LIFE AFTER DEATH - Clark Funeral Home, Roanoke, AL - An Alabama Historic Site

LIFE AFTER DEATH

By Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson

WELCOME to this section of our site where we feature many of the local efforts to continue the Legacies of Wilkie and Hattie Lee (Peters) Clark after their deaths in 1989. This section features events, organizations, and the community's efforts to remember their legacies and honor their sacrifices with respect to the social and economic issues that confronted them, and consumed the greater part of their lives. These are issues that not only affected and shaped black communities in the past, but that continue to challenge our communities in the present.

In this section, we use artifacts to exhibit and showcase our efforts to continue to serve as they served, to be vocal as they taught us to be; to reshape our communities as they reshaped them; and to be change agents as they were.

As a family, we vowed to continue the Clark Legacy: (1) by continuing to operate the little Funeral Home Business that was his launching pad from economic bondage, to economic freedom, and that did indeed serve as "The Epicenter Of Black Movement." However, more importantly was: (2) our drive to continue working in the community as he worked, and reaching out to help those through OUR OWN Civil Rights Activism in order to continue to battle the racism, bigotry and sheer racial hatred that seemed so pervasive, so stubborn, and unyielding with regard to all black citizens' efforts to free themselves. Amazingly, the death of the Clark's DID NOT STOP the unyielding problem of racism confronting blacks in our community. If anything it got worse. Therefore, we had to continue to press forward.

Again, we encourage ANYBODY who has documents, artifacts, or other interesting items that will help us tell the Clark Story, we would be very very interested in having them, or if you desire to retain your original copies, we will gladly accept copies.

1989-01-24 (The Anniston Star Pg7) Randolph Students Assigned To Busses (New Policy aimed at desegregating bus route)
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1989-12-12 (The Anniston Star) Page 11 Randolph BOE Member Critical Of Hiring Practices
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1990-01-08 (The Anniston Star pg 5) Students Take Bus Changes In Stride
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1992-7-6 (The Anniston Star) Rights Advocate Follows Father's Example.jpg
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1992-7-6 (The Anniston Star) Right's Advocate (Continued).jpg
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1994-03-09 (The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama Page 13) Two Board Members Back Principal
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1994-04-01 (The Buffalo News) Board Retains Principal In Prom-Bias Flap
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1994-04-01 (The Anniston Star-Front Page) Principal Reinstated; Critics Vow To Protest (Front Page)
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1994-04-01 (The Anniston Star-Front Page) Principal Reinstated; Critics Vow To Protest (Continued On 8A)
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1994-04-01 The articles mentioned above actually propelled the Prom and Interracial Dating Issue into the national spotlight -- not that this was our intention (it just took on a life of it's own) -- however, on April 1, 1994, this article in one form or another appeared in newspapers all over the country. A PARTIAL LIST appears herein.

Muncie Evening Press, Muncie, Indiana
The Manhattan Mercury, Manhattan Kansa
The Anniston Star, Anniston, Alabama
Daily Sitka Sentine, Sitka, Alaska
Elko Daily Free Press, Elko, Nevada
Hattiesburg American, Hattiesburg, Mississippi
The York Dispatch, York, Pennsylvania
The Herald, Jasper Indiana
The Noblesville, Ledger, Noblesville, Indiana
The Tyler Courier-Times, Tyler, Texas
Indiana Gazette, Indiana Pennsylvania
The Iola Register, Iola, Kansas
The Sheboygan Press, Sheboygan, Wisconsin
The Ukiah Daily Journal, Ukian California
The Sentinel, Carlisle, Pennsylvania
The Daily News, Lebanon, Pennsylvania

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth TExas
The Post Crescent, Appleton, Wisconsin
The Indianapolis News, Indianapolis, IN
Lancaster New Era, Lancaster, PAThe Transcript, North Adams, Massachusetts
York Daily Record, York Pennsylvania
The Bismark Tribune, Bismark, North Dakota
The Philadelphia Daily News, Philadelphia, PA
The Muscatine Journal, Muscatine, Iowa
The Montgomery Advertiser, Montgomery, AL
Green Bay Press Gazette
Green Bay, Wisconsin
The News and Observer, Raleigh, North Carolina
The Fresno Bee, Frenso, California
The Tampa Tribune, Tampa, Florida

