern Christian leadership Con-
[erence.

Consider these examples:
. In Aliceville, the county's largest

town, Black leaders say some Black

citv workers (mainly sanitation work-
ers) who have been on thejob 16and 17
years are paid less than Whites who do
the same job but have been emploved
less than three years.

. Although there aren't any "Col-
ored" and "White" signs to suggest
segregation, there are separate waiting
rooms for Black and White patients at
one White doctor's office in Carrollton.
Patients say it's "understood" which

BY WALTER LEAVY

waiting room they are to enter.
. Despite the fact that 42 percrnt of

the county's residents are Black, no
Black candidate has ever won in a

county-wide election. Some Blacks say
they are told by Whites that Blacks
can't vote in certain elections and
many others fear being intimidated by
Whites if they do vote, so they choose
not to go to the polls.

. Mrs. Johnnie Matthews, vice

A monumont outside the Pickens CounW Court House in Carrollton is dedicated to memory of veterans of the Spanish-American Wu, the World Wm, md
to "the men who wore the grev. " Sheriff louie Coleman denies any racism in Pickens Countv. "Colored people do whatever thev want here," he uys.

Ite all-lYhitc Pickcns Acadcmy in Canollton is the onlv private school in the countv
only," the1,sav.

EBONY . 
^tloy, 

1982

No Blacks have sent theirchildren there b<:cause "private'' means "White

Continued on Nerf Poge 115



a

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Circuit Court Judge Clatus Junkin, who t"*a ,f.,. "*.Ifffi
ffi 5ll,, X::',,"rrj; :.:Tl*:X1e ." .1,.,". c 1, 

"i., "'L"," a,, p-r -. ii"t".".i o n p.o bu-bon. but gave a white mlice chiefi ,o-rno.i,h'r*p";J;i."".fi;:'il;:?il"11i:::
ized aid to a voter. "pari of mv sentence was based r, ,rr. r*t ii*, ;J ;ffi.ii;'nk,n ,"ur.PICKENS COU NTY conr;nued

president of the pickens County,
SCLC, operates the only Black-ownej
business (a record shop) in downtown
Aliceville. The outspoken civil rights
worker savs she has been threate-ned
manv times bv Whites who say thev
are going to "shut my mouth and rrn
me out of downtown."

. In many instances, Blacks are
subjected to arrest lf thev socialize
with Whites. Such was the tase of tro
young Black men in Reform, Ala., who
were arrested and chnrged with .,row-
dvism" while having an integrated
pirrtv at a motel. "White folki don't

play that here," says one elderlv
farmer who has lived in pickens
Counlv all of his life.

. Some banks and other businesses
refuse to serve Black.s, especially if
thev participate in any form^of proiest
or demonstration.

. There is only one Black deputv on
Sheriff Louie Ctleman's ,taff,^bui he
has no authoritv to arrest anvone.
Bobbv John Windo* 

"o.,tt 
*.ii;lrJ

couldn't pass the necessarv examina_
tions to become a depury s'heriff, but,
nevertheless, Coleman says he hirej
him because he's "a good toy."

, . D.uring the pnst lew years, there
havs bsg6 several unsolved mvsteries
involvinq the deaths ,r,d dirrpp.*r_
ances of Black persons in pickens
County. "The lynching of Blacks has
never stopped in west Alabama, and
Blacks, especially in pickens C";;;,
keep their mouths shut because ther.
don't want to be next on the ltt,.'says
Wendell Paris of the Minoritv peoples
Council in nearby Sumter Counry.

ESPITE these situations, manv of
which are violations of federal

laws, Pickens Countv didn't .eceire

Aftcr a rainy and. snory l3-day trek Urm CarrJt]on to \lon-tgonrerv, protest-
:::.:::ll,j^pl":ards rat riqht) reach the ,teps.rr the Ca'pitot to demandpardons for the hvo convicted ciril riqhl *o'.t"., 

".ja a.-and exten-sion of the Ig65 Votinq Rights Act.

