TO GET INVOLVEDFor more information about the African-American Historical Society of Bradley County, call Dr. Terril Littrell at 423-728-5413.
CLEVELAND, Tenn. — If Bradley County inner-city youth knew that black entrepreneurs once had their own business district on Inman Street, it might spark a new business district, said Cleveland resident Dr. Harry Johnson.
“Young people can become entrepreneurs, too,” he said. “History is still being made. It isn’t over yet.”
Dr. Johnson is one of nearly a dozen Bradley County black and white professionals who established the African-American Historical Society of Bradley County.
Members are writing a book about the historical contributions of blacks in Bradley County they hope to publish in 2012.
“It’s never been done before. There is nothing comprehensive on the history of blacks in Bradley County,” said Lawrence Armstrong, chairman of the Bradley County chapter of the NAACP. “Just like American history, it needs to be shared.”
The historical society recently collected hundreds of photos of black students at Cleveland State Community College from the late 1960s.
Inman Street, in the middle of Cleveland, was lined in the 1950s and 1960s with black doctors’ offices, restaurants, drug stores and dry cleaners, but most young people don’t know that, said Dr. Johnson, who holds a doctorate in ministry.
Blacks dominated that commercial district until the 1970s, when most of the businesses were bought out in urban renewal plans. Those plans were supposed to revitalize the area by widening the streets and revamping most of the properties.
“It just destroyed the black community, especially the business district,” said Avery Johnson, the city’s vice mayor and a member of the historical society. He is not related to Harry Johnson.
The historical group also is establishing a list of all the blacks in the community who have served in politics.
It’s important that no people are left out of the history, said Dr. Terril D. Littrell, a retired American history teacher who is white. He is also a retired United Methodist minister and an African-American Historical Society member.
“Really, the labor force behind this nation was the African-American labor force, from slavery all the way up through the years,” he said. “But, for the most part, their contribution was written right out like they didn’t exist.”
People need to know who they are and from where they come, said Dr. Johnson, who formerly served on the Cleveland City School Board and as a Bradley County commissioner. He retired as director of Cleveland Community Services in 2009.
“We want our story to be told,” he said. “If you know the history, maybe you will not repeat the bad, and the good history becomes an inspiration.”
Blacks overcame barriers to become leaders in the church, military, politics, and education, Avery Johnson said, and each of the topics will be discussed in the historical society’s book.
Having a book of black history may give the area’s youth inspiration, Mr. Armstrong said.
“They don’t know the history and they don’t see a lot of African-Americans on the police department or (having big businesses) right now,” he said, “but at one time they were there and now that history will be made available.”
Avery Johnson said he remembers being a student at College Hill High School in the 1950s, receiving secondhand textbooks and being the last school to get a gym.
Nevertheless, the school produced doctors, teachers and several black professionals, he said. At least two NBA players came out of the school — Alvin Scott, who played for the Phoenix Suns, and Darnell Meed, who played with the Denver Nuggets.
College Hill was the only school blacks could attend within at least 30 miles, Avery Johnson said, so blacks from Meigs, Polk and other surrounding counties went there. The school burned down in 1966 during the start of integration, he said.
“It’s always been a suspicious fire because of integration,” Avery Johnson said. “Many people in Cleveland believed it was (arson), but it was never proven.”