LEGENDS OF EAST ROANOKE:  The Combined Legacy Of
 Rev. Dr. Warren and Mrs. Thelma Mae (Stephens) Minnifield 
Introduction
Reverend Dr. Warren Minnifield was a prominent educator and historical figure in Roanoke, Alabama, best known for serving as the principal of the historic Randolph County Training School (RCTS) during the mid-20th century (including the Class of 1950 transition into the newly constructed school building).   
  • Served as principal of the Randolph County Training School, a cornerstone institution for the Black community in Randolph County.
  • Remembered alongside other local educational leaders like Theodore Gipson, Dr. B.A. Outland, and Herman Shaw.
  • Presided over eras that included milestones like the 1948 football program and subsequent graduating classes following the rebuilding of the school after a 1943 fire. 

    Dr. Minnifield participated in local civic life and was closely associated with local community history, land subdivisions, and archival preservation of R.C.T.S. heritage. 
     
    His indisputable record shows faithful participation annually as part of a committee responsible for staging an annual local event to observe the Anniversary of President Lincoln's Emancipation Proclamation.   Not a single observance was recorded wherein Dr. Minnifield's name was not mentioned as either having a major role or a supportive role in staging this annual observance in Roanoke.

In her 2011 memoir of her years as part of the historic Randolph County Training School, the late Mrs. Mary Sue (Watson) Tatum wrote: "From my earliest school days until my departure to work in the Roanoke City School System, I witnessed a caravan of exemplary leaders in education including Theodore Gipson, Dr. Warren Minnifield, Dr. B.A. Outland, Herman Shaw and finally Lewis Hoggs," placing both Warren and Thelma Minnifield among "The Greats" in the province of Education.  

The partnership of Reverend Dr. Warren Minnifield (1920–2002) and Mrs. Thelma Mae Stephens Minnifield (1923–1973) served as a foundation for educational, spiritual, and economic advancement in Roanoke, Alabama, during the Jim Crow era.     Operating as a formidable team during the Jim Crow era, this husband-and-wife duo served as a dual engine for the community—educating the youth, establishing economic anchors, and modeling Black autonomy.

✊ The Ancestral Root: Inspired by Morris Marable

Dr. Minnifield’s commitment to Black institutional ownership was heavily influenced by his maternal grandfather, Morris Marable (1839–1926), a former enslaved person who became a prominent Randolph County industrialist, farmer, and the area's first Black voter and juror.

Dr. Minnifield's fierce commitment to Black institutional ownership and civic action was inherited directly from his maternal grandfather, Morris Marable (1839–1926). Born into slavery in Georgia and denied the right to read or write, Morris Marable went on to become an industrial titan in post-Civil War Randolph County, operating his own cotton gin mill, threshing machine, and lumber mill. He holds the historic distinction of being the very first Black voter and juror in Randolph County history. 

In August 1947, while still a senior at Alabama State Teachers College, Warren Minnifield stood at the Marable Family Reunion to deliver a public tribute to his grandfather. He noted that his grandfather could flawlessly recite lengthy scriptures despite his lack of formal literacy, and challenged the family to ask: "What are we going to do about it? Are we making progress today when we think in terms of our present condition here in our own community?" This ancestral charge became the driving force behind Dr. Minnifield's educational and economic crusade. 

He received his B.S. Degree From Alabama State College in 1948, completing 16 weeks of non-credit courses in psychology and Tagalog, one of the national languages of the Philippines at La Union Christian College, San Fernando, La Union, Philippine Islands.  He was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, and at that time was a Notary Public of Randolph County.​

🎓 Co-Architects of Public Education
Both Dr. and Mrs. Minnifield modeled the exact academic progress Morris Marable envisioned. While Dr. Minnifield launched aggressive county-wide efforts demanding that local Black educators pursue full four-year Bachelor's Degrees, he and his wife structured a dual administrative footprint:
  • The Randolph County Training School (RCTS): Following his graduation with a B.S. from Alabama State College in 1948, Dr. Minnifield formally took the helm as the Principal of RCTS on August 26, 1949. While the State of Alabama only required a basic 2-year teaching degree at the time, Dr. Minnifield proudly achieved a standard where 98% of his RCTS teaching staff held full Bachelor’s Degrees.
  • The Stevens Mission School: At that very same time, Mrs. Thelma Mae Stephens Minnifield served as the Principal of the Stevens Mission School, managing independent elementary educational access for local Black children.