I,
ni

crnd

146
EBONY . Moy, t982



much attention until it was thrust
into the national spotlight when the
county's two top civil rights leaders,
Mrs. Julia Wilder, 70, and Mrs.
Maggie Bozeman, 51, were accused
of vote fraud, tried seParatelY bY

all-White juries, convicted and given
harsh prison sentences. Angry Blacks
protested that it was "a politica-l
iynching, " "selective prosecution"
and an attempt by Whites to get the
women out of the countY because
they were helping to bring about
changes that Whites weren't ready to
accept. The convictions so enraged

Blacks that their pent-up frustrations
exploded and gave birth to a I3-daY,

160-mile, Carrollton-to-Montgomery
protest march that swelled to 4,000
by the time the Procession reached
the marble steps of Alabama's
Capitol on FebruarY 18- "This'was
only the beginning of the neus civil
rights movement," says the leader of
the march, the Rev. JosePh Lowery,
president of the SCLC.

While protesters demanded the
release oflMrs. Wilden president of
the Pickens CountY Voters League,
and Mrs. Bozeman, President of the

-...fal'f-r.- !a ,

ln ncightoring Greene counry, Probate court Judge william M. Branch (1.) and sheaffThomas
CilmJre pos-e ortside the sheriffs oftce in Eutaw, the counW seat. Unlike Pickens County, Blacks fill

In; Ella Camcron, (left),
who has run for CitY
Council in Aliceville
twice and lost, says, "I
haven't had any real
problems with White
lblk here. " But Matthews
Music Center owner
Mrs. Johnnie Matthews
says Whites tfueatened
to "shut my mouth" and
close the dmrs of only
dorvntown Black-owned
business.

Pickens County NAACP, the women
were hoping for pardons from the
Alabama Board of Pardons and
Paroles. The charges against them
stemmed from their efforts to helP
elderlv and illiterate Blacks cast ab-
sentee ballots during the f 978
Democratic primary runoff election.
Pickens County District Attornev
Presley Johnston, who describes
Mrs. Bozeman as "a divisive force in
the Black communitY," saYs the
women cast absentee ballots for 39
elderly Blacks without their permis-
sion. "The women collected absentee
ballot applications from the County
Elections Commission and used cen-
tral addresses for mailing them," the
prosecutor says. "After they were all .

notarized by the same Person (who
didn't witness the signatures), they
left the ballots with the CountY
Elections Commission. Each ballot
had the same candidate preference. "

However, on election daY, Mrs.
Sophie Spann, whose name was on one
of the ballots in question, showed up at
the polls to vote and insisted that she
had not signed an absentee ballot.
After unlocking the ballot box and
finding Mrs. Spann's name on a ballot,
Mrs. Wilder and Mrs. Bozeman were
arrested, charged and indicted on one
count ofvote fraud. Later, at the trial,
both insisted they were innocent and
chose not to testi!. Meanwhile, 12 of
the prosecution's 13 witnesses said
they asked the women to helP them
cast absentee bdlots, but Mrs. Spann
(79 years old at the time) said she didn't
renlember signing an absentee ballot-
So, despite several questions con-
cerning the soundness ofthe case, the
all-White juries voted fior convictions
and sentenced Mrs. Wilder to five
years in prison (the maximum) and
Mrs. Bozeman to four vears. Under
Alabama law, the juries set the sen-
tence. Thev could have sentenced
them to prison terms ranging from two
to {ive years instead of to the maxi-
mum.

Immediately after the trial, the
womens attorney, Solomon SeaY Jr.,
filed for an appeal, but the convictions
were upheld bv the all-White Alabama
Court ofAppeals even though the jus-
tices wrote that "the testimony was

both confusing and conflicting." The
state Supreme Court refused to review
the case, as did the U.S. SuPreme
Court in November. So, in one last
attempt to keeP the women out of
prison, Seav asked Circuit Court Judge
Clatus Junkin, who heard the cases, to
set aside the sentences and place his

Continucd on Ncrf Pogc 117
all ofGriene County's elected positions except one judgeship

EBONY . /tloy, 1982



llcrtcrt lrrcndcr. principd of Albeville High School for fouryears, s:rys, ''Iherc's a lot to be desired here (Pickens County). We're certainly not where we

ought to b€." And Cheryl Blair, a longtime SCI,C member, says Blacks have been intimidated by Whites and "are afraid to rock the boat."

