Friday, December 15, 2017
AACF Silver Anniversary Gala-November 11, 2017
Dayton Art Institute
Gladys Turner Finney
Good Evening:
I was inspired to be a "giver" by values inculcated in me by my parents and religious faith.
My parents were :givers." They were always giving to family, friends, and neighbors.
Giving to others is a core value of my religious faith. Giving is a symbolic and action-oriented way to say "I care," "I thank you," "I love you."
My giving is a symbol of love and thankfulness and represents a legacy of faith, a faith in the future, a faith in young people- A faith in aspiring social workers, and a faith in others' capacity to change regarding issues of peace and social justice.
There is a Danish Proverb that says "He who gives to me teaches me to give." "To whom much is given, much is required" is a biblical injunction and was said often to me by my high school history teacher, Miss Willie B. Thomas. Having been given to by so many, I must give.
I am a social worker. Coming out of the Jim Crow South, I came to believe that people I knew needed an advocate to speak up for them, which is how I chose social work as a profession. It focuses on the dignity and worth of all people, and advocates on their behalf to help them change their conditions and their lives.
Social workers do not make a lot of money in comparison to a lot of other professions. No social worker enters the profession to make money. They are motivated by the desire to help others.
My career as a clinical social worker spanned nearly forty years. I have worked with children, veterans, the elderly, and those needing end of life services, I have learned as a social worker to respect the dignity of all people. I have learned that all behavior is a search for meaning and that everyone needs love and something meaningful to do to have a self-sense of integration and wholeness.
In 1998, a friend introduced me to the AACF. We set up our fund at the same time. Because I value education and believe in the power of social workers as change agents to change lives, I established the Gladys Turner Finney Social Work Scholarship for social work students at Wright State University. To date, 18 students have been assisted with tuition and have achieved their goal of a bachelor degree in social work, BSW.
Later in 2002, after the death of my parents, I established a second fund, the Willis & Mary Bluford Turner Memorial Fund to honor their memory as an expression of gratitude for their giving to my life, and as a way to support the values and ideals of peace and social justice. My parents would be totally surprised by the fund. They were peace-loving and longed to see more evidence of peace and social justice. This fund carries on their legacy by supporting agencies in the community dedicated to peace and social justice.
The AACF is important because it allows us to pool our funds to make a larger impact. The fund now has assets of 6.5 million. This is evidence of what we can accomplish when we work together to achieve a common purpose.
On this 25th anniversary of the AACF, I rejoice and celebrate with you. It's amazing!
Thanks for being there to help me help others.
Saturday, October 7, 2017
Unveiling of Joseph Carter Corbin Ohio Historical Marker-Gladys Turner Finney Comments
June 28, 2017
Ohio University Branch Chillicothe
Mayor Feeny
Dr. Tuck
Representatives of the Ohio History Commission
Faculty
Other Distinguished Members of the Dias
Friends
How very, very happy and excited I am to share this historic moment with you.
First I'd like to thank Dr. Roderick McDavis for his magnanimous support in helping this vision become a reality.-a commemorative historical marker for Professor Joseph Carter Corbin, a native son of Chillicothe, a distinguished 19th century graduate of Ohio University at Athens.
It was July 13, 2013 when a member of College Hill Community Church (PCUSA) drove me to Athens for an audience with Dr. McDavis to share my vision for enhancing Professor's Corbin's image and legacy.
I'd like to thank Dr. Tuck and Mayor Feeny for their support and the planners for this wonderful ceremony and inviting me. I'd also like to thank all those known and unknown during the transition following Dr. McDavis who helped us over the finish line.
I'd like to take a few minutes to share with you why Joseph Carter Corbin was extraordinaire.
Joseph Carter Corbin was truly extraordinaire. This prophet of education had the audacity of courage to establish Branch Normal College for the education of former slaves and their descendants as a Branch of the Arkansas Industrial College which we all now know as the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. This was during the Reconstruction Era in Arkansas, following the Civil War.