​🏗️ Building Schools: The Ultimate Tribute

Following a 1947 call to action by Warren, the community, led by the Marable family and supported by Mrs. Thelma Minnifield, secured and deeded a five-acre plot for a new school, demonstrating significant community investment.

The ultimate proof of the Minnifields' unified commitment to building infrastructure occurred at the conclusion of that 1947 Marable reunion. Following Warren's call to action, the Marable family immediately contributed $35.01 in memory of Morris Marable to be used as seed money for the erection of a new school for the community.
In a powerful moment of institutional synergy, Mrs. Thelma Minnifield, acting as Principal of Stevens Mission School, stepped forward to express public appreciation on behalf of her student body. She announced to the gathered family that the people of the Stevens Mission community had already purchased a five-acre plot of land and deeded it to the state for the explicit purpose of erecting a brand-new school facility. This historic transaction perfectly mirrors the exact kind of community-funded educational defiance that defined the era.

📝 Documenting "Separate and Unequal": The 1951 Master's Thesis

In 1951, three years after completion of his Bachelor's Degree at Alabama State, The Roanoke Leader reported on Warren Minnifield's completion of the requirements for his Master of Education Degree at Alabama State College, Montgomery, including the writing of his Masters Thesis entitled "A Critical Analysis of the Negro School Plants and Facilities of Randolph County, Alabama."   In essence his Thesis acted as a documented critique of segregated school inequities.

His Masters Program included a concentration in supervision and administration of secondary education.  At that time, he held a Class A certificate of Superintendent—principal, the highest certification granted to persons in the field of School Administration in the State of Alabama.

With Utmost Respect To His Thesis Research the record reflects the following data: 
Author Profile:  Warren (Warner) Minnifield was an educator and principal active in Randolph County schools during the mid-20th century.
Research Focus: The 1951 thesis documented the severe inequalities, substandard infrastructure, and systemic neglect characterizing segregated "Negro schools" in rural Randolph County prior to the peak of the Civil Rights movement.
Institutional Context: Published through Alabama State University, a historically black university (HBCU) in Montgomery, Alabama, which produced numerous localized studies documenting the realities of separate-and-unequal public schooling under Jim Crow.

It is crystal clear from his Thesis Research that he was a proud black educator with a keen awareness of the inequities inherent in the educational services being provided to black youngsters throughout the South.   Using a Master's Thesis focused on "school plants and facilities" was AND STILL IS a brilliant analytical approach.   In the Jim Crow South, the systemic denial of funding was explicitly written into the physical landscape — leaking roofs, lack of heating, absent plumbing, and salvaged textbooks. By analyzing these facilities, Dr. Minnifield provided an irrefutable, data-backed indictment of the "separate but unequal" paradigm in Randolph County right from the local ground level.

🏢 The Corner of Highway 431 & South Street: Economic Trailblazing

Decades before corporate strips or minority-owned shopping centers were common, the Minnifields put the principles of economic self-reliance into physical practice. An extensive farmer and landowner, Dr. Minnifield established a multi-service business structure— effectively Roanoke’s first Black-owned mini-strip mall—built directly adjacent to the Minnifield family homestead.
THE MINNIFIELD EAST ROANOKE ECONOMIC HUB
 Location: Corner of U.S. Highway 431 (Lafayette Hwy) & South St.
WASHATERIA
Roanoke's first black-owned
public laundromat
GAS STATION
Providing vital automotive services and fuel to the neighborhood.
BEAUTY SALON
An economic sanctuary where Mrs. Thelma Minnifield & Mrs. Lillie Thornton operated as expert hair culturists​
​In this space, Mrs. Thelma Minnifield masterfully balanced her dual identity. By day, she was a professional educator shaping minds; by evening and weekend, she was a skilled hair culturist, utilizing the beauty salon as an economic sanctuary and community gathering space for local Black women.
 🌾 Soil and Strength: The Multi-Generational Farming Legacy (1968)

