Wendell Scott, Racing Legend

I began racing circle track stock cars when I was just 14, my Father knew about this and

supported my efforts, as long as my Mother didn’t find out. (She never did lol) My Dad

introduced me to everyone that he could as it related to racing. In 1979, just 2 years after

Richard Pryor portrayed the character of Wendell Scott in the movie “Greased

Lightning” my Dad and I found ourselves in Danville Virginia looking for race car parts.

It was on this trip to Danville that I was fortunate enough to meet and become friends

with Wendell Scott, and the entire Scott family. Wendell was a man who had

experienced firsthand, the harshness of discrimination. I remember the first day that we

met Wendell Scott, he left what he was doing at his auto repair business, put us in his

old Cadillac, and took us on a tour of Danville. Wendell showed us the routes he used to

outrun the Police back in the 40’s & 50’s when he ran moonshine. He showed me where

the train wreck of old 97 happened, and other various points of interest around Danville.

Wendell still had most of his old vintage race cars stored in his back lot, it was like

touching history. We had lunch together and afterward we went to his home where we

met Mary (his wife), and Sybil, (one of his youngest daughters). I grew up in a home

where everyone was welcome. My mother and Father taught us to treat people the way

we wanted them to treat us, and they showed us by example. My friendship with

Wendell Scott carried on until his death in December of 1990, my friendship with his

family continues today.

I would describe Wendell Scott as a man who accomplished more with less, a man of

determination, and perseverance, a pioneer in his chosen sport, a man who could have

held a grudge but didn’t. I will always use Wendell Scott as the very definition of dignity,

and character. Wendell Scott not only taught me a bunch about racing cars, but also how

to treat people good even if they don’t always return the favor.

Wendell Oliver Scott:

Born August 29, 1921, in Danville, VA; died of spinal

cancer, December 24, 1990; married Mary; children: Willie

Ann, Wendell Jr., Franklin, Deborah, Cheryl, Sybil, and

Michael.

Career:

Taxi cab driver, 1939-43; U.S. Army, 1943-45; city service, 1945-49; Taxi cab driver/race

driver, 1949-52; NASCAR driver, 1952-73; owner of Scott’s Garage, 1949-90.

Awards and Accolades:

Keys to numerous Cities; Virginia State Racing Championship and Southside Speedway

Championship, 1959; 127 race wins; Jacksonville Speedway Championship, 1963; State

of Florida Citation for Outstanding Achievements, 1965; honorary

Lieutenant-Colonel-Aide-de-Camp, Alabama State Militia, 1970; Curtis Turner

Memorial Achievement Award, 1971; Special Olympics Service Award, 1974; Schasfer

Brewing Company Achievement Award, 1975; subject of the movie and novel, Greased

Lightning, 1977; Bont Cultural Council Achievement Award, Greenville, SC, 1977;

National Black Athletic Hall of Fame, 1977; Tobacco land 200 Award for the Finest

NASCAR Driver, 1978; Fort Belvair, VA Award for Outstanding Services Rendered,

1979; Black Rose Community Services Award, 1980; Muscular Dystrophy Association

Award for Achievements, 1981; Virginia Skyline Girl Scout Council, Inc. Award for

outstanding contributions, 1985; Proclamation of Atlanta, GA and Danville, VA, 1986;

Wendell Scott Foundation and Scholarship Fund, 1986; Early Dirt Racers Driver of the

Year Award, 1990; Wendell Scott Day, Danville, VA, 1990; mourned and honored by the

General Assembly of Virginia, January 16, 1991. International Motorsports Hall of fame

inductee, 1999; Subject of the book “Hard Driving 2008;”NASCAR hall of fame

inductee, 2015. Characterized in the fictional movie “Cars 3” as Scott, 2017. Subject of

the book “Racing against the odds” 2018.

Abbreviated Biography:

After working as a taxi driver and a moonshine runner, Wendell Oliver Scott (August 28,

1921–December 23, 1990) began racing professionally late in the 1940s. Owners of the

Danville raceway approached Scott about racing, with hopes of increasing African

American attendance at their events. The officials had consulted with local authorities,

who reported that Scott had several speeding offenses and that he was the one

moonshine runner that they could not catch.

In 1959 Scott won the Sportsman Division championship at Richmond’s Southside

Speedway and NASCAR’s Virginia State Sportsman Championship. In 1961, after nearly

200 wins, he decided to leave the Sportsman and Modified racing leagues and move to

NASCAR’s major division, the Grand National racing circuit.

Racing in nearly 500 NASCAR Grand National (later Sprint Cup) events, Scott earned

more than $180,000. He won one checkered flag, in Jacksonville, Florida, on December

1, 1963, but was denied the opportunity to publicly celebrate his only Grand National

victory. At the conclusion of the race, Scott was scored a lap down and the second-place

finisher, Buck Baker, was declared the winner. Scott contested the decision, and hours

later NASCAR overturned the ruling, citing a scoring error. Although Scott never

accepted the explanation, he handled the slight with dignity, as he did in scores of other

instances of discrimination that he faced in his personal and professional life.

