Dr. John Hodges, a 1963 graduate of Broad Street High School in Greenwood, has had an illustrious academic career.
Dr. John Hodges
Before teaching at the University of Tennessee-Knoxville’s Department of Religious Studies from 1982 until his retirement in 2010, he had an opportunity to study abroad at the University of Nantes in France and received master’s and doctoral degrees in religion and literature from the University of Chicago Divinity School.
He said he is grateful to two particular high school teachers, the late Leola Williams and Solomon Outlaw, for setting him on the right path.
To honor them and other Black teachers in Greenwood who made an impact on their students, Hodges has created a scholarship fund, the Legends Trust Fund — Community Uplift Through Education (LTF — CUTE).
The scholarships will be awarded to graduating Greenwood High School seniors who will attend college, said Hodges, who still lives in Knoxville.
The first scholarships, about $2,500, will be given out to graduating seniors starting in May 2023.
“Ultimately we’d like to see the fund grow so that the amount of a single scholarship will be $5,000, and hopefully it’ll grow so that we’re able to offer more than one scholarship,” Hodges said. “This starts small. … We have to do it piece by piece, little by little.”
The scholarship fund is being held by the Community Foundation of Northwest Mississippi, a nonprofit organization, which will invest the money and do the bookkeeping, allowing Hodges and others to focus on raising money.
About $15,000 has been raised for the fund so far, with about $10,000 of that coming from Hodges. Ideally, by the end of this year, he’d like to raise $50,000.
He said his ultimate goal is to raise $1 million.
“I may not see that million myself, but I think that we’re going to get there. I think enough people will be behind this effort so we can get there,” he said.
Hodges has reached out to 100 people urging them to donate to the scholarship fund in honor of Black Greenwood area teachers whom they can nominate.
In the days when Greenwood was still segregated, Black schools, such as Broad Street High School, had secondhand textbooks and inadequate equipment for gyms and science labs. In spite of these shortcomings, Black teachers, such as Williams and Outlaw, made a positive impact on students, Hodges said.
Williams was an English teacher at Broad Street High. She introduced Latin and served as the school’s drama coach. Two of her former students include the acclaimed actors Morgan Freeman, who won an Academy Award, and Tonea Stewart, who went on to become a university professor.
Williams “was, perhaps, the best drama coach in the state of Mississippi and one of the best in the nation,” Hodges said. “Latin helped me with my vocabulary. It was because of her that I went on to receive my Ph.D from the University of Chicago.”
Solomon Outlaw
Outlaw taught social studies and went on to become principal of Broad Street High.
“He was down to earth, and he was a person very much involved in the community,” Hodges said. “He would help people with their taxes; he was a very, very good neighbor.”
Minnie Whittaker
Minnie Whittaker, who also graduated from Broad Street High in 1963 and is helping Hodges with the scholarship fund account, has her own fond memories of Williams and Outlaw.
She said Williams helped her come out of her shell by having her try out for the junior play.
“She was a wonderful teacher, a wonderful teacher. Very knowledgeable, relatable and very encouraging,” Whittaker said.
Whittaker stayed in the Greenwood area, where she studied at Mississippi Valley State University and Delta State University.
She taught locally, including at the former Threadgill Junior High School, where she was a history teacher, before retiring.
Whittaker said Outlaw was a “wonderful teacher,” and the two later became friends since they both attended Shiloh Seventh Day Adventist Church.
Yet it wasn’t just Williams and Outlaw who were memorable, Whittaker said: “There’s so many teachers who were there who made a difference in the lives of the children.”
Hodges said, “We have individuals who have achieved, and a lot of their success owes to the dedication and sacrifices of our great teachers. These were teachers who did not teach with new supplies or anything, but they gave of themselves.”
Checks to the scholarship fund can be mailed to P.O. Box 1834, Greenwood, MS 38935. Indicate LTF on the memo line. A donation of at least $250 entitles a person to one nomination for a teacher, which may be enclosed with the check.
For more information about the scholarship fund, contact Hodges at johodges44@gmail.com or 865-621-6135.
- Contact Gerard Edic at 581-7239 or gedic@gwcommonwealth.com.