PICKENS COUNTY coatiavod

clients on probation. Iro{rically, it was

Junkin who sat at Mrs. Wilder's
kitchen table and showed her how to
fill out absentee ballots when she and
Mrs. Bozeman were suppofing his
re-€lection in 1976, but he refused le-
niency (Junkin had earlier sentenced a
White police chief in Haleyville, Ala-,
to six months on a charge of unau-
thorized aid to a voter and then sus-
pended the sentence). The women
were whisked to Tutwiler State Prison
for Women in Wetumpka, Ala, in ]aqr-
uary. However, after only 11 days b6-
hind prison walls, Alabama Gov. For-
rest (Fob) James intervened and Mrs.
Wilder and Mrs. Bozeman were
placed in an unusual work release pro-
gram. The procedure gave Macon
County Sheriff Lucius Amerson (ffrst
Black sheriff after Reconstruction) cus-
tody of the women, who are doing
public service work and living with a

longtime friend in Tuskegee, Ala. At
no time are they locked up.

FVEN thoueh the absence of Mrs.
E wild"r 

"rrd 
M.r. Bozeman is evi-

dent, life goes on in this slow-paced
county where Black people in
Aliceville, Carrollton, Pickensville,
Reform and other Pickens County
towns are just like oumerous others
who live in rural areas throughout the
South. Some live in modest homes
neartown, but thedusty back roads are
decorated with shacks and shanties
that are barely standing. Workdays
usually begin at sunrise and end at sun-

148

set. And, after a long day of hauling
timber or working in soybean or cotton
ffelds, many spend the evening relax-
ing on their porches - enjoying the
bench-like swing and exchanging
stories while smoke from a smoldering
fire in a washtub or bucket swirls into
the air to keep mosquitoes away. If
they don't go to church for prai,er
meeting, they are usually in bed before
10 p. m., and like clockwork, their daily
routines begin all o.ver again right after
the next day's sun peeks over the hori-
?,on.

For most of the 21,000 people in
Pickens County, this is how they've
lived much of their lives - by certain
rules and fearful ofchange. It has been
more than difficult for young civil
rights workers to persuade older
Blacks to exercise some of their rights
(like voting) or fight for those rights
they are being denied. "Black people
here have been intimidated by Whites
who threaten to deny them certain
services if they get out of line," says

Cheryl Blair, a longtime SCLC
member who has worked side-by-side
with Mrs. Wilder and Mrs. Bozeman.
"Blacks in Pickens County aren't re-
bellious people, and many of those
who have lived here a long time are
scared to buck the system."

Despite the fact that Blacks continue
to cry that there's a conspiracy to keep
the county in the hands of White
elected officials, many Whites are
quick to say it's not true. "There's no
conspiracy," District Attorney John-

ston says flatly. And Sheriff Coleman,
who has a picture of former Alabama
Gov. George Wallace on the wall be-
hind his desk, says:'There's no racism
here. I got all kinds of c.olored friends

-good 
Fiends. Colored people come

and go as they please, and even the
voting is open to them."

Whether there's aconspiracy or not,
Pickens County has lagged far behind
it's sister counties just a few miles
down the road. In Greene, Sumter,
l-owndes, Wilcox and Perry counties,
Black elected officials are in the major-
ity. But it will be difficult to elect a

Black county official in Pickens County
as long as there's an at-large voting
system (where candidates run county
wide), instead of electoral districts in
which a candidate is chosen by voters
in the district only. With 12,873 regis-
tered White voters and only 4,429
registered Black voters, Whites can
control the county-wide system. Some
Black leaders say Whites have even
gone to the extent of giving Black
people hams and turkeys in exchange
for agreeing to stay away from the polls
on election day. "As long as actions like
these continue, Blacks will never move
forward in this county, says Mrs. Mat-
thews of the SCLC.

In many ways, Alabama's Pickens
County has somehow managed not to
move into the 1980s, the '70s or even
the mid-'60s. Whites seem to be satis-
fied, but most of the Blacks feel like
they are living in "one ofthe last pock-
ets of the Old South."

