Latest news with #all-Black
Yahoo
2 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
How Coco Gauff's grandmother made history in Palm Beach County
As Coco Gauff wows the tennis world and returns as doubles champ in the French Open and stirs pride in her Delray Beach hometown, it's fair to say she stands on the shoulders of her grandmother, who had a significant role in the town and the nation's history decades ago. At the same age Gauff turned pro, Yvonne Lee was breaking down the barriers of segregation. It was 1961. Lee was popular and smart, had been named to the upcoming homecoming court and looked forward to being captain of the basketball team at her all-Black Carver High. But then the 15-year-old was given a daunting assignment. Headed into the next fall, she was to be the first Black student to attend Delray Beach's all-white Seacrest High School. Gauff has talked about her grandmother, Yvonne Lee Odom, and her experience as the tennis star spoke out on issues such as Black Lives Matter. That first day Lee went to Seacrest — Sept. 25, 1961 — security was tight, for good reason. The U.S. Supreme Court had ruled in 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated schools were unconstitutional. In the wake of the ruling, the NAACP began seeking Black students who would be good candidates to attend all-white schools. By November of that year, the first, 6-year-old Ruby Bridges, and her mother were met with crowds yelling viscious slurs as they were escorted by four federal marshals into a New Orleans elementary school. New Orleans required Black students to pass an exam. Ruby did. Norman Rockwell in 1964 would celebrate her courage with a painting titled "The Problem We All Live With." Lee's father, the late Rev. R.M. Lee, pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Boynton Beach, thought his daughter was a great candidate — she was gifted in academics as well as sports. "We were trying to get the top kids so they could not say we were dumb," he said. Lee had attended all-Black Carver High school her freshman year. (Carver and Seacrest would later merge to become Atlantic High School for the 1970-71 school year.) Lee was the first student to integrate a school in southern Palm Beach County. When her Carver classmates learned where she would be going, they encouraged her. "We need you to do this," they told her. While school integration was top news of the day, Lee downplayed the potential drama. "I was just going to school," she later told The Palm Beach Post. "I wasn't afraid. If they told me to integrate, I was going to integrate." She arrived at 10 a.m. when the other 1,000 students were already in class. Traffic had been blocked outside. She met her student "buddy," Paula Adams, who walked her to class hand-in-hand. Lee also spoke with principal Robert Fulton in the faculty lounge. He was a "nice man," she told the Boca News in 2002. Today, Fulton's name adorns the school district headquarters, the Fulton-Holland Educational Services Center. Sharing that billing with Fulton is Black attorney Bill Holland, who filed a lawsuit in 1956 when a West Palm Beach elementary school refused to let his son attend. Lee said aside from students gawking, her first day was uneventful. "They were polite but apprehensive. This was the unknown." At Carver, Lee had been chosen to lead the basketball team, by coach C. Spencer Pompey. But at Seacrest, she agreed not to play any sports or ride the school bus due to safety concerns — though her absence from sports didn't last. When Seacrest officials also directed her to use the bathroom in the faculty lounge, she refused. After school that day, she said, one student called her the n-word. By the time Lee graduated in 1964, she had four Black classmates. She would go on to earn a degree in elementary education from Florida Atlantic University and a master's in reading from Nova University. She taught math at Carver Middle School and married her high-school sweetheart from Carver High, Eddie Odom Jr. Several of her children also became teachers, including Coco Gauff's mom, Candi. Her son, Eddie Odom III, turned down a draft pick from the Seattle Mariners to pursue a college education. Yvonne Odom and her husband founded the Delray Beach American Little League to extend the sport to kids in mostly Black neighborhoods not covered by the other league. "I learned a lot about her stories," Gauff told the Miami Herald in 2020. Yvonne Lee Odom says she, too, learned from her own experience. "By attending Seacrest for three years, I found that people are people, no matter what. You've got the good, bad and ugly, regardless of the race." Holly Baltz is an editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hbaltz@ This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Coco Gauff's grandmother stepped into history in Delray Beach
eNCA
3 days ago
- Politics
- eNCA
Trump offers no rest for lifelong US activist couple
MILWAUKEE - They've lost count of how many times they've been arrested, but even with a combined age of 180 years, American couple Joseph and Joyce Ellwanger are far from hanging up their activist boots. The pair, who joined the US civil rights rallies in the 1960s, hope protesting will again pay off against Donald Trump, whose right-wing agenda has pushed the limits of presidential power. "Inaction and silence do not bring about change," 92-year-old Joseph, who uses a walker, told AFP at a rally near Milwaukee in late April. He was among a few hundred people protesting the FBI's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented man in her court evade migration authorities. By his side -- as always -- was Joyce, 88, carrying a sign reading "Hands Off Hannah." They are certain that protesting does make a difference, despite some Americans feeling despondent about opposing Trump in his second term. "The struggle for justice has always had so much pushback and difficulty that it almost always appeared as though we'll never win," Joseph said. "How did slavery end? How did Jim Crow end? How did women get the right to vote? It was the resilience and determination of people who would not give up," he added. "Change does happen." The couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, can certainly speak from experience when it comes to protesting. AFP | Jamie Kelter Davis Joseph took part in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr -- the only white religious leader to do so -- after he became pastor of an all-Black church in Alabama at the age of 25. He also joined King in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, which historians consider a pivotal moment in the US civil rights movement. Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days after she rallied against the US military training of soldiers from El Salvador in the 1980s. Other causes taken up by the couple included opposing the Iraq war in the early 2000s. "You do what you have to do. You don't let them stop you just because they put up a blockade. You go around it," Joyce told AFP. - 'We'll do our part' - Joseph admitted he would like to slow down, noting the only time he and his wife unplug is on Sunday evening when they do a Zoom call with their three adult children. But Trump has kept them active with his sweeping executive actions -- including crackdowns on undocumented migrants and on foreign students protesting at US universities. AFP | Jamie Kelter Davis The threats to younger protesters are particularly concerning for Joyce, who compared those demonstrating today to the students on the streets during the 1960s. "They've been very non-violent, and to me, that's the most important part," she said. Joyce also acknowledged the couple likely won't live to see every fight to the end, but insisted they still had a role to play. "We're standing on the shoulders of people who have built the justice movement and who have brought things forward. So, we'll do our part," she said. Joyce added that she and Joseph would be protesting again on June 14 as part of the national "No Kings" rally against Trump. "More people are taking to the streets, we will also be in the streets," she said.
The Sun
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump offers no rest for lifelong US activist couple
MILWAUKEE: They've lost count of how many times they've been arrested, but even with a combined age of 180 years, American couple Joseph and Joyce Ellwanger are far from hanging up their activist boots. The pair, who joined the US civil rights rallies in the 1960s, hope protesting will again pay off against Donald Trump, whose right-wing agenda has pushed the limits of presidential power. 'Inaction and silence do not bring about change,' 92-year-old Joseph, who uses a walker, told AFP at a rally near Milwaukee in late April. He was among a few hundred people protesting the FBI's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented man in her court evade migration authorities. By his side -- as always -- was Joyce, 88, carrying a sign reading 'Hands Off Hannah.' They are certain that protesting does make a difference, despite some Americans feeling despondent about opposing Trump in his second term. 'The struggle for justice has always had so much pushback and difficulty that it almost always appeared as though we'll never win,' Joseph said. 'How did slavery end? How did Jim Crow end? How did women get the right to vote? It was the resilience and determination of people who would not give up,' he added. 'Change does happen.' The couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, can certainly speak from experience when it comes to protesting. Joseph took part in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr -- the only white religious leader to do so -- after he became pastor of an all-Black church in Alabama at the age of 25. He also joined King in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, which historians consider a pivotal moment in the US civil rights movement. Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days after she rallied against the US military training of soldiers from El Salvador in the 1980s. Other causes taken up by the couple included opposing the Iraq war in the early 2000s. 'You do what you have to do. You don't let them stop you just because they put up a blockade. You go around it,' Joyce told AFP. - 'We'll do our part' - Joseph admitted he would like to slow down, noting the only time he and his wife unplug is on Sunday evening when they do a Zoom call with their three adult children. But Trump has kept them active with his sweeping executive actions -- including crackdowns on undocumented migrants and on foreign students protesting at US universities. The threats to younger protesters are particularly concerning for Joyce, who compared those demonstrating today to the students on the streets during the 1960s. 'They've been very non-violent, and to me, that's the most important part,' she said. Joyce also acknowledged the couple likely won't live to see every fight to the end, but insisted they still had a role to play. 'We're standing on the shoulders of people who have built the justice movement and who have brought things forward. So, we'll do our part,' she said. Joyce added that she and Joseph would be protesting again on June 14 as part of the national 'No Kings' rally against Trump. 'More people are taking to the streets, we will also be in the street,' she said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Trump offers no rest for lifelong US activist couple
