Michael’s eyes darted around his classroom, hoping to find a familiar face. It was his first day in school, first grade. His parents had explained that this school would provide him with more opportunities, better facilities, and diverse resources. Hopefully, he would make friends, too. As Michael continued investigating his surroundings, he realized he was the only African-American student in the entire school.
Michael Caldwell was the first African-American student to attend Cane Valley Elementary School in Adair County. The year was 1956. Michael was six years old. His sister, Rose, would follow him the next year as the first female African-American to enter the school.
Their entry was the direct result of a lawsuit filed through the NAACP by parents of “Negro” children in Adair County in 1956. Only two years before, on May 17, 1954, the Supreme Court issued its landmark decision, Brown v. Board of Education, ruling segregation unconstitutional. Mr. Gene Caldwell, Michael and Rose’s father, took advantage of the rulings, and after speaking to the school superintendent, Michael entered the first grade in the all-white school. His two children would be pioneers, paving the way for integrating African-American children into Adair County Public Schools and among the first in Kentucky.
Michael and Rose became painfully aware of prejudice. But these two little ones had an inner drive to succeed. Children mimicking the prejudicial animus of their parents would not stop Michael and Rose from pursuing their love of learning.
Michael learned to stand up to the boys who called him “nigger,” while shoving him down on the playground. “The teachers were quick to break up the scuffles,” he told me, crediting them with alertness.
Rose encountered bullies on the school bus. Racial slurs were a daily occurrence. “One boy would hit me on the back of the head and call me the “N” word,” she said. Others would walk by, touch her ebony skin, pretend to see if the color had rubbed off on their own, and then mockingly snicker at Rose as they displayed their hands and arms.
None of the girls would play with little Rose, so she stayed inside during recess. “My teacher, Ms. Judy, made the difference. She treated me just like the other students, allowing me to participate in all activities.” Mrs. Judy was pivotal. “During recess, she let me stay inside and brush her hair.”
Rose didn’t tell her parents about the bullying because she wanted to go to school and learn. “I loved my teacher and learning and was afraid my parents might take me out of the school.”
When the African-American school closed, these two courageous children made it easier for other African-American students, including their ten younger siblings. Michael and Rose set the example of handling adversity and succeeding despite opposition.
Rose would eventually earn a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from the University of Kentucky, contributing to the lives of others as a school nurse, loving children of all races like Ms. Judy had loved Rose.
Michael earned a degree in Agriculture from the University of Kentucky and worked as a County Extension Agent, helping integrate African-American children into 4-H programs in the state.
Both invested their lives in the church. Michael eventually became an ordained minister and has served as Pastor of Pleasant Union Baptist Church in Campbellsville, Ky., for the past 20 years.
Reverend Caldwell and Mrs. Jones cite their parents’ fortitude in encouraging them to brave the gauntlet of racial prejudice to better their education and possibilities for their future. Their father, Gene Caldwell, age 98, has been honored this year with a Lifetime Achievement Award for Juneteenth, 2024.
I first met these two winsome people while teaching a night class for Campbellsville University. Though they have earned degrees and are retired from successful careers, they remain eager to learn.
Neither Rev. Caldwell nor Mrs. Jones carries burdens of resentment; all I see in them is love. They live the truth of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s statement, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
During Juneteenth, commemorating the end of slavery in the U.S., I will pause and give thanks for the little-known struggles for racial equity, evidenced in people like Reverend Caldwell and his sister, Mrs. Rose Jones, as well as their father, and yes, Ms. Judy—people whose example of love, courage, and passion for learning should remind us of the tremendous difference unsung heroes have made.