EBONY . Moy, 1982



[ 5U, ttobert Hugn $.rf,sey $ launcnmg our on trtli luur]u uarscr
the University of Alabama.

"h$Jd',flttr#i"i#liixJ r Alabama
college in Ctarlestoq S.C. The Army 

-
cauei up tbe RCIrc'Beniors at lt-e 

-
Tlre resldmts of Rclorm aDd Ali-

ceville bueked up against his plao"
Neither torn wanted to give up its
bospital, erren tharg! tiey probably

' would get better medicrl oare lroo
rthe larg?r trcspital.

Finally, rfter e bitter fighl voters
. in Pickens County approved the

to Strl[rorth
,ssociste editor

. a gtod lktttenaaa iD e rille
It ts IWemtu of l91l

' Mt ptis}rd tato Cienfrny.
rc altzctiag wne pillbta,
,''t rtgbl up rext to oae.
'effiawte$iog blap@
,lrc ldt side.I gpl a pldfr ol
i lrca eD artiller! rouDd,
eee lo ay lett arm aod

- picrv ia my pw. I Haeked
rt I nanated to get btcl
an oN lield ad bic* tDtD
k tor/a.
' inlo an aid twa aod he bao-
me W To bdage my ite,
ad W tath tuoa tb ilnp
iwl naWd my rtole N

-ernemlb txn@ op th*e
.W.t ay bN, dI cot'erd
d. I hd to cone Md b the
lor to opentiln. I renen0rlr
tg lt wes a million dollar

r the anonymous German
ryman vho pumped shell
.nts inoo his body in l9{{ to
.iical oppooents wto badgered
h€n hswas probate judge of
s Courty, nd,€rt Hugh Kirt-
.s collected his chsre ol eoe

duriug his ehnost-20 years
oate ludge b Picleo Cornty,
rctcd his sbarc o( frieo&.
. , es dircctor of rlumni
. his rob b q.lirg &iexb for

Inside,

Ot del at tbe ead of lel3, and cent
tlem throutb infantry Oflieers Can-
didr0e Sdool at Fort flebning. ADd
Kirtsey round up a sec0od lhuteo-
rDr i! ibe s{th litsuy..sivisml tD
November of l9{1, he got his "mil-
lioa dollar roud'lid crrm hosa€.

He finished up bii'hst*s at The
Citadel and met e flrctty,gtl rt a
danct i.n M8coD, Miss. Tbey-ss33
oarried.lrst b€bre be weot l0!o tbe
University of Alebama liw schml.

'@ming out of law sghool, a friend
.tol{ lim of a Fb opportulty with a :-
aewly elected oongressman'from r
Sout[ Carolina, rnd b6 speut triro .

years ln Sashlogton ac the ron. '
gressman's administrative asristant.

Bach hme in AlicwiUg tettilg
stirted as a latyer was tough.
Anotier friend, then-US. Rep. Carl
Elliott called bim and offered tbe
iob of prtmaster. He took the Job,
and remembers that "the 11,800 sal-
ary hohed llke 118,000 to me."

As postmastJer, he worked with the
cbamber of commerce, tryiug to
laM some lDdnstry for tbe lom end
the cuuaty. And another friend. Jobn
Curry, arlcd him to go lato law
precthe with hirn Ee gave up the
post olfice, and started practlclng
lew.

Tben another friend, then-Gov.
Joha Patterson appobted him pro
bate ffie iD 1902. Fq tlc Dert two

Judge Robert Kirk*y
sir-year terms, he bad no oppmition
for the Job - shtch signifies a lot of
frimds rnd few enemies.

ltea be 8ot lo0o a bassle rhich
made hlm few friends rnd e lot of
eoemles - he wanted to close two
little 80-,bcd Dospitalr at Aliceville
and Beform, and build a braud nes
hcpit:l, big enougt to attrac{ a doc-
tfi.

ists te says worked against him
when be ras probate Judge.

"This little grup of laarttistg
wanted thiop !o be disrupte4 tiey
wanted black people dissatisfied.
One of tbe black activistt sentcd
her people out of bondage, hil tIey
weren't in bondage any more.