Beyond the classroom and the pulpit, Dr. Minnifield was an expert agriculturist who believed that true Black self-reliance was rooted directly in the land. On August 31, 1968,  The Anniston Star  published a dedicated profile on the family's enterprise entitled "Good Beef Practices Pay Off For Farmer," showcasing their advanced livestock strategies.
  • A Foundation in 4-H Youth Development:   The family’s livestock journey originally began around 1960, when Randolph County Extension Farm Agent Theodore Shumpert provided a 7-day-old dairy calf to Dr. Minnifield's son, Ruso, for a 4-H project. This initial spark grew into an enthusiast family partnership with his sons, Ruso and Alphonsa.
  • Scientific Grazing Management: Dr. Minnifield managed a sophisticated system of 9 separate pastures across 175 acres, masterfully engineered with fescue-clover and bahiagrass-clover combinations. To maximize production, he collaborated with the Soil Conservation Service to install over two miles of drainage ditches.
  • High-Yield Beef Production:   The Minnifield family operated a highly successful 30-brood cow beef unit that consistently produced 25 or more elite market calves each year, with systematic long-term plans to scale the operation to over 100 head of cattle.
  • The Historic Extension Alliance:  This thriving enterprise was developed hand-in-hand with Mr. Theodore Shumpert, a towering historical figure who broke racial barriers as the very first Black County Extension Farm Agent to serve Randolph County, 
🖋️ Civil Trust and the Wilkie Clark Connection

