George Clem High School: A History of Church and Community

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It's a school history that may have gotten lost in the dialogs of African-American schools in Tennessee.

Its football team even won a state black conference championship because, as one alumnus remembers, they caught the much-bigger, favored-to-win school "sleeping."

The alumni and descendants of the George Clem School in Greeneville, Tennessee say, "not so fast -- don't count us out."

The school, located on the west side of Greeneville's downtown, has a long and distinguished history.

And it has a local church to thank for that.

Beginning in 1887, education for African-Americans in Greeneville and Greene County was coordinated by the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.

"The AME Church built the first school facility here on this hill," says school and community historian Gene Maddox. "It was called the Greeneville College Academy, which operated it for grades one through 10. There were two wooden structures on this hill in the community.. they were torned down and a cinder-block building was constructed in the early 1920's, and the local board of education leased the land and the building from the church for the education of the area's black students."

(Coincidentally, the name Greeneville College was also the name of another school miles away on Richland Creek south of the town. That school eventually merged with Tusculum College).

Meanwhile, George Clem was an educator who came to Greeneville in 1935 as principal. He oversaw the transition from 10th grade to a full 12-grade curriculum. Clem passed away in 1939, and although his tenure only lasted 4 years, he had a wonderful rapport with his fellow teachers, the students, the community, and more importantly, he was well respected by the educational system in Greeneville.

When the new brick school building was built for African-American students in 1949-50, it was named the George Clem School. Maddox was one of the new building's first students.

"I didn't attend school in the cinder-block building," Maddox says. "My home was nearer to Tusculum, and my family was friends with the instructor at one of the schools there. George Clem was a brand new building, and I had only been used to one-room schools. This new building with the many classrooms, a big gym, one of the most beautiful in the are, and a huge ballfield in front, was fascinating to me and my classmates."

"We were captivated those first few weeks and months by the new-ness of it all."

The George Clem building wasn't too large.. in fact, it was intimate enough that its students felt comfortable.

"We were grades one through 12," remembers Maddox. "All of the elementary grades were in the west end of the building, and the higher grades were on the east end, upstairs. We did not have the course selection that the white schools had, and seldom got new books. All of ours were hand-me-downs from the white schools. After I got older and got into what we consider middle school now, I realized that we didn't have a large African-American population here in Greeneville and Greene County. You could probably set the whole student body on one side of the gym in the bleachers, which were only about six rows. We were not a big school, but our community was proud of us, and we were proud of our school spirit."

Teachers like Mrs. Fannye Jones remember well the students who came through the doors.

She came to the George Clem School from Kentucky in 1953 to teach home economics and language arts, "and anything else I was asked to instruct the kids in." Her husband, John J. (JJ) Jones had come to George Clem a year earlier to coach both the football and basketball teams. No matter how well they did athletically, Mrs. Jones' focus was on the kids' education.

"It was different back then," she says. "Very much different. The kids were family, just like my own kids. The kids nowadays do their own thing, they have their own opinions on doing things. Back then if they misbehaved, you could put 'em in a corner, take 'em out of class and put 'em in a corner until they settled down. You could even use a paddle a little bit every now and then, but now you can't do that. Of course, back then the kids didn't get into too much trouble and you could control them a little bit better. But I loved them, and I loved teaching them. Everybody learned something, and that was the main thing.

"Our teachers took an intense interest, not only in our education, but also our lives," says Gene Maddox. "They were interested in how we carried ourselves, how we conducted ourselves in public. The school itself was a community within the neighborhood, and a very nurturing one. Teachers like Mrs. Jones cared."

FORMER STUDENT OF MRS. JONES, KEVIN SHIPE TALKING OF MRS. JONES, HIS FORMER TEACHER FROM 1978

The George Clem School athletic teams, of which Mrs. Jones' husband John J. (JJ) Jones coached, competed in the Tri-State conference, a collection of upper East Tennessee and SW Virginia black schools. Clem's conference school opponents included Langston in Johnson City, Douglass in Kingsport, Tanner in Newport, Slater in Bristol, TN and nearby Morristown-West. Their non-conference opponents stretched from North Carolina to Virginia and Kentucky.

