Black stories matter
Black History must be captured based on the merits demonstrated to advance humanity and move the quality of life needle toward progress for African Americans and others. Local Black History should be stories told often, just as we do with Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Harriet Tubman, Frederick Douglass, and George Washington Carver. Why not do the same with our local history makers? Therefore, I share a few with you.
P.K. MILLER (Late 1800’s – 1951)
Mr. P.K. Miller was the owner of the first and only casket factory for blacks in Pine Bluff. He established the first cemetery, the first hotel, restaurant, and theater for Blacks in Pine Bluff; the theater was named in honor of his wife, Vester Miller (The Vester Theater located at Main at Second Avenue).
Mr. Miller was also the founder and organizer of the Great Protective Burial Association. The company was organized in 1926 by Mr. Miller in Wabbeseka, Ark. The culmination of his dreams came true when the new P.K. Miller Mortuary was dedicated on Feb. 10, 1963, in Pine Bluff. The building was the largest establishment of its kind in the southwest and is still utilized today. The approximate cost was $250,000.
P.K. Miller was born in the late 1800s in Mississippi. He was the second child in a family of five children. In 1914, realizing that he would never be able to accomplish much in his childhood environment, he came to Arkansas and settled in Wabbaseka. Possessing a keen business sense, he was successful as a farmer, a cotton buyer, a postmaster, and a storekeeper. Being a carpenter by trade, Mr. Miller was often called upon to make caskets for many families. His sympathy for these low-income families caused him to consider the possibility of organizing a burial association. In 1926 his dream materialized. The business had its birth in a small office in Wabbaseka. The funeral home was organized in 1927.
ULYSSES STANLEY BROWN SR. (1910-1995)
U.S. Brown Sr. organized the first African American Boy Scout Troop in Pine Bluff for Saint Peter’s Rock Baptist Church. He was the first African American to serve as a juror since reconstruction. He helped to organize the Elks Club of Pine Bluff. Mr. Brown was the first African American appointed to the Arkansas State Board of Embalmers and Funeral Directors serving 10 years with two as president.
WILEY AUSTIN BRANTON SR. (1923-1988)
Wiley Austin Branton Sr. was chief counsel for nine black plaintiffs at Little Rock Central High School called the Little Rock Nine School Desegregation Case. Although a cross was burned in his front yard on Alabama Street in Pine Bluff and he received death threats and harassment for his pursuit of civil rights, he did not back down.
Attorney Branton headed the Voter Education Project in Atlanta, Ga., which led to more than 600,000 black voters in 11 southern states, a catalyst that created the momentum for the 1965 Voting Rights Acts. The Southern Bypass (11 miles of Interstate Highway running along the southern perimeter of Pine Bluff costing $100 million dollars) is named in his honor.
More importantly, this is the only portion of interstate in Arkansas named for an African American.
For more than three decades, the National Bar Association has hosted the Wiley A. Branton Symposium for this hometown hero in locations across the nation. The National Bar Association is the oldest and largest global network of predominately Black American attorneys and judges in the nation.
DR. WILLIE L. MOLETTE
Dr. Willie L. Molette was the first African American appointed to serve on the Pine Bluff School Board. His professional, civic, and social affiliations are numerous. He served as the dentist for 42 years at Arkansas AM&N College/University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
BLANCHE HAYNIE
Blanche Haynie was the first African American woman and black elected by voters to the Pine Bluff School Board.
RUBEN NAPOLEON CHANAY
Ruben Napoleon Chanay served 10 years as principal of the all-black Merrill High School. His leadership and untiring efforts, led to the Merrill High School receiving accreditation from the North Central Association of College and Secondary Schools. Mr. Chanay was also instrumental in establishing the George Washington Carver Elementary School. The Pine Bluff School Administration Center was named in his honor as an outstanding academician and leader.
MASSATHAW DOUGLAS JORDAN
M.D. Jordan was a teacher, football coach, and principal at Merrill High School. During his administration, full-time counselors established a guidance program, and a Fine Arts building constructed to house the band, cafeteria, and industrial arts classes. The Pine Bluff School Administration Center on Pullen Avenue was named in his honor as an outstanding academician and leader.
REV. JAMES YOUNG WILLIAMS SR. (1910-1995)
The Rev. J.Y. Williams Sr., was a very successful public school teacher, principal, businessman, farmer, and pastor. He worked in public schools for more than 35 years and was the first principal at 34th Avenue Elementary School in the Pine Bluff School District. He served as pastor of the Saint John Missionary Baptist Church for 43 years and the Solomon Hill Missionary Baptist Church for 41 years. He also served as moderator for the Central District Missionary Baptist Association.
REV. J.Y. WILLIAMS JR.
The Rev. J.Y. Williams Jr. was the first African Americans Urban & Region Planner for Jefferson County, and the first Jefferson County Community & Economic Director. He also served as the first County Administrator of Human Service in Jefferson County.
REV. GEORGE H. BARNES SR.
George H. Barnes was elected the first Black mayor in Wabbaseka. He was the first youngest Black mayor in Arkansas. The Arkansas Municipal League Conferred upon Mayor George Barnes a Honorary Life Membership. Barnes also served as president of the Arkansas Black Mayors Association. He was also the founder of the Wabbaseka Council of Human Resources.
To be continued…
(Information was obtained from personal interviews with family members and from obituaries.)
The Rev. Jesse C. Turner is executive director of Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc.