The Treasured Stories and Memoirs of Vernie Pharr King: Advocate, Leader, and Educator

By Danielle T. Hillie

Read and experience the story and life of Vernie Pharr King, a woman whose life has been filled with love, religion, education, and hard work. Her life has been filled with many lessons and experiences. Raised during the height of Jim Crow Laws and segregation, a time when inequality was at its peak, Vernie kept her faith in God and was able to overcome the adversity and hardships that entered her life and has done so for over 90 years. As a child, she attended the Lutheran parochial school, taught Sunday school classes, and later became a teacher at the same parochial school she attended. She graduated from Immanuel Lutheran Junior College in Greensboro, North Carolina. As a young recent graduate and newly trained Lutheran teacher, she traveled to Selma, Alabama where she was able to teach and live at the home of Dr. Rosa Young. In this book, you will explore the childhood and adulthood experiences of Vernie and read more about her life’s journey, as you navigate through her many encounters.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9781669834403

Danielle T. Hillie

Danielle T. Hillie is a native of Concord, North Carolina. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in mass communication from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina, in 2021. She enjoys traveling and spending time with family and friends. She is a member of the NAACP, the Logan Optimist Club, and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated. Her goal is to continue writing and enhance her writing skills. She hopes to one day inspire others to step outside of their comfort zone and be able to find their own creative outlet.

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Copyright © 2022 by Danielle T. Hillie.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 06/21/2022

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 A Good and Simple Life

Chapter 2 The Early Years

Chapter 3 My College Experience

Chapter 4 Family Life and Career

Chapter 5 Life After Teaching and Reflections

Thoughts from The Writer

Older Phrases, Sayings, and Metaphors

I dedicate this book to the next generation of future

leaders, educators, and writers. To the individuals who

find fulfillment and encouragement to step outside

of their comfort zone to reach their goals.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. - Jeremiah 29:11

T hank you, Grandma, for being an inspiration and a caring soul. You have touched the lives of the ones who need it the most. This book would not be possible without your guiding words and wisdom. Lastly, I would like to thank my parents for their encouragement and unconditional love. Without your support, I would not be where I am today.

INTRODUCTION

A s I reflect on my past and the early years of my life, I am amazed to see how far I have come. I realize that my past and my present have shaped me into the woman that I am today. God has truly blessed me to overcome many obstacles and challenges that many African Americans have had to face, which has led me on my journey of wisdom and understanding. I have been exceptionally blessed to have had a fulfilling life and to still have the opportunity to touch the lives of my family, friends, and former students.

During my childhood and throughout my adulthood, I have been exposed to a life surrounded by love, religion, education, and hard work. I have faced some adversities, but I have continued to be devoted to God’s word. I want to share my journey and experiences because I feel that it will be good to let people see how much things have changed and how far I’ve seen things come in my life.

I hope that this book will not only enlighten and inspire the readers but also encourage everyone to keep your faith in God, no matter what you are going through, because his plans are bigger than what you expect. With God, all things are possible (Matthew 19:26). I would like to have you all walk with me through my experiences and share the journey that God has planned for me. My life has been filled with many lessons and experiences, and I thank God that I can share my story. Therefore, I hope that by sharing my story and navigating with you through my past, we can explore just how far we’ve come and see how much more work we have ahead of us.

CHAPTER

ONE

A Good and Simple Life

Growing Up

T he year was 1929, and I was born on October 9 in Concord, North Carolina. I was born at the home where I would grow up and live for the next twenty years. Most babies during those days were delivered by doctors who made house calls, and they would carry their little black bag with them. I was given the name Vernie Bell by one of my aunts. I was named Vernie after one of her good friends from New Orleans and my aunt’s middle name, Bell.

My aunt was married to a Lutheran minister, and they lived in New Orleans for many years. They did not have any children of their own, and after her husband died, she returned to North Carolina just in time to help my mother prepare for my birth. My birth occurred two weeks before the stock market crash of 1929. This was also during the height of Jim Crow laws and segregation. Public facilities, such as water fountains, restrooms, transportation, and dressing rooms, were made separate but equal to all white and colored folks in town. Restaurants would only serve colored patrons from the back door, and those that could be seated had to sit in the rear. Some stores didn’t like to cater to colored folks. Belk was one of my favorite stores to go into as a child. It was one of the few stores that allowed colored folks to try on their shoes without any problems, but in other stores, you would have to ask if you could. Some folks could look at their feet and guesstimate the size needed, and others would measure their feet at home with a piece of string because some stores wouldn’t allow you to try on shoes.

While the world was experiencing the traumatic turmoil of these events, I was too young to recall how things were going in the beginning. However, as I was growing up, I began to see how the Great Depression started to affect families in the area and how the laws of segregation in North Carolina applied to residents, especially where I lived— in Cabarrus County. My parents seemed to have managed well with the economy and us kids during the Great Depression. We continued normally with our everyday lives. We lived in the county part of town with the city part of town just a few blocks west of my neighborhood. Colored folks lived in the county, and white folks lived in the city back then. There were a few white families who lived in the county, but not too many. My dad would visit friends and family members that lived in various colored communities in Concord, such as Logan, Crockett Hollow, Silver Hill, and Oxford Pasture. Those were a few of the areas where colored folks lived. The area where we lived was owned by different people over the years. It was called Coleman’s Alley, Lipe’s Alley, and then later renamed Woodsdale Terrace, which was off Depot Street that is now East Cabarrus Avenue.

We had farm animals where I lived, which included: chickens, goats, geese, hogs, guineas, rabbits, horses, a cow, and other barnyard animals. Not only did we have farm animals, but we also had regular dogs, and my dad had hunting dogs. We had a dog named Rowdie that we had for over fourteen years. When he was younger, he would run, jump, and play around with us out in the yard. As he got older, he would go from one shady spot to another just to lay there. We also had a white collie named Fan. She was very overprotective of us, even from our parents. Whenever one of us kids would get into trouble with our parents, Fan would start to growl at them. Occasionally, my mom would have to shut the wooden door to keep Fan from coming through the screen door to try and protect us from being disciplined. Fan would often follow and look after us kids whenever we were away from home too.

Everyone in my neighborhood seemed to have gotten along well together. Everyone knew, respected, and looked out for each other. A few of the ladies in our neighborhood would make baked goods and would motion for me or my sister to come over and get something to eat or to take some food back with us so we could share it with our family. Back then, you could even sleep with your doors unlocked and your windows opened because nobody bothered anyone. The only time people would use their key to lock their house was whenever they would go out of town. They only made two types of skeleton keys, and everyone’s key most likely fit each other’s doors.

We were close to our neighbors and several of the neighborhood kids. All of us kids would play, eat plums, and pick berries in the vacant lot below our house. Sometimes, a few of the white boys who lived nearby would come over and play ball with us. The colored and white kids interacted well in our area. We would chase butterflies, catch lightning bugs and grasshoppers in small mason jars, and have a good time together. One of the white boys who would come over and play with us always had fun, until his mom would come outside on her front porch and tell him to stop playing with the little n*ggers and come home. It seemed that some adults tried to show differences and prejudice within races, while kids only saw each other as friends.

When I was growing up, we didn’t have the appliances and technology that people take for granted now —hot running water with indoor plumbing, central heating, inside light, electric refrigerator, telephone, inside toilets, television, and air conditioning. We did have a battery-operated radio. And of course, like almost everyone else in my neighborhood, except for two or three of our neighbors,