"We only had basketball and football," says Maddox. "We were a smaller school, and we played one other smaller school, Burnsville in North Carolina. Whenever we'd go on the practice field in front of our school, people would say 'aw, come on Burnsville,' and we'd laugh because they were small like we were. Coach J.J. Jones joined the school as both football and basketball coach in 1953. I only remember us winning the conference once.. it happened in 1959 when we caught Langston 'sleeping.' Oh my gosh, we had swell heads after that!"

"We never really had a losing season, because we also placed smaller schools like us, and we always won those."

As the school prospered, both students and teachers knew, they were studying on borrowed time.

"Our teachers knew integration was coming," Maddox says. "It was a shadow that began to follow us through the halls, into the classrooms and out into the community. We knew the school was closing and our neighborhood would be losing one of its solid rocks in the community. The teachers understood it a lot more than we did, and they started early, trying to prepare the ones moving on, for their new adventure in the white schools. For me, there was a lot of fear. Yes, we had watched integration and its results on TV. Yes, there was a lot of fear, and also anger."

(AT RIGHT) CLINTON (TN) HIGH SCHOOL - OCTOBER 6, 1958

Maddox says, the earlier events at Clinton High School northwest of Knoxville when blacks integrated it, produced and multiplied a lot of that fear, that most people, both black and white, tried to ignore.

"When somebody blew up that school back in the late 50's," he remembers, "we were somewhat removed from that, because it had happened several years earlier. People, both black and white were determined to not let that happen in Greeneville, and they tried to guide us out of our fear."

There was still an understandible nervous anticipation that Maddox says, George Clem's teachers who had seen and heard a lot, became shoulders to lean on in those final Clem days.

"The teachers cared that we would lose our zest for learning because of the new place we were going to and the new environment that we were moving to," Maddox remembers. "As a result, they taught us about personal habits, and what to do if confronted. They taught us not to be afraid to ask questions even though the teachers were white, and even how to follow up if somebody laughed. I didn't realize how important that little thing was, until much later."

The George Clem School closed in 1965, and although the school's impact was felt for many years after that in the community, an association of the alumni did not commence until the early 2000's.

"Our primary focus for coming together as a group, was to gain some community use out of our school building," says Maddox. "When the school closed, ETSU used it as a Greene County campus extention. Later, the Greene County School Board purchased it from the city, to use for their central offices. At that time, the Upper East Tennessee Human Resources Agency had offices in the building, as they also did at the old Douglass School in Kingsport. The office here was an extention of that office. But as you know Calvin, in Kingsport, the Bristol's, Big Stone Gap, and Newport, the old black school buildings became community centers for the neighborhoods. We wanted that here in Greeneville, too, and our group organized with that goal in mind."

Maddox says, the group was discouraged when the city of Greeneville did not allow them to do that at the time, because of the legacy of the building.

"The AME church which operated the first school, had donated the land initially to the city, to build the building that's there now," he says. "It only seemed fair that they would allow us at least some use of the building, but they did not."

Initial anger, eventually became a peaceful co-existance.

"Our group, the George Clem Neighborhood Association did not want the whole building," says Maddox, "because getting the whole building would mean that we would have to maintain it and insure it, but we did want parts of it. As the school board expanded and began to move offices out of the building to some of its facilities downtown, they began to give us space. We now have an office in the building where we have monthly meetings.

"That's a good thing, not just for us, but for the black community here as well."

The future looks bright for the George Clem neighborhood, the alumni community, and the building. The biggest change was changing the focus of the George Clem Neighborhood Association to the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance, acknowledging the fact that other ethnicities now live in the community.

"We are working on doing several community activities and events on a regular basis, "says Maddox. "We're partnering with other human services agencies to do things like health screenings for seniors, after-school programs for kids, and activities that folks might have had to travel several miles to receive those services. Elderly people with transportation problems find it difficult to get to needed services, and it's important to provide those in a comfortable environment that is nearby. Regardless of ethnicity, race, age or background, it's important to have services to benefit people, centrally located within the community, and we are now working on that."

The biggest event the Alliance hosts every year, is the "8th of August" celebration, that commemorates the date back in 1863 that military governor and native son Andrew Johnson emancipated the slaves in Tennessee, including his own. The African-American community in Greeneville worked with local legislators and historical groups, to make the date a statewide holiday every year, and its roots trace back to a yearly celebration on the grounds of the former George Clem School.

Recognition is the greater good in getting a positive message across.