"She painted an lnaecurate pic-
ture, it was terribly frustratiog.
They said: ltrese people are stlte
and we can't tnrst tbem. Thcy'rc t[e
worst racists I've erer !cco. ltey
can't be satislied, oo matter rbrt
yqt do."

Itey called him r ndd, bot he
remembers the tlmc rbcn rhlte
people in Plckens Couaty cdlGd hlm
an "ultra liberal" wheo be reot ot
into the ball of tbe courthoure rnd

took dosn tf,e 'thite only" sigts
Irom tte rrter fountaias.

His oldest daughter, Mary Becs
f,irtsey, sest lo tle university al(l
bed e part tlne rob in the unlversity
hosing office. Dr. Jorb Tbmrs ras
thel lD cterge o1 5snsln$ rnd sbe
mct him there. And she introdueed
hcr fathcr !o Dr. Tbomls.

Later, rftlr e trip to North Crru
Una $rte as cttancellor, Dr. ltomas
came bacl to 6e University et Pre!.
Ident.

Xirltey ltas b€ea worling in uni-
wrsity dunni E tlers lor t[e past
f5 yoers He rerved as natiooal prcs.
ldent of tbe uatuctsity dumni rp
ciatioo ln l9?1, ud rrs Beco tb€
distiugulrbed elumnus rard ln
trto.

'The mlvcnity bad beeo looking
for e dirrctor of elumai rffdrs lor
ebott tro yeare rbea I)r. ftmes
put in a crll lc Ju{e Kirtley !t tic
courtboule in Carolltoo.

I vas standing tbcre sith Eorae
Le, the aunty.tgqr,r, vher be
calld, aad Dr. Thomas sid: Ou
*ard @mmittee Ms ben vorkiag
for lboot tao yer?c, nd they
haYea't lound an iluanl dltetor
te| Ib N alrl.tt rudy b tate tb
hll by 0b holrza 2d te aaLe tbe
,ppetutaydl. \

I td& Yot kmr,I tilrt fib drre.
I ttlil mt Ngtt to b t,,,s' Ad b
safi* ID lrLt I tr;lietc I tU tb meo
plctcd wt. I asled hla: Do Yw
nlod bilbg ae tho yw\e got ln

miad. Yeah, }r-sid, kb lttr*sr;y.
The awty aglner sid I tuaet

vbite. I toltl him I tould gtve i
mc praycrfal trircilterzt*a and .

,at }flf,e to telk it ovfj{, eith Uil
lic, site she nd I male tll oat
declslons together. Abost'tlvt
rninutes allor I got home, qe hu
a*l n ruldh lL

As elurni direc'tor, f,irtsey hope
!o ?ull toget[er the purpose au
goals of ths gtrtmni with tbe ptr.
pces aod goals of tle administra.
tion."

ODe tl'ing be wants to do, he Eaid
'h to rtcruit quaUty studeob for tlt
university. We plau to use tbt
aluiuni as taleot sconb, to recruil
good rbdeuts to ihe university irsr
as re htve traditionally rccruitct
athletes. And rhile alumni cannot
rccruit athletes, they cen nBcrui:
good studeats."

At 59, he ls starting a third or
fourth career - wlth postmaster
lewyer, and tudge behlnd him. l

asked rhat he rould be dolng l(
yean from Dow, aDd he lsughed.

"I doat Lnor rbat I'll bc ibing f{
years Imm mr, but I cu tcU w:ha,

4{ _be oo py_epitaph. It rlll say: i
mLD YOt I WAs SrcX."

SeAourly, bc reld hc hopcs "h
male me .loog raoge coofrlbutior
to thc Uaivcri$ of 

-Alebrna. 
Irve

drryr lorrcd t[G Univetrlty of Ala.
Emr. They do things rigbt, in a

class ray, tt tb€ unielrdty.'

Dr. Solomoo 28 Compact living 3B Divine calllrg {B Needlewott 6B Children's momls ?B



Fi*au @odg Fourl of &rdior
Glrrdlton, $lahnru fiig7

llay L2, LgBz

A1lcevllle-Carrollton Branch
NAACP

Copy of plckene County policy Manualand all amendments

55 pagee copled G 30C each $16. s0

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