Dr. Ira James Kohath Wells

                               Ira James Kohath Wells, educator, editor and
                               political organizer (also known as I.J.K. Wells)
                               was born in Tamo, Arkansas, July 1, 1898 to
                               William James Wells and Emma Brown Wells

                               He attended elementary school under the esteemed
                               Professor Samuel Vaster at Tamo and finished high
                               school at Branch Normal College in Pine Bluff (now
                               the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff). He received
                               a B. A. degree in Business from Lincoln University
                               (Pennsylvania) in 1923. He was a contemporary
                               classmate of the distinguished educator and scholar,
                               Dr. Horace Mann Bond and eminent poet and educator,
                               Melvin Tolson.

                               While at Lincoln University, Wells was a leader and
                               organizer. The 1923 Lincoln Yearbook, The PAW,
                               described him as a member of the Student Anti-
                               Lynching delegation before President Warren Harding,
                               and founder and student organizer of the "Colored
                               Student Movement."

                                Dr. Wells received an honorary Doctor of Pedagogy
                                degree from Lincoln University in 1941, an honorary
                                Doctor of Laws degree from Allen University, and a
                                Master of Arts degree from the University of Pittsburgh
                                in 1944. The citation given by Lincoln University's
                                Dean, George Johnson, on conferring the Honorary
                                Doctor of Pedagogy read- Ira James Kohath Wells
                                        "a man of versatile interests; with
                                         knowledge of human nature, endowed with
                                         great sympathy for all sorts and conditions
                                         of men; an able exponent of interracial
                                         understanding; a cooperative worker in
                                         every field of social uplift; a most loyal
                                         alumnus who Lincoln University delights
                                         to honor."

                                As an educator, Dr. Wells was the State Supervisor
                                of Negro Education in West Virginia from 1933 to
                                1952. This position, the first of its kind in the country
                                which he helped to create, enabled African-Americans
                                to have a greater voice in the administration and
                                supervision of their schools. As a major key officer in
                                West Virginia education, he is credited with helping
                                build the " Best integrated state school system in America."
                                He was a teacher at Stratton High School, Beckley,
                                West Virginia. In later years (1971), he initiated the
                                Black Studies program at Cheyney State College, PA.

                                He was the organizer and chairman of the Negro Democratic
                                Committee of West Virginia. In the 1932 presidential election,
                                he was one of the country's leaders who helped change
                                the majority of African-Americans' allegiances since the
                                Civil War from the Republican Party to the Democrat Party.

                                His first job after college was with the Pittsburgh Courier
                                which he considered one of the most beneficial of his life
                                which established his interest in journalism. He founded
                                and published Color Magazine, the first African-American
                                pictorial magazine, in 1944. It was patterned after Life Magazine,
                                and reached a circulation over a hundred thousand before its
                                demise fourteen years later. He sold stock in Color Inc. to finance
                                the magazine.

                                Dr. Wells had two brothers, Lewis and C.L Wells, three sisters,
                                Evelyn Wells, Emma Wells Dawson, and Genoa Wells Keith.
                                He was married to Edna Virginia Clowden (1934) of Anawalt,
                                West Virginia, a school teacher. He was the father of two
                                children, Ira James Kohath Wells, Jr., and Edna Anita V.
                                He died of a stroke on December 26, 1997 in Philadelphia,
                                Pennsylvania.

                                My mother, Mary Bluford Turner, knew the Wells family.
                                She was a dear friend of Genoa Wells Keith. in 1994, Solomon L.
                                Keith, (Genoa's son) sent my mother a copy of a picture of
                                the 1935 Wells Family Reunion in Tamo, Arkansas. My father's
                                step brother, Cap Shelton, was in the picture.

                                My recollections are of Genoa Wells Keith pressing and curling
                                my hair as a child in 1946 in St. Louis, Missouri, subsequent
                                visitations to her home, and contacts with her son. Emma Wells
                                Dawson's husband owned a Variety Store in Pine Bluff, near
                                4th and State Streets where I worked briefly as a teenager.

                                During Dr. Wells long career he championed the rights of workers
                                and the rights of African-Americans. He used African Art, Culture
                                and History to enhance the self-image of African- Americans.
                               He left an enduring legacy of achievement and service, and in
                               1985 was honored as a recipient of the Distinguished West
                               Virginia Award during the West Virginia Black Cultural Festival.



     Sources:             Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Newspaper, Obituary, Sunday,
                                January 25, 1998.
                                A Short Sketch About I.J.K. Wells, Sr., A Resident of Philadelphia.
                                Lincoln University Library Special Collections, The PAW." 1923
                                Lincoln University Yearbook.
                                University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum and Cultural Center.
                                "Recollections of Gladys Turner Finney."

                                  
                                             


                      

Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Headstone Dedication

                                                          

Memorial Day, May 27, 2013,alumni and friends of the University of Arkansas at
Pine Bluff, Forest Park Historical Society members, and area residents gathered
at the historic Forest Home Cemetery in Forest Park, Illinois to dedicate the newly
erected headstone for Dr. Joseph Carter Corbin.

