3 days ago
Emotional farewell in Baltimore for Norfolk 17 member
PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) — Betty Jean Reed Kea died May 13 at the age of 81. That was four days before the 71st anniversary of the historic Brown v. Board Supreme Court decision that ruled separate is inherently unequal.
Five years after that court decision, on Feb. 2, 1959, after Virginia launched a series of illegal steps to avoid integration, Betty Jean Reed walked alone on a long path toward equality.
An iconic photo, taken of children on the steps of First Baptist Church on Bute Street, captured Betty Jean and 16 others who bravely integrated Norfolk Public Schools. Most of the Black children traveled with fellow students as they dodged the rocks, spit balls, and n-words that were hurled by a mob of white parents.
But that wasn't the case for Betty Jean, who lived in the Titustown section of the city.
Hidden History: The Norfolk 17
'I guess they sent groups to other schools,' said Reed's son, Kevin Kea. 'But my mother was the only one to walk by herself. So she had police at school with her every day.' (Note: also walked alone as the only Black student to enter Northside Jr. High School in 1959, according to her daughter, Michelle Curry. At the time, Talley-Hobby was 12 years old and entering seventh grade.)
Robert Gaines, who attended Norview High School, recently wrote about what happened to the late Andrew Heidelberg at Norview High School when Blacks desegregated the school.
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'Kids were like, right in the face,' Gaines said. 'He [Heidelberg] did not get hit, but he thought he might get killed,' Gaines said.
Other stories were shared with Reed Kea's son decades after Norfolk Public Schools were desegregated.
'We did have some of the [former] White students that did reach out to us,' Kea said. 'One of them was her friend, and she felt guilty that she didn't really interact with my mother as much as she could have or should have while she was at school because she was afraid of the negative treatment she would get just by befriending.'
The stories of the Norfolk 17 are hidden no more. Reed Kea earned a masters degree and served as department chair for social studies in Baltimore public schools.
'So she was a good mentor,' said Reed Kea's daughter-in-law, Angela Kea. 'And she's a trailblazer because she's a part of history. She's a part of what made it possible for all schools to be desegregated. And I want to also say that one of her greatest accomplishments was instilling the values of justice, integrity and curiosity that defined her life. And I also wanted to say, because of her legacy, it is felt in classrooms across the United States because of her trailblazing legacy with the Norfolk 17.'
Betty Jean Reed Kea paved the way for others. Retired Army Colonel Angelo Riddick and WAVY-TV's Regina Willey Mobley were the first Blacks inducted into the Granby High School Hall of Fame.
Dr. Kenneth Cooper Alexander, Norfolk's first Black mayor, sent the Kea family a message of condolence that underscored Kea's role as a civil rights icon.
'Betty Jean Reed Kea played a crucial role in the city's history while paving the way for a more inclusive future,' Alexander said.
According to the New Journal and Guide, there are seven living members of the Norfolk 17.
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