Florida Today, Cocoa, Florida
Statesman Journal, Salem, Oregon
The Ithaca Journal, Ithaca, NY
Tampa Bay Times, St. Petersburg, Florida
The Billings Gazette, Billings, Montana
Victoria Advoca, Victoria, Texas
Argus-Leadur, Sious Falls, South Dakota
Wausau Daily Herald, Wausau, Wisconsin
Honolulu Advertiser, Honolulu Hawaii
The Evening Sun, Hanover, Pennsylvania
The Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles, CA
The Missoulian, Missoula, Montana
Honolulu Star-Bulletin, Honolulu, Hawaii
The Orlando Sentinel, Orlando, FL
The News Herald, Port Clinton, OHIO

1994-04-06: This New York Times Article is summarized as follows:
Boycott in Alabama Protests Return of Principal
About one-fifth of the high school students here are boycotting classes to protest the reinstatement of a principal who threatened to ban interracial couples from the prom. The boycott began on Monday as classes resumed after spring break for the 680 students at Randolph County High School.

1994-04-06 (The New York Times) Boycott In Alabama Protests Return Of Principal
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1994-04-11: (washingtonpost.com) Matter of Principal Shatters Small Town
The attachment below is a transcript of an online article that was published by the Washington Post electronic edition.

1994-04-11 (washington Post.com) Matter of Principal Shatters Small Town
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1994-04-18 (Jet Magazine) Alabama Principal Who Made Racist Comments Reinstated; The Local NAACP Continues Fight
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This is an "Editorial" type article that I wrote during the infamous "Randolph County School Controversy" which started in February of 1994. This was written in response to comments from uninformed citizens' comments about who we are and what we stood for.

1994-05-13 (The Anniston Star Pg4) Speaker's Stand... NAACP Goals.
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1994-06-26: (The Montgomery Advertiser) "Morris Dees' Action In Prom Lawsuit Criticized)

1994-06-26- (The Montgomery Advertiser) "Dees' Action In Prom Lawsuit Criticized)
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1994-06-26- (The Montgomery Advertiser) Dees' Action In Prom Lawsuit Criticized (Continued)
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1994-8-02 (The Montgomery Advertiser p9) "Settlement Actually Accomplished Nothing"
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1994-08-08 (The Central New Jersey Home News, New Brunswick, NJ P-4) RENO Orders FBI Probe of Fire at Alabama School
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1994-8-15-(Section A, Page 10) In Prom Dispute Town's Racial Differences Emerge
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1994-08-19 (The Berkshire Eagle, Pitsfield, Massachusetts Page 4) Race and Rage in Wedowee, The Veil Is Removed
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1994-10-29 (The Montgomery Advertiser P-19) Randoph BOE Member Can't Switch Sides
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1994-10-30 (The Selma Times-Journal P11)Judge Denies Official's Request to Switch Sides in Randolph Controversy
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1995-01-11 (The New York Times P-29) Once Principal, but Now Barred From All Schools
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1995-02-17 (United States Court For the Middle District Of Alabama) Lee V. Randolph County Board Of Education
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1995-02-18 (Atlanta Journal Constitution) Branches have borne brunt of national office's turmoil
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1995-02-19 (The Montgomery Advertiser Page 1B Continued on Page 4B) Humphries' Job Angers Some Blacks
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1995-02-19 (The Montgomery Advertiser Continued on Page 4B) Humphries' Job Angers Some Blacks
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1995-07-03 (The Militant) The FBI Targeted Christopher Lynn Johnson in Arson Case
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1995-10-21 [Saturday] (The New York Times) Man Charged with Burning Alabama School is Cleared
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1999-03-16 (The Anniston Star Pg7) Clark-Frieson, a Perennial No-Show At Board Meetings.jpg
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1999-11-28 (The Anniston Star) Page 1A Controversial Randolph County Superintendent Steps Down
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1999-11-28 (The Anniston Star-Cotinued Pg 5) Controversial Randolph County Superintendent Steps Down
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AMY GOODMAN (DEMOCRACY NOW) INTERVIEWS CHARLOTTE A. CLARK-FRIESON
Remember the Alabama high school principal who touched off a furor when he banned interracial couples from the prom? Hulond Humphries lost that job, but he was sworn in last week as superintendent of schools in Randolph County, Alabama. The Wedowee school system made headlines in 1994 after Humphries threatened to cancel the prom if mixed-race couples attended. The Justice Department later accused Humphries of unfairness in dealing with black students. Subsequently the school burned to the ground and Humphries was removed as principal. Then last fall, he ran unopposed for county school superintendent and won. Guest: • Charlotte Clark-Frieson, president of the Randolph County NAACP and the first and only black member of the board of education.