The headstone, erected by the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project, co-sponsored
by the Black History Commission of Arkansas, and alumni and friends of the
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a memorial to Dr. Corbin, an Ohioan, who
was the founder and first president of Branch Normal College, now the University
of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

Presiding was Dr. Gladys Turner Finney, alumna and chairperson of the headstone
project who discovered Dr. Corbin's gravesite, and raised money for a headstone
for Dr. Corbin, his wife, Mary Jane and two sons, John W. and William H. Corbin.

The speaker was Congressman Danny Davis, U. S. House of Representatives,
Illinois 7th District, an alumnus of the University. Other program participants were
the nationally acclaimed genealogist, Tony Burroughs and Commissioner Carla Coleman,
Chair of the Black History Commission of Arkansas. Kitti Jackson substituted for
Henri Linton, Director of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum and
Cultural Center who could not attend. Christine Parker, Jackey Cason, and
Frederick McNeal, Jr. represented the Chicago Alumni Chapter of UAPB.
Anthony Calderone, mayor of the Village of Forest Park, presented a Resolution
from the Council, commemorating the dedication.

Jackey Cason, President of the Chicago Alumni Chapter, presented a $500.00
check to the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project from the National UAPB
Alumni President, Calvin Booker. Roland G. Price of RG Price & Associates
of Chicago presented a check for $300.00.

Tributes were received from Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown, Ohio Governor,
John R. Kasich, Ohio House of Representatives, Roland Winburn, 34th District,
Arkansas House of Representatives, Mike Holcomb, and Arkansas Senate-
Senator Stephanie Flowers, 25th District.  

Masonic Resolutions were received from The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand
Lodge of Arkansas, and The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Illinois.  

Congressman Danny Davis and Arkansas Senator, Mark Pryor placed tributes
in the 113th Congressional Record.

After  the dedication, there was a Meet and Greet at Shanahan's Restaurant.

The Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship Funds

Preparing the next generation-

The Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship Funds' vision is to make a
difference through scholarships for social work students at Wright State University,
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, and the Whitney M. Young School of Social Work.


The first  Gladys Turner Finney Scholarship was established at AM&N College in 1974
by Frederick M. Finney in honor of his wife, a 1957 graduate of AM&N College,
now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. (UAPB)

How to Give-

Gifts may be made by cash, check, money order, or major credit cards.

Tax deductible Gifts for the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship for
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff may be made to UAPB Alumni Scholarship
Endowment Fund, Office of Alumni Affairs, 1200 North University Drive,
Mail Slot 4929, Pine Bluff, Arkansas, 71601; 870-575-8499.

Tax deductible Gifts for the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship
Fund (2754) for Wright State University social work students may be made to
The Dayton Foundation, 500 Kettering Tower, Dayton, Ohio 45423;
937-225-9966.

                          UAPB Gladys Turner Finney Social Work
                                            Scholarship Recipients

1976                 Anita J. Stennis
1977                 Veronica Branch
                          Evelyn Bates
1980                  Jo Ellen Lee
1986                  Kenzie Wallace
1986                  Debra Mixon
1987                  Herbert L. Hemphill
1989                  Lillie White
1990                  Joyce King
1999                  Debra Williams Martinez
2004                  Kimberly Brown
2006                  Annie Bryant
2007                  Karen Hawkins
2008                  Bryanna E. Graham 
2008                  Ja Terrance Young
2009                  Pamela Chesson
2010                  Terri Gardner
2011                  Adrienne Whitley
2012                  Scherrie Parker
2013                  Alexia Walker
2014                  Sherri Graves-Adams
2014-2015         Pearlie Sherrod
2015-2016         Pearlie Sherrod,------- 2016-2017 2017-2018 2018-2019: Kiara M. Gray-(Pine Bluff,Arkansas); 2019-2020:Tenesha Hill (Wilmar, Arkansas); 2021-2022: LaRiya Bing (Little Rock, Arkansas

Donors List Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Headstone Project

Elveria Goolsby          Nicholas Gambino           Frank Coben

Linda McDowell         Shannon & Company      Carolyn Peters

Maudella Parham         Erma Donaldson             Susie Grierson

Mack Arthur Lakes      Rosalyn Givens               Charles R. Kilby

Margaret Wanzo          Jeff Smith                        J. Odell Seals

Jacquelyn Seals            Larry Thompson             Leroy Browning

William Jones              Diane Walker                  Robert E. Jones

Rosemary Smith          Nelson Stone, Sr.             Marinda Turner

James Elam                  Lou Edgar Smith             Ethel Smith

Gwendolyn Givens      Henri Linton                    Hazel Linton

Solomon J. Jamerson   Roland G. Price



                                          Gladys Turner Finney Foundation
                                   The Black History Commission of Arkansas
                    The Most Worshipful Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Arkansas
                    University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff National Alumni Association
                               UAPB/AM&N Milwaukee Alumni Chapter                           

Joseph Carter Corbin-'Educator Extraordinaire'

Here is my research article on Joseph Carter Corbin. Click this link.


http://www.lwfaah.net/people/jc-corbin.pdf

Joseph Carter Corbin 19th Century Educator Memorial Headstone Dedication May 27, 2013

Forest Park, Illinois---- The dedication of a new headstone for Professor
Joseph Carter Corbin, erected at Forest Home Cemetery, 863 Des Plaines Avenue,
will begin at 12:00 Noon Memorial Day, May 27, 2013, at the gravesite,
West Front, Section F, Lot 44. The public is invited.