I am an heir to this legacy. I am an heir to Professor Corbin's legacy of education. I am the descendant of great great grand parents who were slaves. I graduated from J.C. Corbin High School in May 1953, the last graduating class and the salutatorian of that class. At this time J.C. Corbin Training School and J. C. Corbin High School were Laboratory Schools of AM&N College, located on the college campus. I graduated from AM&N College, then known as Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in May 1957. This is my 60th year of graduation.
I share Professor Corbin's legacy of education with countless others, like me, who would not have had the opportunity for a college education were it not for him and this HBCU.
Professor Corbin was truly extraordinaire.
When Professor Corbin opened Branch Normal College in Pine Bluff in 1875
he had no college eligible students. His original 7 students ranged in age from 9 to 15. They were elementary students.
At the end of the Civil War only 5 African-Americans had attended school in Arkansas.
In 1866, there were only 5 African-American teachers in the state.
The first 7 years of Branch Normal College, Professor Corbin served as the principal, the only teacher, and the janitor.
Professor Corbin produced the first bachelor degree graduate in 1882.
This prophet of education is the Father of Higher Education for African-Americans in Arkansas.
Professor Corbin's unselfish devotion to the education of others remains and is immortal and magnifies his birthplace, his native state, his Alma Mater.
In the spirit of Professor Corbin and Ohio University-- let us all teach someone, help them to achieve their potential and make the world a better place.
Ohio University Branch Chillicothe
Mayor Feeny
Dr. Tuck
Representatives of the Ohio History Commission
Faculty
Other Distinguished Members of the Dias
Friends
How very, very happy and excited I am to share this historic moment with you.
First I'd like to thank Dr. Roderick McDavis for his magnanimous support in helping this vision become a reality.-a commemorative historical marker for Professor Joseph Carter Corbin, a native son of Chillicothe, a distinguished 19th century graduate of Ohio University at Athens.
It was July 13, 2013 when a member of College Hill Community Church (PCUSA) drove me to Athens for an audience with Dr. McDavis to share my vision for enhancing Professor's Corbin's image and legacy.
I'd like to thank Dr. Tuck and Mayor Feeny for their support and the planners for this wonderful ceremony and inviting me. I'd also like to thank all those known and unknown during the transition following Dr. McDavis who helped us over the finish line.
I'd like to take a few minutes to share with you why Joseph Carter Corbin was extraordinaire.
Joseph Carter Corbin was truly extraordinaire. This prophet of education had the audacity of courage to establish Branch Normal College for the education of former slaves and their descendants as a Branch of the Arkansas Industrial College which we all now know as the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. This was during the Reconstruction Era in Arkansas, following the Civil War.
I am an heir to this legacy. I am an heir to Professor Corbin's legacy of education. I am the descendant of great great grand parents who were slaves. I graduated from J.C. Corbin High School in May 1953, the last graduating class and the salutatorian of that class. At this time J.C. Corbin Training School and J. C. Corbin High School were Laboratory Schools of AM&N College, located on the college campus. I graduated from AM&N College, then known as Agricultural, Mechanical & Normal College in May 1957. This is my 60th year of graduation.
I share Professor Corbin's legacy of education with countless others, like me, who would not have had the opportunity for a college education were it not for him and this HBCU.
Professor Corbin was truly extraordinaire.
When Professor Corbin opened Branch Normal College in Pine Bluff in 1875
he had no college eligible students. His original 7 students ranged in age from 9 to 15. They were elementary students.
At the end of the Civil War only 5 African-Americans had attended school in Arkansas.
In 1866, there were only 5 African-American teachers in the state.
The first 7 years of Branch Normal College, Professor Corbin served as the principal, the only teacher, and the janitor.
Professor Corbin produced the first bachelor degree graduate in 1882.
This prophet of education is the Father of Higher Education for African-Americans in Arkansas.
Professor Corbin's unselfish devotion to the education of others remains and is immortal and magnifies his birthplace, his native state, his Alma Mater.
In the spirit of Professor Corbin and Ohio University-- let us all teach someone, help them to achieve their potential and make the world a better place.
Saturday, August 19, 2017
Lucile Finney Pryor and Life of Georgia Policies
Who was Lucille Finney Pryor?
Lucile Finney Pryor was born June 10, 1909, in Columbus, Georgia, the granddaughter of slaves.
She was a poor, uneducated domestic worker who labored in the homes of southern white women in Troy, Alabama.
She extolled christian virtue, hard work, and education. She rummaged through garbage cans for books for her son to read and instilled in him a desire for education.
Mrs. Pryor purchased Life of Georgia policies for her family. After her death her son signed on to a class- action law suit regarding race-based policies sold by Life of Georgia six years prior to his death. The class action law- suit against Life Insurance of Georgia was filed in Florida in December 1999.
Life Insurance of Georgia is a subsidiary of the ING Group. It writes policies in eleven southeastern states.
Poor African-Americans "paid as much as 33% more than white customers for policies intended to cover burial expenses". The "companies calculated African Americans would have shorter life spans than white customers.The "insurance industry now acknowledges that poverty rather than race led to shorter lives for many of those against whom the companies discriminated."
The class-action law suit came too late for Mrs. Pryor. She died in 1988. The settlement came too late for her son. He died in 2008. Mrs. Pryor owned Life of Georgia policies on the following persons between 1939 and 1983: Lucile Finney, Julia Stewart, Maggie Felton, Susie Felton, Ruby Felton, John H, McNair, Moses Felton, Frederic Finney.
Mrs. Pryor would not have known the details of policies Life of Georgia sold her other than they were burial policies. She would have taken the agent's word at face value. She would not have evaluated or understood cost-ratio value. As a christian and responsible adult her primary concern was not to have a loved one, a member of her family, to die without some means of "putting them away at death. She did not expect to be shortchanged.
Part of the Life of Georgia settlement was used by the heir to memorialize Mrs. Pryor and a gift to an educational institution.
Sources: "Settlement Near for Insurer Accused of Overcharging Blacks, New York Times, January 10, 2009.
Personal Records of Mrs. Lucile Pryor.
Lucile Finney Pryor was born June 10, 1909, in Columbus, Georgia, the granddaughter of slaves.
She was a poor, uneducated domestic worker who labored in the homes of southern white women in Troy, Alabama.
She extolled christian virtue, hard work, and education. She rummaged through garbage cans for books for her son to read and instilled in him a desire for education.
Mrs. Pryor purchased Life of Georgia policies for her family. After her death her son signed on to a class- action law suit regarding race-based policies sold by Life of Georgia six years prior to his death. The class action law- suit against Life Insurance of Georgia was filed in Florida in December 1999.
Life Insurance of Georgia is a subsidiary of the ING Group. It writes policies in eleven southeastern states.
Poor African-Americans "paid as much as 33% more than white customers for policies intended to cover burial expenses". The "companies calculated African Americans would have shorter life spans than white customers.The "insurance industry now acknowledges that poverty rather than race led to shorter lives for many of those against whom the companies discriminated."
The class-action law suit came too late for Mrs. Pryor. She died in 1988. The settlement came too late for her son. He died in 2008. Mrs. Pryor owned Life of Georgia policies on the following persons between 1939 and 1983: Lucile Finney, Julia Stewart, Maggie Felton, Susie Felton, Ruby Felton, John H, McNair, Moses Felton, Frederic Finney.
Mrs. Pryor would not have known the details of policies Life of Georgia sold her other than they were burial policies. She would have taken the agent's word at face value. She would not have evaluated or understood cost-ratio value. As a christian and responsible adult her primary concern was not to have a loved one, a member of her family, to die without some means of "putting them away at death. She did not expect to be shortchanged.
Part of the Life of Georgia settlement was used by the heir to memorialize Mrs. Pryor and a gift to an educational institution.
Sources: "Settlement Near for Insurer Accused of Overcharging Blacks, New York Times, January 10, 2009.
Personal Records of Mrs. Lucile Pryor.
Monday, May 22, 2017
Gladys T. Turner Thoughts About Self
After my mother's death in 2002, I brought home a supply of notebooks I had used at AM&N College, Moton High School, Atlanta University, Fulton County Public Welfare Department, and Cook County Hospital Social Services.
" My intellectual interest arises from my desire to understand the basic problems of group life, a consciousness of how people meet their basic needs by controlling or altering their environment and a desire to render service to those unable to make transitions or meet their basic needs in a changing social order. In addition to giving service I want to participate with others in determining causes of social problems:
(1) to think deeply and help in community planning and projects in order to help alleviate conditions of physical, mental, emotional, economic, and social maladjustment.
(2) To help others understand social realities through planned realistic experiences. The presentation of knowledge, the developing of useful skills and attitudes that are consistent and harmoniously related brings a very important reward, the satisfaction of doing a job that is meaningful and important in helping tomorrow's good citizens in every walk of life. Walking with people from day to day makes each hour a challenging experience." Gladys T. Turner---- Moton High School Note book, 1956
"To me he's a fabulous character.
(and I love him so)
He walks by my side and I dance on air.
I find he's a kind of a special guy
I kiss him and I know why.
(my life is a song)
He's so marvelous
no one can compare
Till now my life was a merry-go-round
I never knew a carefree day." Gladys T. Turner--- Moton High School Note book, 1956 re James
Whitley, College boyfriend.
" My intellectual interest arises from my desire to understand the basic problems of group life, a consciousness of how people meet their basic needs by controlling or altering their environment and a desire to render service to those unable to make transitions or meet their basic needs in a changing social order. In addition to giving service I want to participate with others in determining causes of social problems:
(1) to think deeply and help in community planning and projects in order to help alleviate conditions of physical, mental, emotional, economic, and social maladjustment.
(2) To help others understand social realities through planned realistic experiences. The presentation of knowledge, the developing of useful skills and attitudes that are consistent and harmoniously related brings a very important reward, the satisfaction of doing a job that is meaningful and important in helping tomorrow's good citizens in every walk of life. Walking with people from day to day makes each hour a challenging experience." Gladys T. Turner---- Moton High School Note book, 1956
"To me he's a fabulous character.
(and I love him so)
He walks by my side and I dance on air.
I find he's a kind of a special guy
I kiss him and I know why.
(my life is a song)
He's so marvelous
no one can compare
Till now my life was a merry-go-round
I never knew a carefree day." Gladys T. Turner--- Moton High School Note book, 1956 re James
Whitley, College boyfriend.
Sunday, May 14, 2017
My Corbin Research Journey: The Background Story
What inspired me to research and write about Joseph Carter Corbin?
Joseph Carter Corbin is an Ohioan. He was born in Chillicothe, Ohio and educated at Ohio University. Little is known about him in Ohio.
I first decided to research and write an article for the African American Genealogy Group of the Miami Valley ( AAGGMV) about Corbin's accomplishments and contributions to American education.
I completed the article, Joseph Carter Corbin, Educator Extraordinaire- Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff in 2009. The article was published in AAGGMV #30, April 2, 2009, (Spring), Volume 8, Issue 2.
At the time the article was published I had two unanswered research questions: Where was Corbin buried? Were there any Corbin descendants?
The question regarding Corbin's burial location eventually led to the location site and culminated with my dedication of headstones for Corbin, his wife and two sons on Memorial Day, May 27, 2013 at Forest Home Cemetery, Forest Park, Illinois.
The unexpected happened which would change my course as I never intended to pen a book.
During the fundraising for the Corbin headstones I received a contact through a Pine Bluff Commercial journalist who had written a story on the headstone dedication at Forest Park, Illinois.
The contact-donor was a gentleman in Los Angeles whom I did not know. He was married to a UAPB graduate. He was not a graduate of UAPB. He had been fascinated with the life of Professor Corbin. He intended to write a book. He now thought that unlikely and said he would send his research to me.
July 2, 2013: 2:00 P.M - Fedex delivers a large box of research papers on Joseph Carter Corbin from Lt. Colonel Solomon J. Jameson, U. S. Army Retired. I was so taken by surprise I retreated to my bed, pondering the meaning of this. It soon becomes clear that I am to write the book.
