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George Bell and Elgetha Brand Bell, African American students
who attended Berea College in the 1880s and went to lives of service
as Kentucky teachers, will be honored with the first annual John
G. Fee Award at the College’s Founder’s Day celebration
Thursday, Oct. 26, at 3 p.m. in Phelps Stokes Chapel.
Receiving the awards will be five descendants of the Bells, including
granddaughter Alma Johnson Powell, the wife of U.S. Army Gen. Colin
Powell. Mrs. Powell also will offer reflections on her family's
history following the presentations.
The John G. Fee Award, given posthumously, honors primarily African-American
alumni of 1866-1904 who gave distinguished service to their community,
especially in the field of education; and who reflect the ideals
of Berea founder Rev. John G. Fee as evidenced in the College’s
motto “God had made of one blood all peoples of the earth.”
George Bell
Other Bell family members receiving the awards are the couples
other two surviving granddaughters Lelia McBath and her sister
Rose Eation, cousins of Mrs. Powell. Accepting the awards on
behalf of the family of granddaughters Barbara Greene and Margot
Sudduth, who died this past year, are Mrs. Greene’s daughter
Carol Gaye Williams; and Mrs. Sudduth’s husband, Robert “Brock” Sudduth.
More than 30 other Bell family descendants and family members
also are expected to attend the ceremony
Berea President Larry D. Shinn will present the awards, which
were designed and handcrafted by Berea College Woodcraft and Berea
artist Ken Gastineau. Made of walnut with a cast-bronze medallion,
each features the African “sankofa” symbol, a bird
looking back to pick up something in its beak. Derived from a word
in the language of the Akan people of Ghana, the symbol represents
the idea that to move forward requires retrieving and understanding
one’s heritage.
The event also will include a performance by the College’s
Black Music Ensemble.
George Bell (1858-1925) a native of Marion County, and Elgetha
Brand Bell (1866-1958) from Winchester, alternately worked and
attended classes at Berea, Mr. Bell for 11 years and Mrs. Bell
for six. In 1892, Mr. Bell graduated with a B.A. degree, the same
year the couple married. Valuing education, hard work and community
service, the Bells made education their life’s work, teaching
in schools in southeastern Kentucky an din Marion County. George
Bell also was a preacher with the A.M.E. Zion Church.
The Bell’s passion for learning and commitment to service
is a legacy evident in the education and personal achievements
of their children and grandchildren, who have pursued careers in
education, service organizations, government agencies, business
and industry. All of the members of both generations graduated
from college and several earned advanced degrees.
Berea was established in 1855 when abolitionist Rev. John G. Fee
began what would become the first school in the South to admit
blacks and whites, men and women, on an equal basis. Fee’s
founding vision characterized Berea until 1904, when Kentucky enacted
the Day Law prohibiting integrated classrooms in the state’s
schools, a law Berea unsuccessfully appealed all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court. Not until 1950, when the law was amended, was
Berea able to resume admitting African American students
Elgetha Brand Bell
The Bell’s passion for learning and commitment to service is a legacy
evident in the education and personal achievements of their children and grandchildren,
who have pursued careers in education, service organizations, government agencies,
business and industry. All of the members of both generations graduated from
college and several earned advanced degrees.
Berea was established in 1855 when abolitionist Rev. John G. Fee
began what would become the first school in the South to admit
blacks and whites, men and women, on an equal basis. Fee’s
founding vision characterized Berea until 1904, when Kentucky enacted
the Day Law prohibiting integrated classrooms in the state’s
schools, a law Berea unsuccessfully appealed all the way to the
U.S. Supreme Court. Not until 1950, when the law was amended, was
Berea able to resume admitting African American students
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