By Willie Spears, Guest Columnist
Timothy Youngblood, Sr., was a pastor in Union Springs, Alabama, many years ago. I gave the eulogy at his son’s funeral. His son, Timothy Youngblood, Jr., was brother to my Aunt Jean, Rosland, Renee and Uncle Victor. He also spent thirty-plus years in a dating relationship with my mother’s sister. All so confusing, I know. Timothy Youngblood, Sr. was a history maker.
There are history makers in art, athletics, politics, religion and society. My aunt is a history maker and an awesome aunt. Google “Jean Carolyn Youngblood vs. Board of Public Instruction of Bay County, Florida.” On paper, she was the first official Black student in the Bay County Public School System.
The Bay County, Florida, branch of the NAACP, led by its president, the Rev. Timothy Youngblood, Sr., filed a class action lawsuit in U. S. District Court in Marianna, Florida. The suit was against the Board of Public Instruction of Bay County, Florida, now the Bay County District School Board. The lawsuit was filed on May 28, 1964, to desegregate the local school system. This was a decade after Brown V. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas. The lawsuit became known as Jean Carolyn Youngblood vs. Board of Public Instruction of Bay County, Florida. Jean Carolyn Youngblood was the daughter of the Rev. Timothy Youngblood, Sr. The Bay County Branch NAACP was successful and prevailed in this case.
Schools in Bay County were officially integrated in 1968. The federal court had to monitor the school system from 1968 until 1971 to ensure that the school officials followed the court’s order. The first three years of integration were turbulent. White students did not want Black students coming to their schools. They tried to intimidate, frighten and make a mockery of Black students. They often chanted, “Two, four, six, eight, we don’t want to integrate!” There were riots at junior high and high schools from 1968 until the early 1970s.
Black History Month has passed, and we have entered Women’s History Month. I encourage you to research stories of great women in history. Women’s History Month is a dedicated month to reflect on the often-overlooked contributions of women to United States history. From Abigail Adams to Susan B. Anthony, Babe Didrikson, Sojourner Truth and Rosa Parks, the timeline of women’s history milestones stretches back to the founding of the United States.
The actual celebration of Women’s History Month grew out of a weeklong celebration of women’s contributions to culture, history and society organized by a school district in California in 1978. Presentations were given at dozens of schools, hundreds of students participated in a “Real Woman” essay contest, and a parade was held in downtown Santa Rosa.
A few years later, the idea caught on within communities, school districts and organizations across the country. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter issued the first presidential proclamation declaring the week of March 8 as National Women’s History Week. The U.S. Congress followed suit the next year, passing a resolution establishing a national celebration. Six years later, the National Women’s History Project successfully petitioned Congress to expand the event to the entire month of March.
“Now Hiring” is a weekly article written by author and public speaker Willie Spears, a Northwestern alumnus. He has written 13 books and travels around the country, adding value to the lives of others through his books and dynamic presentations. Learn more at www.williespears.com.