That happened two years ago, when the George Clem School historical marker from the Tennessee Historical Commission was dedicated on Summer Street.

"Recognition is one of the steps in getting equality and parity within society," Maddox says. "The historical marker is good for young people in that it lets them know that they have an important history. How much do they know about the school that their parents and grandparents and even their great-grandparents went to? For young people, their only knowledge has been the integrated school. The marker points out that there is a history in your family, a history in your neighborhood, a history within your soul that's important, and that you can be proud of."

"When the state recognizes historical sites, the importance of heritage is emphasized," he says.

"That emphasis is an essential step in making our history whole."

Meanwhile, former teacher Mrs. Fannye Jones has seen a lot of that history during her 95 years. She still lives across the street from the school.

One can tell, that she misses the relationships with the children she taught.

"After George Clem closed down in '65, I went on to teach elsewhere in the Greeneville city school system," she says. "A lot of kids from all over town, I have taught in my career. But it was the relationships that you build with students that I miss the most. When they could come to you with a question about something they'd read in a book, and you answered it for them.. that look of amazement in their eyes when you explained it to them. You knew at that moment that you'd made a connection.. you stimulated the thought process. You just couldn't beat that."

"That kind of relationship is what I miss the most, and it's the kind of relationship that we need to bring back."

8th of August Emancipation Day: An Idea Born in Greeneville

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It is a Tennessee state holiday that a lot of people do not know about.

It's the day the slaves were freed in the state.

And the idea was born and conceived... in Greeneville, Tennessee.

As noted by the National Park Service, on January 1, 1863, Abraham Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation freed slaves in states still in rebellion against the United States. Tennessee, although a seceded state, did not fall under the provisions of the proclamation. Tennessee was under Union control, and Andrew Johnson was serving as Military Governor.

At left, Dolly Johnson with Andrew Johnson Stover, President Johnson's grandson

According to tradition, Andrew Johnson freed his personal slaves on August 8, 1863. On October 24, 1864, as military governor, Andrew Johnson freed all the slaves in the state of Tennessee.

But the date of August 8th has always been celebrated in Greeneville's African-American community west of downtown, as the day of reckoning for all former slaves in the state.

At right, celebrants and party-goers attend the
2014 George Clem Reunion-8th of August Celebration in Greeneville


"We had always celebrated the 8th of August in the black community here in Greeneville," says Leroy Ripley with the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance. "When I moved back home from Washington, D.C. 14 years ago, I was surprised at how people had become so complacent about it. There was either nothing to do for the celebration, or very little at all. The old organization, the Heritage organization, gave us what history they had about the day, and we started anew from there. Getting statewise recognition began as a little grass-roots effort at first, and after we had it going for a few years, it started getting a cohesiveness.. some of the ladies whowere executive assistants at the time, started helping put together an actual celebration program. They did research and started working with Gene Maddox.. he's been a George Clem historian forever and two days."

At left, Greeneville young people attending the 2014 George Clem-8th of August Celebration


Ripley says, the focus of getting the 8th of August commemoration on a state level, had a clear focus.

"We knew we needed to do this for the young people," he remembers. "We needed to remind the young people of their heritage. Of course, that doesn't happen often. Even some of us older ones don't know much about our history that we can pass on to our children. They need to know that everything wasn't always the way it is now."

As the time approached for the 8th of August's big day, excitement among the neighborhood and the Greeneville community grew to a fever pitch.

"We got with the African-American Task Force, and approached Representative David Hawk with our proposal," Ripley remembers. "He was very receptive. Together, we all went to Nashville, and the rest was history."

Hawk represents Tennessee House District 5, the district that consists of all of Greene County. It was he who sponsored the legislation that year on the House side, and remembers the day he was approached with the idea of making the 8th of August a statewide holiday.

"Folks here in Greene County," he says, "were concerned that they had been celebrating the day for years and years among themselves, but there was no statewide recognition. It sounded like a great idea, and I was able to get a ton of information from some great folks in both Greene County and nearby Cocke County. I compiled it and took the proposal and the supporters back to Nashville."

Hawk says, first he went to the Legislative Black Caucus. "I worked with the caucus members to make sure everything was accurate and factual, and they agreed with our findings," he says. "Over time, the momentum began growing as word spread of what we wanted to do."

Hawk says his memories of the day the legislation was introduced are vivid.

"I was honored to have the Black Caucus and my colleagues from the state stand with me as we were discussing the legislation," he says. "Folks from across the state were in the House balcony, watching the proceedings. The fact that they embraced this effort to create this Emancipation Day proposal was a great experience for me."

The 8th of August Emancipation Day legislation passed both houses of the Tennessee legislature unanimously. Every single senator and representative in Nashville voted for statewide recognition of the date.

Meanwhile, members of the George Clem Multi-Cultural Association, fresh off this accomplishment, realized that diversity was the key to their future success. A few years later, diversity among America's voters, especially the Hispanic community, would eventually elect the country's first African-American president.

To that end, the association agreed to diversify its approach to change, even evoking a name change for itself.

"We decided, with other athnic groups moving into our neighborhood, it would be better if we considered our efforts as a multi-cultural association, instead of just a George Clem Neighborhood Association," says Ripley. "We wanted to include other groups and work with them as well. Just a short time ago, we changed the name once again, this time to the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance. We're hoping to promote all of our African-American history in the county, for folks here and away who may not know the history here."

Ripley says, his group gives out a couple of scholarships every year to a deserving student bound for college studies. A non-profit 501 (c) 3 designation is on the horizon, to help raise money for programs and activities the group plans for the neighborhood.

"We had a young lady this past year who graduated from Greeneville High School, who received the Fannie Jones Scholarship, and she's going to Penn State," Ripley says. "She was brought up to Washington, and had dinner with First Lady Michelle Obama. She came from right here in this neighborhood in Greeneville, and we are very proud of that. That helps us get the message of legacy and heritage across to the young people."

The alliance has also been working on a logo that will be featured prominently in publications and at events. Of course, it features the George Clem Wolverine, the former school mascot.

The group's motto is now a message directed at young people.

"What we do.. we do for you."

"The monies that we raise," says Ripley (at right), "go to you, our young people, in the community, to try and make things better for you. We want you to get better scholarships and we want to help our African-American youth achieve goals that they don't see making."

"No excuses," he says, "because we intend to give you the chance to get to those goals."

George Clem's Class of 1964: 50 Years of Memories

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Who could have ever imagined what would have happened in the 50 years since high school graduation?

Members of the George Clem High School graduating class of 1964, were trying to answer that question as they gathered to celebrate a half-century of being "grown."

The George Clem Class of '64, gathered for their 50-year reunion at the Ryan's Restaurant in Greeneville, Tennessee during the school's big Reunion gathering on Saturday, August 2, 2014.

"There's been so much since 1964," says Treva Posey-Edmonds, George Clem Class of '64. "It's been a half-century that we have lived to see computers, cell phones, and TV's with clear pictures. None of that existed when we were in school. Our children think otherwise.. they were born with computers in their hands. We remember black-and-white television sets with pictures so blurry that you had to hold onto the rabbit ears just to see 'em, but we watched anyway, because.. it was television. Kids nowadays think 'well, when was there not television.. how do you use a telephone with a dial? What's an operator? They make fun of everything, but we adults know where we came from."

"We also know what it took to get us here."

Mrs. Posey-Edmonds says, it's a blessing to see classmates come together and celebrate their accomplishments over the past half-century.

"We've lost four classmates from our group since we graduated," she remembers. "The first one we lost in the Vietnam War.. he did not come back home to Greeneville from the war. The second one, we lost several years after that. The third classmate passed away 5 years ago, and the fourth left us 3 years ago. Reconnecting and staying in touch with each other is important over the years, because we all grew up as a school family."

"We were also very good friends."

TREVA POSEY-EDMONDS ON WHAT YOUNG PEOPLE CAN LEARN FROM THE CLASS OF '64 50TH HIGH SCHOOL REUNION



 

A special treat for the Class of '64, was reconnecting with one of their teachers. Mrs. Fannye Jones, wife of the former Clem football and basketball coach was welcomed with open arms. She is one of only two George Clem teachers still alive. Her former students were overjoyed to still be able to share school memories with her.

The members of George Clem's Class of '64 agree on one thing.

Nobody makes schools like George Clem anymore.