Corbin's image and legacy continued to consume my consciousness. This extraordinary educator had not been fully elevated in history.
July 13, 2013: Friends drive me to Ohio University to meet with Ohio University President Roderick McDavis to solicit support in promoting Corbin's image and legacy in Ohio. As a result of this meeting an Ohio Historical Marker application was eventually submitted to the Ohio historical Society and approved in 2016.
2014, 2015, 2016: Time of researching, writing, designing Corbin's book. My research led me to libraries and archives in Arkansas, Illinois, and Ohio.
July 9, 2015: I established the Joseph Carter Corbin Memorial Scholarship at Ohio University to provide scholarships to full-time undergraduate students who are enrolled in the College of Arts & Sciences and who have demonstrated academic merit.
June 28, 2017:
11:00 A.M.
Dedication Joseph Carter Corbin Ohio Historical Marker
Ohio University, Chillicothe Campus
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Author Gladys Turner Finney
Gladys Turner Finney is a long-time resident of the Dayton area spanning more than five decades.
She was born in a rural farming community of southeast Arkansas during the middle of the Great Depression. FDR was president. She graduated from J C Corbin High School in Pine Bluff (1953), AM&N College (1957), and Atlanta University (MSW) in 1959.
She is a social worker by profession having held positions in medical and mental health facilities. She has a passion for family and historical research.
Among her works are Autobiography of Tammy (1978) and Papa Babe's Stamp Collection, 1983. Papa Babe's Stamp Collection is a fictionalized account of a young boy who discovers his grandfather's African-American postage stamp collection on a snowy day home from school.
In 2016, Turner Finney edited and published Call to the Land of Promise by Frederick M. Finney, her late husband. This is an insightful local history account of African-Americans migration to Dayton, Ohio, the challenges of de-facto segregation, the evolution of the Dayton Model Cities Program.
Gladys Turner Finney's new book, Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extrarordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (April 3, 2017) is a biography of the founder of Turner-Finney's land grant and historically black university.
Born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1833, Professor Corbin, the son of former Virginia slaves, was one of Ohio University 's most distinguished graduates of the mid 19th century. Corbin was the second African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Ohio University in 1850 and later two master's degrees 1856 and 1889.
During Reconstruction of the American South following the Civil War Corbin migrated to Little Rock, Arkansas. There he was elected the first African American State Superintendent of Public Education and founded the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extraordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a Butler Studies Book, $19.95, is available at uapress.com and amazon.com
She was born in a rural farming community of southeast Arkansas during the middle of the Great Depression. FDR was president. She graduated from J C Corbin High School in Pine Bluff (1953), AM&N College (1957), and Atlanta University (MSW) in 1959.
She is a social worker by profession having held positions in medical and mental health facilities. She has a passion for family and historical research.
Among her works are Autobiography of Tammy (1978) and Papa Babe's Stamp Collection, 1983. Papa Babe's Stamp Collection is a fictionalized account of a young boy who discovers his grandfather's African-American postage stamp collection on a snowy day home from school.
In 2016, Turner Finney edited and published Call to the Land of Promise by Frederick M. Finney, her late husband. This is an insightful local history account of African-Americans migration to Dayton, Ohio, the challenges of de-facto segregation, the evolution of the Dayton Model Cities Program.
Gladys Turner Finney's new book, Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extrarordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (April 3, 2017) is a biography of the founder of Turner-Finney's land grant and historically black university.
Born in Chillicothe, Ohio in 1833, Professor Corbin, the son of former Virginia slaves, was one of Ohio University 's most distinguished graduates of the mid 19th century. Corbin was the second African American to earn a bachelor's degree from Ohio University in 1850 and later two master's degrees 1856 and 1889.
During Reconstruction of the American South following the Civil War Corbin migrated to Little Rock, Arkansas. There he was elected the first African American State Superintendent of Public Education and founded the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extraordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff is a Butler Studies Book, $19.95, is available at uapress.com and amazon.com
Saturday, April 22, 2017
Joseph Carter Corbin: Educator Extraordinaire and Founder of the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff by Gladys Turner Finney
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Butler Center Books
Little Rock, Arkansas
April 12, 2017
ISBN 978-1935106-21-0
$19.95
Available at: River Market Books & Gifts on the Main Library campus of the Central Arkansas Library System (CAL) in Little Rock and other bookstores; from online retailers; through the Chicago Distribution Center at (800) 621-2736; and at www.uapress.com
-University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum & Cultural Center-
Having operated now for more than 140 years, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) was founded in 1875 as Branch Normal College by Joseph Carter Corbin, a native of Chillicothe, Ohio. and the son of former slaves.
Corbin, who had a classical education from Ohio University, was the first African American Superintendent of Public Education in Arkansas and built the school from the ground up.
May 27, 2017 Book available @ Patriots Freedom Festival
11:00 AM-5:00 PM
VA Medical Center
June 04, 2017 Author's Book Signing
College Hill Community Church
1547 Philadelphia Drive
1:00 P.M.
August 12, 2017 Author's Book Signing
National Arts Showcase
Tribute to our Crafts Masters
Crown Plaza
33 E 5th Street
1:30 P.M.
September 28, Authors Book Signing
ASALH Conference
Continental/Mezzanine Level
Hilton Netherland Plaza
630 P.M-8:30 P.M.
October 21, 2017 Author's Book Signing
Barnes & Noble
2720 Towne Dr. Beavercreek
2:00- 5:00 P.M
February 25, 2018 Book Available
Shades of Blackness
A Perspective on African-American History in Word & Song
featuring Gladys Turner Finney, author
College Hill Community Church, PCUSA
1547 Philadelphia Drive
12:30 P.M.
March 17, 2018 Book Available
Celebration of Women's History Month
ASALH
Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center
16 South Williams Street
2:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
April 14, 2018 Book Available
Dayton-Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund
James E. Stamp Award Luncheon
Taste Restaurant- Trotwood
12:00 Noon
Little Rock, Arkansas
April 12, 2017
ISBN 978-1935106-21-0
$19.95
Available at: River Market Books & Gifts on the Main Library campus of the Central Arkansas Library System (CAL) in Little Rock and other bookstores; from online retailers; through the Chicago Distribution Center at (800) 621-2736; and at www.uapress.com
-University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff Museum & Cultural Center-
Having operated now for more than 140 years, the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff (UAPB) was founded in 1875 as Branch Normal College by Joseph Carter Corbin, a native of Chillicothe, Ohio. and the son of former slaves.
Corbin, who had a classical education from Ohio University, was the first African American Superintendent of Public Education in Arkansas and built the school from the ground up.
May 27, 2017 Book available @ Patriots Freedom Festival
11:00 AM-5:00 PM
VA Medical Center
June 04, 2017 Author's Book Signing
College Hill Community Church
1547 Philadelphia Drive
1:00 P.M.
August 12, 2017 Author's Book Signing
National Arts Showcase
Tribute to our Crafts Masters
Crown Plaza
33 E 5th Street
1:30 P.M.
September 28, Authors Book Signing
ASALH Conference
Continental/Mezzanine Level
Hilton Netherland Plaza
630 P.M-8:30 P.M.
October 21, 2017 Author's Book Signing
Barnes & Noble
2720 Towne Dr. Beavercreek
2:00- 5:00 P.M
February 25, 2018 Book Available
Shades of Blackness
A Perspective on African-American History in Word & Song
featuring Gladys Turner Finney, author
College Hill Community Church, PCUSA
1547 Philadelphia Drive
12:30 P.M.
March 17, 2018 Book Available
Celebration of Women's History Month
ASALH
Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center
16 South Williams Street
2:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M.
April 14, 2018 Book Available
Dayton-Inter-Alumni Council of the United Negro College Fund
James E. Stamp Award Luncheon
Taste Restaurant- Trotwood
12:00 Noon
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