Genie's Corner

[cmbgenie]

George K. Combs

George K. Combs – January 13, 1961 – July 7, 2023 George K. Combs was a thoughtful and kind person. He was the Branch Manager at the Alexandria Library Special Collections for over two decades before he retired. I will never forget George assisting me at the Alexandria, Virginia Library. I could depend on George and call him for any research questions that I might have. He was always willing to…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

His Name Lives On - Charles Hamilton Houston

His Name Lives On – Charles Hamilton Houston

Charles Hamilton Huston, Esq. Over 70 years ago, Charles Hamilton Houston died from a heart attack. He was the godfather of the Civil Rights Movement. Attorney Houston knocked down one segregation case after another. He and a team of lawyers, which included his former student, Thurgood Marshall, worked on the Brown vs. Board of Education case. This case was based on segregation in the public…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Article on William 'Sonny' Duke

Behind the Article on William ‘Sonny’ Duke

William ‘Sonny’ Duke When I received an e-mail from Alvah Beander that Sonny Duke had died, I did not know anything about Sonny until Alvah told me. I started inquiring about Sonny from my Elderly Advisors. After talking to my advisors, I knew I had to write about Sonny. I contacted his cousin, William “Bill” Gordon and Sonny’s daughter, Wanda Duke Kyler. As I was researching and writing the…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Happy 2021 New Year

Happy 2021 New Year

Char McCargo Bah Happy New Year to all my readers. I want to thank you all for your e-mails to my editor in 2020 about my column, “The Other Alexandria.” Last year, was a challenging year with the COVID-19 and the unprecedented elections. We all have experienced someone we know or someone that we are related to who have died from COVID-19. In additional, we have experienced a national election…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Summary of Three Alexandria Gazette Articles in December 2020

Summary of Three Alexandria Gazette Articles in December 2020

Char McCargo Bah When an elder leave this world, he takes his history library with him. Mr. James E. Henson died on December 13, 2020 in Alexandria, Virginia. He shared his knowledge that he gained from his elders with others. I was one of those individuals who he shared a great deal of history of what he knew and what he gained from his elders. Now Mr. Henson has joined his elders and left the…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

"Getting Ready to Cast My Vote - Cassie Reddick Whitmore"

“Getting Ready to Cast My Vote – Cassie Reddick Whitmore”

Behind the scenes of the Alexandria Gazette Packet’s article on, “Getting Ready to Cast My Vote – Cassie Reddick Whitmore”– dated December 9, 2020. Gale Brooks-Ogden Gale Arlene Brooks Ogden is her family’s historian. She played a major role in providing information on her family who are connected to the Alexandria Freedmen Cemetery. Her family has been in Alexandria since the Civil War. The…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

They Served Their Country - Davis and Shanklin Families

They Served Their Country – Davis and Shanklin Families

Behind the scenes of the Alexandria Gazette Packet’s article on, “They Served Their Country – Davis and Shanklin Families”– dated November 26, 2020. Sammy Shanklin shared the stories of his family military careers. Sammy’s family came to Alexandria prior to the Civil War from King George, Virginia. The Shanklin and Davis families have made many contributions to their community in the last…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Scene – “A Teacher Made A Difference – Joseph (Joe) Lovelace”

Behind the Scene – “A Teacher Made A Difference – Joseph (Joe) Lovelace”

Joseph Lovelace and his siblings who settled in Alexandria, all came from Halifax, Virginia. There roots go back to Halifax, Virginia into the late 1700s.

Joseph’s father Andrew Lovelace’s parents were Jacob (Jake) Lovelace and Alice Terry. Both Jacob and Alice were born enslaved. They lived in the Meadville and Staunton areas in Halifax, VA. Meadville and Staunton are on the border of…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Alexandria's African American Local History

Alexandria’s African American Local History

  Char McCargo Bah

I was born in Alexandria, Virginia in the 1950s. I attended Charles Houston Elementary School when it was segregated. When it was time for middle school in the 1970s, Parker-Gray was already integrated.

