Return To Black History
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     Frances Tolliver, a professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and author of the thesis "The Lost Black History of White County," spoke to the White County Historical Society about her research Monday night.
   Tolliver said she studied the colony of African-Americans who had settled in an area near Mt. Vernon. Although Mt. Vernon is located in Faulkner County, Tolliver showed the society a map depicting the location of the colony in White County.
   In addition to using maps to track history, Tolliver said that the best way to get history is, through  those who are alive and remember events.
   One such person who Tolliver spoke with was Telmon Boyd Nix. Nix, 89, was to accompany Tolliver to the meeting, but Nix was unable to attend because of a doctor's appointment.
   However, Curtis Sykes, a commissioner on the black history commission and Harding College graduate, was in attendance. Tolliver said that Sykes was the first African American to be admitted to the college.
   "I am proud to be his friend," she said.
   In addition to the announcement regarding Sykes, Tolliver also presented a brochure about Rosenwald schools to the society.
    The Julius Rosenwald schools were created to help the African-American community receive a better education, according to Tolliver. She said that Rosenwald, the founder of Sears, Roebuck and Company, would pay for one-third of the cost of a school building. The local people were in charge of gaining land and the remaining capital for the structure.
   Rosenwald died in 1932. He said that he wanted the money that he set aside for these schools to be allotted within 25 years. According to Tolliver, the money was allotted within 10 years.
   "Rosenwald tried to right a wrong," she said.
   In addition to the Rosenwald School near Mt. Vernon, Tolliver said that another Rosenwald School may have been discovered in Beebe. She said she is still researching the history of the school to determine its origins. She estimated that the school was built in 1944. It is a one-room structure with "blackboards around the walls," according to Tolliver.
   Tolliver said that Searcy was also home to a Rosenwald school, also called the White County Training School. She said this type of school was for African-Americans to either earn a GED or to prepare to be accepted into an institution of higher learning.
   Next month's presentation will feature R.C. McCourt speaking on the Great Depression.

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