Inez’s legacy
Facepalm… Did you know that our very own Georgia School for the Black Deaf graduate inspired a famous singer, Ray Charles? Did you know a building at the Florida School for the Deaf and the Blind was named after her? Who was she?
As big raindrops fell from the sky, four of us paced Woodland Cemetery, a historic African American cemetery in St. Augustine, Florida, abandoned to time. We craned our necks, making out faded names on the toppled headstones. A steady summer drench moved in. We were looking for a name, Inez, and her birth and death dates, Oct. 27, 1904, and June 17, 1991.
In July 2021, Grace (Laird) Shaffer, my best friend; Eddy Laird, Grace’s cousin; Brendan Murphy, FSDB museum coordinator; and I could not locate Inez’s final resting place after two hours of searching. It was hard to admit the obvious, Inez was probably buried without a marker. There is no obituary for Inez. Even in recent times, Deaf people are sometimes buried without the same honor as a hearing person!
Inez Belle Harrison was born to Ruben Harrison and Esther (Shehee) Harrison in Barnesville, Georgia. Her name sign was “I” handshape using a twisting motion with the pinky touching the side of the chin. Inez had eight siblings including two Deaf sisters, Milton Louise Harrison (1894-1982) and Susie (1910-unknown).
GSBD was established in 1876 and opened in 1882. On Sept. 22, 1913, Inez and Milton began school there while Susie started on Sept. 18, 1916. They spoke Black American Sign Language. Inez graduated in 1920, the same year the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution passed, granting women the right to vote. Susie is recorded in the 1930 Census as a teacher at GSBD.
Information about Inez before 1924 is sparse, but her story unfolds spectacularly through stories and records after FSDB hired her. Inez became a teacher by day and dorm parent by night from 1924 to 1963. She dedicated 39 years to FSDB, serving under the first five FSDB presidents. Her three identities as a Black person, a Deaf person, and a woman intersected at a time when society would not expect great things from her. Instead, she rose in the face of oppression and became such an influential figure.
From 1924 to 1946, her last name changes from Harrison to Leggett to Knowles. Little is known about her first husband. A couple of records show a FSDB student named Charlie Leggett. On June 4, 1946, Inez married Otis Whitfield Knowles, a Black FSDB teacher and principal. Otis used his influence as a hearing person to push administrative decisions based on Inez’s advice and expertise.
Millicent (Knowles) Brady, Inez’s niece, donated two pairs of glasses worn by Inez and a picture of her to the Georgia School for the Deaf Alumni Association Museum. Recalling meeting Inez for the first time at age 7 in 1921, Millicent wrote, “The most remarkable thing to me about my aunt Inez was not that she was deaf and could not speak. I was fascinated with the length of her fingernails and the fact that they were manicured. I remember helping her hang clothes on the line and wondered how she could manage it with her nails so long.”
In the book by Michael Lydon, “Ray Charles: Man and Music,” Ray Charles credits professionals at FSDB, including Inez, for turning him into a fine young man.
In 1963, Inez was forced to retire because of “declining health,” which is suspect as she lived nearly 30 more years and was strong enough to care for her elder sister in her final days in 1982. FSDB celebrated her life with an event on Oct. 27, 1963. Her niece, Robbie Ames-donaldson, donated a copy of the program book and pictures of the event to the GSDAA Museum.
In 1965, as FSDB began to desegregate, a building was named in her honor, Inez B. Knowles Hall. There are no newspaper articles about this, which is odd! Otis retired around the same time as Inez. Some older Black Deaf students attended the white school in 1966, the same year John M. Wallace, the fifth superintendent, was forced to retire. In 1967, FSDB completed integration.
In 1980, a new building replaced Knowles Hall with the same name. It is rare to find a landmark in honor of a Black Deaf woman. She is the only known GSBD graduate honored at any Deaf school. The timeline in the FSDB Museum mentions Inez. The GSD Class of 1988 donated money to the GSDAA Museum to develop a display about GSBD with information about Inez. It is a powerful testimony to the person Inez was. Her legacy lives on.
Inez B. (Harrison) Leggett Knowles, Milton Harrison, Susie Harrison, Lois Smiley, John J. Flournoy, the Deaf Priors, Almira C. (Peugh) Carruthers, and others connected to GSD deserve a place in the spotlight. I hope articles like this inspire people to give them proper places in our books for future generations.
Adonia K. Smith is a Cedartown native who resides in Cave Spring. She owns ASL
Rose, a company that serves the heart of Deaf education, and is active in the Georgia School for the Deaf Alumni Association.
Email her at adonia@aslrose.com.