Chamber recalls leaders 'Legends' focus of fundraiser
By Brooks Rexroat
Staff Writer
Leaders in politics, education and business will be matched up with their forebears when the Tennessee Multicultural Chamber of Commerce doles out honors Thursday during its annual fund-raiser.
Seven people will be cited at the organization's "Legends Banquet" at the Chattanooga Convention Center.
Academy Awards-style video clips will highlight the past, present and future of Chattanooga's black business community, Chamber President Sherrie Gilchrist said.
"The idea is to parallel economic powerhouses of the late 1800s and early 1900s with the leaders of today," Ms. Gilchrist said.
She said the event will be unique.
"I haven't seen anything like this before," Ms. Gilchrist said. "We're doing this off the cuff. We'll go through several rehearsals to get the timing right."
The Chattanooga African-American Museum and others helped compile the video presentation.
"There has never been a collaborative effort to study the role, if any, that African Americans played in the development of Chattanooga," Ms. Gilchrist said. "We've learned quite a bit about history through this process."
Honorees include John Franklin, James Mapp, J.T. McDaniel, Virgil McGee, Minnie Martha Wheeler Darden, Willie Haslerig and Bishop W.C. Hunter.
Mr. Mapp, who spent more than two decades working to desegregate Chattanooga public schools, said he is "thrilled" to be honored by the Multicultural Chamber.
A former president of the Chattanooga branch of NAACP, Mr. Mapp supported student lunch counter and movie theater sit-ins during the 1960s and helped launch a 26-year desegregation lawsuit involving the school system.
He said his family's house was bombed in 1970.
"It was part of the course," he said. "Many had it happen to them. If you're going to go out on a cause for justice, you've got to be prepared for the consequences."
Mr. Mapp said he has seen change in the city.
"I've seen a lot of dignity," he said. "Our people don't walk with their heads down anymore. The women walk with such pride."
Ms. Darden said she is pleased to be highlighted at the event. A lifelong Eastside resident, Ms. Darden worked in the Hamilton County education system and for BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee after attending Tennessee State University. She had attended Orchard Knob School then graduated from Howard School in 1955 as part of the current building's first graduating class.
The 70-year-old said she loves to tell stories about her youth in Chattanooga.
"It makes me feel real good," she said. "A lot of people don't know what went on, especially the younger people. I tell people the way this area was when we grew up, and it makes me feel good to know I can still relate to young people."
Among the lessons she likes to pass on is a sense of community.
"It was beautiful," Ms. Darden said. "Everybody stuck together, especially families. I still keep in touch with people I grew up with who are living in places like Las Vegas, California, Florida and Atlanta."
The event is a key moneymaker for the organization, formerly called the Chattanooga African American Chamber of Commerce, Ms. Gilchrist said.
"We don't nickel and dime people throughout the year. We have our dues and this one fundraiser," she said.
Ms. Gilchrist estimated between 500 and 800 people will attend. The Chamber has grown from 10 members at its 1999 inception to about 500, she said.
"There's usually a pretty broad section of people there, members and nonmembers," Ms. Gilchrist said.
A reception starts at 6 p.m. with dinner following at 7 p.m. Tickets will be available at the door.
E-mail Brooks Rexroat at brexroat@timesfreepress.com