The only thing I remembered about African American (Black) History from elementary to middle school was the one-liner about slavery.

One year after high school, one event…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

James Thomas Ford 1913 – 1999

Mr. James Thomas Ford was a hardworking man. He was determined to make a better life for himself. At the age of 17, he knew the value of supporting a family. He along with his other siblings help earn money to support their mother and his younger siblings.

James was the second child of eleven siblings. His parents were Thomas Osborne Ford and Rosa Ellis. Thomas, his…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Scene – “The Cigar Man Made a Better Life – James Thomas Ford”

Behind the Scene – “The Cigar Man Made a Better Life – James Thomas Ford”

James Thomas Ford

Mr. James Thomas Ford was a hardworking man. He was determined to make a better life for himself. At the age of 17, he knew the value of supporting a family. He along with his other siblings help earn money to support their mother and his younger siblings.

James was the second child of eleven siblings. His parents were Thomas Osborne Ford and Rosa Ellis. Thomas, his…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Scene – “Giving Back to the Youth: Joyce Casey Sanchez”

Behind the Scene – “Giving Back to the Youth: Joyce Casey Sanchez”

Mrs. Joyce Sanchez was born to a very strong and independent mother, Ada Virginia Casey. Joyce’s father died when she was young. Ada raised her four children in the close knitted community in the West End of Alexandria known as Seminary area.

Ada Virginia Casey raised her children to be strong, independent and leaders. Joyce took her mother’s teachings to heart and became a strong advocate for…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Scene – “He Believed In the Constitution: Reverend Fields Cook”

Behind the Scene – “He Believed In the Constitution: Reverend Fields Cook”

Reverend Fields Cook was a man that was well beyond his times on politics and the constitution as it relates to Colored communities. He was not the type of person that overlooked an opportunity. He looked opportunity in the face and took advantage of it.

Reverend Fields Cook’s Headstone

In 1847, Fields Cook wrote a 32-page handwritten unpublished autobiography manuscript of his life from…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Behind the Scene - Annie Withers’ Losses: Influenza Pandemic Article

Behind the Scene – Annie Withers’ Losses: Influenza Pandemic Article

Annie Johnson Withers (b. 1850 – d. Aft. 1920)

Sammie Shanklin, a fourth generation Alexandrian on his paternal family side migrated to Alexandria from King George, Virginia prior to the Civil War. On Sammie’s grandmother side of the family, the Withers and Johnson came to Alexandria during the Civil War.

Sammie and his cousin, Helen Shanklin Coles remembered family members telling them about the…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

Grandfather and Us: Wilmer Benjamin Henry

Grandfather and Us: Wilmer Benjamin Henry

Backstory of the article that was in the Alexandria Gazette Newspaper on September 2, 2020, gives insight into Wilmer Benjamin Henry and his grandchildren.

Wilmer Benjamin Henry at Virginia Episcopal High School

Wilmer Benjamin Henry was born on February 22, 1898 in Accotink, which is located in Fairfax, Virginia near Fort Belvoir. His father was from Bedford, Virginia and his mother was from…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

From Firefighter to Poet: Kendall Thompson

From Firefighter to Poet: Kendall Thompson

Behind the scene of the article “From Firefighter to Poet: Kendall Thompson.”

Kendall Thompson

Kendall Thompsonis one of our successful Alexandrians who became a firefighter in 1986. He climbed up through the ranks at the Fairfax Fire Department to Fire Captain. He also had a strong childhood passion in writing poetry. During his pre-retirement years, he wrote his poems on his IPAD’s note…

View On WordPress

[cmbgenie]

First Principal of Parker-Gray School

First Principal of Parker-Gray School

Mr. Henry T. White is on the right third roll.

Mr. Henry T. White was the first Principal of Parker-Gray School. His tenure as school principal was from 1920 – 1927. Then he stayed at Parker-Gray as a teacher from 1927 – 1934. The requirements had changed in Alexandria, Virginia for principals. Principals were required to have a Bachelor’s degree. Mr. White had a three-year teacher certificate…

View On WordPress