They've lost count of how many times they've been arrested, but even with a combined age of 180 years, American couple Joseph and Joyce Ellwanger are far from hanging up their activist boots. The pair, who joined the US civil rights rallies in the 1960s, hope protesting will again pay off against Donald Trump, whose right-wing agenda has pushed the limits of presidential power. "Inaction and silence do not bring about change," 92-year-old Joseph, who uses a walker, told AFP at a rally near Milwaukee in late April. He was among a few hundred people protesting the FBI's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented man in her court evade migration authorities. By his side -- as always -- was Joyce, 88, carrying a sign reading "Hands Off Hannah." They are certain that protesting does make a difference, despite some Americans feeling despondent about opposing Trump in his second term. "The struggle for justice has always had so much pushback and difficulty that it almost always appeared as though we'll never win," Joseph said. "How did slavery end? How did Jim Crow end? How did women get the right to vote? It was the resilience and determination of people who would not give up," he added. "Change does happen." The couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, can certainly speak from experience when it comes to protesting. Joseph took part in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr -- the only white religious leader to do so -- after he became pastor of an all-Black church in Alabama at the age of 25. He also joined King in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, which historians consider a pivotal moment in the US civil rights movement. Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days after she rallied against the US military training of soldiers from El Salvador in the 1980s. Other causes taken up by the couple included opposing the Iraq war in the early 2000s. "You do what you have to do. You don't let them stop you just because they put up a blockade. You go around it," Joyce told AFP. - 'We'll do our part' - Joseph admitted he would like to slow down, noting the only time he and his wife unplug is on Sunday evening when they do a Zoom call with their three adult children. But Trump has kept them active with his sweeping executive actions -- including crackdowns on undocumented migrants and on foreign students protesting at US universities. The threats to younger protesters are particularly concerning for Joyce, who compared those demonstrating today to the students on the streets during the 1960s. "They've been very non-violent, and to me, that's the most important part," she said. Joyce also acknowledged the couple likely won't live to see every fight to the end, but insisted they still had a role to play. "We're standing on the shoulders of people who have built the justice movement and who have brought things forward. So, we'll do our part," she said. Joyce added that she and Joseph would be protesting again on June 14 as part of the national "No Kings" rally against Trump. "More people are taking to the streets, we will also be in the street," she said. str/bjt/nl/mlm
France 24
3 days ago
- Politics
- France 24
Trump offers no rest for lifelong US activist couple
The pair, who joined the US civil rights rallies in the 1960s, hope protesting will again pay off against Donald Trump, whose right-wing agenda has pushed the limits of presidential power. "Inaction and silence do not bring about change," 92-year-old Joseph, who uses a walker, told AFP at a rally near Milwaukee in late April. He was among a few hundred people protesting the FBI's arrest of Judge Hannah Dugan, who is accused of helping an undocumented man in her court evade migration authorities. By his side -- as always -- was Joyce, 88, carrying a sign reading "Hands Off Hannah." They are certain that protesting does make a difference, despite some Americans feeling despondent about opposing Trump in his second term. "The struggle for justice has always had so much pushback and difficulty that it almost always appeared as though we'll never win," Joseph said. "How did slavery end? How did Jim Crow end? How did women get the right to vote? It was the resilience and determination of people who would not give up," he added. "Change does happen." The couple, who have been married for more than 60 years, can certainly speak from experience when it comes to protesting. Joseph took part in strategy meetings with Martin Luther King Jr -- the only white religious leader to do so -- after he became pastor of an all-Black church in Alabama at the age of 25. He also joined King in the five-day, 54-mile march from Selma to Montgomery in 1965, which historians consider a pivotal moment in the US civil rights movement. Joyce, meanwhile, was jailed for 50 days after she rallied against the US military training of soldiers from El Salvador in the 1980s. Other causes taken up by the couple included opposing the Iraq war in the early 2000s. "You do what you have to do. You don't let them stop you just because they put up a blockade. You go around it," Joyce told AFP. 'We'll do our part' Joseph admitted he would like to slow down, noting the only time he and his wife unplug is on Sunday evening when they do a Zoom call with their three adult children. But Trump has kept them active with his sweeping executive actions -- including crackdowns on undocumented migrants and on foreign students protesting at US universities. The threats to younger protesters are particularly concerning for Joyce, who compared those demonstrating today to the students on the streets during the 1960s. "They've been very non-violent, and to me, that's the most important part," she said. Joyce also acknowledged the couple likely won't live to see every fight to the end, but insisted they still had a role to play. "We're standing on the shoulders of people who have built the justice movement and who have brought things forward. So, we'll do our part," she said. Joyce added that she and Joseph would be protesting again on June 14 as part of the national "No Kings" rally against Trump. © 2025 AFP