In 2004, I was in the process of writing and publishing Wilkie Clark's biography "Chief Cook and Bottle-Washer" The Unconquerable Soul Of Wilkie Clark. I felt a need to set up a business entity through which to channel the proceeds from these efforts with the ultimate goal of using said proceeds to assist in furtherance of our vision to preserve his history.

2004-06-04 Wilkie Clark's Daughter Enterprises, LLC.png
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During that same period of time, I allied myself with several of my personal friends along with my father's con-temporaries, and we also formed another entity, which we idealized would exist as a Non-Profit Organization through which to promote and continue his benevolent work, promote historical significance of ALL African Americans in this are who made substantial contributions to our community's progress.

2004-07-12 Wilkie Clark Memorial Foundation Established By Charlotte.png
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2005-Feb-16 Wilkie Clark's Daughter Publishes Book About Father
15 years after my father's death, it dawned on me that I was about to turn 50 years old, and I still had not completed any of the important tasks that I had vowed to complete with respect to preserving my parents' history, and memorializing in some tangible way the important work they had done in our communities. So, feeling the angst to get something down I started working on a Biography. By 2005, it had manifest in the form of a published work entitled "Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer" The Unconquerable Soul Of Wilkie Clark. The attached artifact from the Randolph Leader, details the book-debut event in addition to subsequent plans.

2005-02-16 Wilkie Clark's Daughter Writes Book About Father.jpg
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2005-02-16 Wilkie Clark's Daughter Writes Book About Father.pdf
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2005-7-22 After organizing the Wilkie Clark Memorial Foundation, we worked continually pushing right on to our first program, which included the publication of a Black Weekly Newspaper.
Read about the establishment Of The Clark Memorial Foundation HERE.
You can download our first edition of the newspaper by visiting the link below.

2005-07-22 (The People's Voice) Inaugural Edition Of Our First Black Weekly Newspaper
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2006-4-30 (The Randolph Leader) Dr. Boyd To Speak At First Clark Foundation Event
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2008-02-03 (The Montgomery Advertiser) Sample Ballots Published
Early In the year 2008, I was Gong-Ho Obama, and would have done almost anything to be a participant in his election. During that election season, I qualified and ran for Delegate to the National Democratic Convention, representing Barack Obama. I didn't win... BUT I DID MY BEST!

2008-02-03 (The Montgomery Advertiser) Sample Ballots Published
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2008-2-15 (The Peoples' Voice Pg A4) Article About Wilkie Clark Mem'l Foundation.pdf
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2009-01-16 (The People's Voice Weekly) Clark-Heflin-Terry Beacon Award Established By ADC.pdf
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2009-01-23 (The People's Voice Weekly) Reverend R. L. Heflin First Recipient Of Award Established In His Honor.pdf
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2018-11-06: After some "time off" from community involvement, and civil rights activism, I was sought out to Run for the Alabama Statehouse District 37. The artifacts shown below, details some of the facts concerning this effort.

2018-11-6 (Sample Ballot) For Randolph County Gen'l Election-2018.pdf
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2018-11-07 (The Associated Press) Alabama District 37 Election Returns
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2018-11-06: (The Valley Times News) The following Article Detailed the contest between myself and Bob Fincher

Just last year, in 2020, a young man named Will Pickering, working on his Masters of Arts Degree at George Mason UNIVERSITY, Fairfax, Virginia, asked us to participate in an interviewed about interracial dating and marriage going all the way back to the Randolph County High School controversy. We gladly shared with Will, whatever information and commentary we could share regarding the issue. A draft of his Thesis research appears below.

2020-05-15 Will Pickering Masters Thesis
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