Black History in the Upstate - February 2005

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* Information for this page obtained from Leroy Chapman Jr., Associate Editorial Page Editor for Greenville News Do you know of someone in the Upstate that you would like to nominate as a part of our local Black History list? If so please email us their name and contact information.

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February 2, 2005
Abraham Jonah Whittenberg: He put change on the fast-track

Every African-American parent who sends a child to public school in Greenville is indebted to A.J. Whittenberg, who stood up to racial segregation in the public school system and won. In 1963, Whittenberg sued the Greenville County School District, demanding that his daughter Elaine be given the right to attend the then all-white and brand new Anderson Road Elementary School. Like most schools designated for African Americans during that day, the all-black school his daughter was assigned to attend was of comparatively poor quality. The equipment was secondhand, the books were ragged and outdated and the school building itself was crumbling. Whittenberg, like white parents, figured that he, too, was entitled to best public education available for his child. So Whittenberg set out to change the system.

He filed a lawsuit to force Greenville County to comply with the precedent set by the famous Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling. In May of 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court had deemed public school segregation unconstitutional. But Greenville, like many southern communities was slow to act. Whittenberg's lawsuit put the process on the fast track.

Initially, his challenge to Greenville County brought him nothing but grief. Both he and his business were repeatedly threatened. When that didn't work, some integration opponents offered him money and a brand new truck to drop his lawsuit. Whittenberg, true to his character, spurned the money and stood his ground. He would not be intimidated or bought off. Consequently, the threats and intimidation to customers was too much for business. Whittenberg wound up being forced to close the gas station and garage he owned. But Whittenberg would say later in life that the sacrifices were worth the larger principle at stake: the equal treatment of Greenville's children, both black and white.

In 1964, a year after his lawsuit was filed, U.S. District Judge J. Robert Martin ordered the Greenville County School district to enact a "freedom of choice plan." By that fall, 55 black students, for the first time, attended white schools, including Whittenberg's daughter. Today that plan still stands as the blueprint of school integration in Greenville County. Whittenberg was a simple man with extraordinary courage who was unafraid of standing up for fairness and equality.

Soon, the same Greenville County School District that fought integration will memorialize Whittenberg with the A.J. Whittenberg Elementary School, a long overdue tribute to one of the unsung pioneers of the civil rights movement. WJMZ salutes the memory of A.J. Whittenberg during in its celebration of Black History Month.

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Listen weekdays during February at 7:45AM in the Tom Joyner Morning Show, and again at 12:50PM during the K. J. in the Midday Show, for McDonald's Black History Moments featuring interesting historical facts about African American history in the Upstate. McDonald's celebrates Black history 365 days a year by communicating the pride, achievement, heritage, and contributions of African Americans to American history. McDonald's, "I'm loving it."

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Read about Rev. S.C. Cureton

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