​Dr. Minnifield, a long-serving Notary Public and member of the Roanoke City Board of Education, played a key role in documenting local history, including notarizing the 1974 Delayed Birth Certificate for Civil Rights pioneer Wilkie Clark.
DR. WARREN MINNIFIELD'S DIRECT LEGACY AT R.C.T.S
Documented administrative record in Roanoke perfectly mirrors the timeline of his research
The 1950 Milestone: 
Dr. Warren Minnifield served as the Principal for the historic RCTS Class of 1950
Rebuilding from Tragedy:
His leadership was central to navigating the aftermath of the catastrophic February 1943 fire that burned the original 1919 Rosenwald school building to the ground
A New Era:
Under his watch, the Class of 1950 became the very first class to graduate from the newly constructed brick building. His 1951 thesis was written with the fresh, raw perspective of an administrator who had just spent years fighting the state for adequate physical infrastructure.
DR. WARREN MINNIFIELD'S BROADER FOOTPRINT IN ROANOKE
Dr. Minnifield’s impact stretched far beyond the classroom walls and deep into the physical and economic layout of the Black community in Roanoke:
Educational Lineage: Local accounts permanently enshrine him alongside iconic leaders like Theodore Gipson, Dr. B.A. Outland, and Herman Shaw as the literal "heartbeat of the Black community."
Civic Infrastructure: His prominence was so enduring that his name is permanently stamped onto the local geography via the Richard Allen and Warren Minnifield Subdivision plat records AND his establishment of the Christian Memorial Baptist Church, which honors his grandfather, Morris Marable within the City of Roanoke.
Affordable Housing Provisions for New Teachers transitioning into our community:  We also mustn't fail to remember Dr. and Mrs. Minnifield, for their kindness in providing affordable rented housing to new teachers transitioning into our community; for being an agriculturist, raising livestock and produce; as well as a problem-solver for many local citizens, who generally regarded him as being "a man in the know." 
Reverend Dr. Warren Minnifield's Remarkable Tenure Includes:
Serving as Principal Of The Historic Randolph County Training School, Roanoke, Alabama
Serving as Principal Of Dunbar Elementary School in Pine Mountain, GA
Servin as Principal Of Breman High School in Breman, GA 
Serving as Principal of Harrison High School, West Point, Georgia
Serving as Principal of Mary Johnson High School, Franklin, Georgia
Serving on The Roanoke City Board Of Education
Professor of Social Sciences at the Allane University of Columbia, SC
Professor of Economics at Southern Union State Community College
Title I Coordinator of Heard County School System in Franklin, GA for 12 Years.
Ordained as a Minister in 1964... 
Served as an Ordained Minister in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, The United Methodist Church, and                    Ultimately The Christian Memorial Baptist Church, Roanoke, Alabama
​​Serving as Founding Pastor of Christian Memorial Baptist Church, Roanoke, Alabama which he erected in honor
           of his Grandfather,  Morris Marable
Was an active member and supporter of several church, civic, and educational organizations.
Designed a subdivision for Roanoke, which was approved by the Federal Government
PictureDr. Warren Minnifield
⛪ The Crowning Honor: A Conferred Doctor of Divinity
“Around June of 1997, Dr. Minnifield’s spiritual and civic leadership culminated in a historic ceremony held directly inside the sanctuary of Christian Memorial Baptist Church—the very institution he founded and erected as a living monument to the indomitable legacy of his grandfather, Morris Marable. It was within these sacred walls, surrounded by his family, congregation, and community peers, that a distinguished theological body formally conferred upon him his Honorary Doctorate. This grassroots, institutional elevation beautifully symbolized a lifetime of labor; the grandson of an enslaved pioneer, who had once stood in 1947 challenging his family to advance, was officially decorated as a Doctor of the Gospel inside the house of faith he built with his own hands.”
His "Peaceful Transition"
PictureReverend Dr. Warren Minnifield
Upon his transition July 28, 2002, his family honored him with these words:
     The Rev. Dr. Warren Minnifield, 81, of Roanoke died Sunday, July 28, 2002 at his residence.
     Funeral services are scheduled for Friday, Aug. 2 at 2 p.m. at Christian Memorial Baptist Church in Roanoke with the Rev. Willie A. Treadwell officiating. Burial will follow in the Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Cemetery in Wedowee, Ala.
     The Rev. Minnifield is survived by three sons, Ruso (LeJune) Minnifield of Tuskegee, Ala., Warren Alphonsa Minnifield and Anthony Tucker, both of Roanoke; four daughters, Ms. Ann Minnifield Goss of Dayton, Ohio, Ms. Maria Noitakis of Honolulu, Hawaii, Ms. T. Jeanetta Minnifield Stevens and Mrs. Angela Minnifield Hill, both of Roanoke; his brother, Roy Minnifield (Annie) of Wedowee; 16 grandchildren, Donald, Quinda, Tye, Kye, Kim, Marcus, Brian, Raven, John, JeQuetta, Tierra, David, Quianna, Tianna, Alexis and Brian; 10 great-grandchildren; and Ms. Emma Cooper Minnifield of Anniston, Ala.
     A native of Wedowee, The Rev. Minnifield was a local visionary of his time, having devoted his life as an accomplished farmer, distinguished educator, pastor and exemplary community leader. Dr. Minnifield's career as an educator is prolific. His years of serving in public education extend from Randolph County to the Heard County Schools.
     He was an ordained minister of the gospel, having served in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, the United Methodist Church, and eventually as the founding pastor of Christian Memorial Baptist Church in Roanoke.
     He was a former member of the Roanoke City Board of Education, having served for a number of years. Dr. Minnifield remained active throughout his retirement, continuing to add to his enormous list of accomplishments.
     Dr. Minnifield was preceded in death by his first wife, the former Ms. Thelma Stephens Minnifield who died in 1973, and by his second wife, the former Mrs. Susie Rosser Minnifield, who preceded him in death in 1989.
DOCUMENTATION:
Bibliography:
August 18, 1947 The Roanoke Leader p.11 Family Reunion Honors The Late Morris Marable
September 2, 1948 The Roanoke Leader p. 12 R.C.T.S. Faculty for 1948-49
January 14, 1949 The Roanoke Leader, p.5 Negroes Observe 85th Anniversary Of Emancipation
June 3, 1949 The Roanoke Leader p.2. Happy Commencement At Training School
Minnifield, Warren, 162 The Journal Of Negro Education "A Critical Analysis of the Negro School
     Plants and Facilities of Randolph County, Alabama." Alabama State University, 1951
​August 26, 1949 The Roanoke Leader p.6. Training School Faculty Named
Minnifield, Warren, 162 The Journal Of Negro Education "A Critical Analysis of the Negro School Plants and
March 2, 1950 p1 Report Made on March Of Dimes
acilities of Randolph County, Alabama." Alabama State University, 1951
January 11, 1951 p.1  Negroes Observe 88th Anniversary of Emancipation
August 30, 1951 The Roanoke Leader, p4 Earns M.Ed. Degree
January 17, 1952 p.1 Local Negroes Observe 89th Anniversary Of Emancipation
June 4, 1953 The Roanoke Leader p10 Local Citizens Continue Education
April 30, 1959 The Roanoke Leader p9 OUR*SOIL—OUR*STRENGTH
July 2, 1959 The Roanoke Leader p.10  Warren Minnifield Will Tour Europe
September 12, 1963 p.11 The Roanoke Leader Minnifield with Allane University in South Carolina
August 31, 1968 The Anniston Star p10 Star Farm Page
June 7, 1997 The Anniston Star p 12 Dr. Minnifield Receives Doctorate Of Divinity
July 30, 2002 The Anniston Star p. 2 Minnifield Obituary
Find A Grave: https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/122248308/warren-minnifieldv
NEWSPAPER ARTIFACTS FURTHER DOCUMENTING THE WARREN MINNIFIELD FAMILY STORY
The following articles represent a small selection of the widespread local and regional news coverage
​surrounding Dr. Warren Minnifield