The grave was unmarked until now. The inscription honors Professor Corbin as
the founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff and the father of higher
education for African Americans in Arkansas, and his "gift of education to
countless generations."

The headstone was erected by the Joseph Carter Corbin Headstone Project;
co-sponsored by the Black History Commission of Arkansas,
and Alumni and Friends of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.

The speaker will be U.S. Congressman, the Honorable Danny Davis, who
represents Illnois 7th District, including Forest Park, and is a 1961 graduate
of AM&N College, (now the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff).

Joseph Carter Corbin  

Born March 26, 1833 in Chillicothe, Ohio, Joseph Carter Corbin was an
American Educator, scholar, linguist, mathematician, and musician.
At the age of seventeen, he enrolled at Ohio University, and three years
later received the B.A. degree in Art. Later, he would earn two master's
degrees from Ohio University (1856 and 1889). He is one of Ohio
University most scholarly graduates of the mid 19th Century. "In later
years the Ph.D. degree was conferred upon him by a Baptist College
in the South."

Corbin migrated to Arkansas in 1872. Later that year, he ran and was
elected State Superintendent of Public Education on the Republican
ticket. In this position, he served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees
of the newly-formed Arkansas Industrial University (now the University of
Arkansas at Fayetteville). It was during this time that he recommended
a college "for education of the poorer classes." In 1875, Corbin became
founder and principal of Branch Normal College (predecessor of A.M.&N.
College and the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff) where he served
until 1902. He then became principal of Merrill High School. He was a leader
in the public education movement and Prince Hall Masons in Arkansas.
Dr. Corbin died January 9, 1911 in Pine Bluff and was interred January 14, 1911
at Waldheim German Cemetery, now Forest Home.

Directions to Forest Home Cemetery

From East take Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway (290) to Harlem St. (left lane
Exit); Right on to Harrison; Left on Des Plaines Ave. (cemetery on right).

From West take Dwight D. Eisenhower Expressway (290); Exist Des Plaines Ave.

           Sponsored in part by the Black History Commission of Arkansas

Gateway European Tour (W-703) July 3-17, 1967

The year 1967 was a very good year. It was the year, I decided to embark upon a
European travel tour. It was my first trip beyond the contintental USA. I was a
32 year old, single professional woman.

I was eager to spread my wings and go beyond my comfort zone. I always had
the travel bug. My father's employee pass with the St. Louis Southwestern
Railway had allowed me as a dependent to travel throughout the United States
while growing up.

This trip was a catalyst to a lot of self-learning-self-knowledge. I would be
travelling solo and would meet my tour group in London.

I chose Gateway Tours by the Richard Lewis Travel Agency. I would be
visiting places of interest in England, Holland, Germany, Austria, Italy,
Switzerland, and France.

When my two closet girlfriends learned of my intent to travel solo, I had to
withstand their criticism.

This was a time when few African-Americans went on such tours. Of the 38
Gateway tour members, there were three African-Americans, a couple and
solo me.

Raised in the Jim Crow South, I had never shared a room with a white person.
My assigned roommate was Irene George, a married, devout catholic from
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. A fantastic woman. We developed a friendship
that transcended race. Irene and I remained friends until her death in 1999
from a brain tumor.

When a colleague learned I would be visiting Rome, she arranged for a
nun-friend in Rome to arrange a personal audience with the Pope. It
turned out that my travel tour was to depart Rome for Florence the day
prior to my scheduled audience with the Pope. Not wanting to forego
this opportunity of a lifetime, I decided to stay over in Rome and fly to
Florence the next day to rejoin the tour group.

Because I dared to be flexible, rearrange my schedule in a foreign
country I did not speak the language, I kept my appointment with
destiny, an audience with Pope Paul VI.

Pope Paul VI served as Pope of the Catholic Church from 1963 until
his death in 1978. Being blessed by Pope Paul VI was a spiritual gift
I will always treasure.

Michaelangelo's David (masterpiece Renaissance sculpture) at
Florence and Lido de Paris topless, glamorous cabaret show were
culture shocks but the beginning of a new attitude about the nude
human body.

This trip reinforced that I was allright, vibrantly alive in a circle of
fellow travellers, no longer strangers. I was clothed by my faith and
belief in the goodness of others and I was not disappointed, but
rewarded. A childhood dream was fulfilled, and an opportunity to
experience new relations with different people.