"When the school ended the next year, '65," says Mrs. Posey-Edmonds, "that was the end of any school as we all knew it. George Clem was not just a community school, it was a neighborhood gathering place. Black people had meetings there, plays, activities, reunions and other community events there. When the school closed, there was no place to hold those events. That's why we're all hoping that the school building can be opened up for neighborhood activities once again. It would mean so much to the community."

And one thing that keeps this 50th class reunion exciting, was the George Clem school spirit.

"The school may have ended, but the school spirit did not," she says. "It was not the end of our feelings for the school. We had very little, but we did have school spirit. I was just looking at the picture of our little spirit band marching through the streets, leading our fans to the football games. We didn't have instrument one, but we did have some drums that somebody gave us. There weren't any horns, just the drums. We played flute-a-phones, and we marched from George Clem through downtown to get to Burley Stadium (where Greeneville High School still plays its football games)."

"You couldn't give me a million dollars for that picture, simply because that's who we were. We were George Clem High School and we were so proud of that."

THE GEORGE CLEM CLASS OF 1964

School spirit. 50 years of it, with the George Clem Class of '64. And many years previous to that.

"We are so grateful that those of us who could be here, are here to help celebrate our 50th anniversary," says Mrs. Posey-Edmonds. "50 years is a big deal."

"It is a spirit that will never die."

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George Clem 2014 High School Reunion: A Field of Dreams

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The African-American community of Greeneville, Tennessee threw a party on the weekend of August 2, 2014.

But it wasn't just ANY party.

It was a reunion party that commemorates the 8th of August Emancipation Day in Tennessee, where classmates, neighbors, friends and the faithful of the former George Clem Elementary/High School gather with the rest of Greeneville and people of the surrounding area, to celebrate the heritage of, not only the school, but the significance of the day all slaves were freed in Tennessee during the Civil War.

The reunion is hosted annually by the George Clem Multi-Cultural Alliance.

"Our group puts on this event, in conjunction with the 8th of August Celebration," says Gene Maddox, school historian. "We began that commemoration here in Greeneville, Tennessee which eventually spread to the entire state, as a statewide commemoration. It's a great reason to bring the community together for a fun event."

Fun was the word on the George Clem former football practice field on the west side of downtown Greeneville on August 2nd. The "8th of August" Emancipation Day Celebration in Greeneville is held each year on the first weekend of August, regardless of the day of the week upon which the actual 8th falls.

Thhis year's festivities began at noon, and everywhere you went, there was booths set up with displays, along with local election candidates who lobbied for votes as Election Day, August 7th approached.

One of the popular displays was the exhibit from the nearby Andrew Johnson Museum, sponsored by the National Park Service. After President Abraham Lincoln freed the slaves, Tennessee-military-Governor-at-the-time Johnson freed his own slaves. When Lincoln was assassinated two years later, Johnson, who had become Vice President, made sure the Emancipation Proclamation was carried out.

Many of Greeneville's African-American community hold Johnson up to high regard, and the exhibit, as always, received a lot of attention.

For the kids, inflatable kept them occupied, along with the George Clem playground, not to mention a toy train ride that encircled the field. Meanwhile, lots of entertainment kept the adult "reunioners" busy. The afternoon/late afternoon entertainment, hosted by popular radio personality Woody J, encompassed several activities pertaining to, and commemorating the historic "8th of August" event of 151 years ago.

Musical early-evening activies included performances by area praise and African dance teams, including the multi-gifted New Vision Youth of Kingsport, and the male gospel ensemble "Witness."

And then, there was the food.

Everything from ribs to chicken wings, from funnel cakes to hamburgers, filled up many a tummy on this warm Saturday afternoon. Many visitors commented on how inexpensive the food and drinks were, and good food was had by all.

After presentations for the oldest alumni at the reunion, the fartherest traveled, among others, the presentation of the GCMA's "The Dream Made Real" scholarships were made to this year's recipients,

The main entertainment of the event was the funk-rock/R&B/soul hybrid band the JayStorm Project, featuring Greeneville native frontman Jay Storm.

Sponsors of this event include the Bartlett Patterson Corporation and The Tennessee Arts Commission.

The local Aug. 2nd celebration that commemorates the 8th of August Tennessee Emancipation Day has been described through the years as, as Maddox calls it, "one, big community 'family reunion' memorializing and honoring a day that is so historically significant to the beginning of African-American freedom in Tennessee."

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