A racing accident in Talladega Alabama forced Scott to retire from competition in 1973.

He finished his career with 147 top ten finishes in 495 Grand National starts. He was

named to the National Sports Hall of Fame, the International Motorsports Hall of Fame,

the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame, and the Virginia Sports Hall

of Fame.

Next: Grace K Murphy, teacher and influencer

This is a photograph of my English teacher when I was in the 11th grade. Her name – Mrs.Grace K. Murphy! She taught me how to diagram, recite the Gettysburg Address andunderstand the importance of Black History Month! Her bulletin board in the back of theroom was the area the class pinned their research on the biographies of the great men andwomen in our country to honor the triumphs and struggles of African Americansthroughout history! I remember like it was just yesterday the names on the board such asThurgood Marshall, Harriet Tubman, Jackie Robinson, Rosa Parks, Sojourner Truth and JoeLewis to name a few! This was important to Mrs. Murphy and it is important to me as well! Iam sure she is looking down on one of her student’s with a big smile!

Next: Erik A. Moses

President, Nashville Superspeedway

Introduction

Meet Erik A. Moses. Nascar’s first black track president in the history of its existence. Erikwas named President of Nashville Superspeedway back in August of 2020.

The former CEO of the DC Sports and Entertainment Commission and president of the DCDefenders of the XFL was named president of the Nashville Superspeedway in August 2020,becoming the first Black track president in NASCAR history.

Erik’s great uncle, John Kenneth Lee, was one of the first five Black students to desegregatethe University of North Carolina School of Law in 1951. Now Erik, 50, is writing his ownhistory, looking to draw crowds at his superspeedway and to add more diversity across thedifferent levels of the sport.

Aside from bringing Cup racing back to Middle Tennessee, some other goals that Erik wouldlike to accomplish in the near future include Hosting a HBCU football classic within theinfield of the Speedway. A feat such as this has been done at neighboring Bristol MotorSpeedway for various other levels of college football.

Just Last week, in fact, Erik spoke at the performance lecture series, CommunityConnections, hosted by Elizabeth City State University, on Breaking Barriers at theRacetrack: A Conversation With Erik Moses.

Harriet Jacobs

Harriet Jacobs was born into slavery in 1813 in Edenton, North Carolina. As a teenager, shesuffered brutal treatment and sexual harassment at the hands of her slave owners. Duringthis time, she fell in love and had two children with Samuel Sawyer, a white attorney, whowould later become a U. S. Congressman. This act did not help her situation, and in fact, itmade it worse for her. She escaped from her plantation and hid in a shed at hergrandmother’s house for seven years before moving to New York City in 1842. There sheworked as a domestic servant for Nathaniel Willis, a successful journalist. She later movedto Rochester, New York, for a brief time and became friends with Frederick Douglass. Uponher return to New York City in 1852, she resumed her position as a domestic servant. Thatyear, Mr. Willis’ wife, Cornelia, purchased Harriet and her two children and had thememancipated. During her early life, Harriet developed her skills as a writer. While inRochester, she worked on Frederick Douglass’ newspaper, the North Star. It was therewhere she wrote her first in a series of letters about her life as a slave and of her escapefrom slavery. She later published a book, Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl, in 1861. Whilethe book received favorable reviews, it did not sell well due to it being released during thestart of the Civil War. During her mid-life, she worked with Quakers to build schools andother establishments for newly freed slaves in Washington, DC, Virginia, and Georgia.Harriet spent her later years with her daughter in Cambridge, Massachusetts, andWashington, DC, where she died in 1897. For her acts of bravery during her early life, herdetailed accounts of slavery in her letters and book, and her work with assisting newlyfreed slaves, she deserves to be remembered as a heroine and champion for us all.

Source: Belasco, Susan. “Harriet Jacobs.” Bedford Anthology of American Literature:Beginnings to 1865, Second Edition. Bedford Books St Martin's, 2014, pp. 914-915

Oprah Gail Winfrey

American television host, actress, producer, philanthropist and entrepreneur Oprah Gail

Winfrey was born on January 29, 1954, in Kosciusko, Mississippi. After a troubled

adolescence in a small farming community, where she was sexually abused by a number of

male relatives and friends of her mother, Vernita, she moved to Nashville to live with her

father, Vernon, a barber and businessman. She entered Tennessee State University in 1971

and began working in radio and television broadcasting in Nashville.

In 1976, Oprah Winfrey moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where she hosted the TV chat show

People Are Talking. The show became a hit and Winfrey stayed with it for eight years, after

which she was recruited by a Chicago TV station to host her own morning show, A.M.

Chicago. Her major competitor in the time slot was Phil Donahue. Within several months,

Winfrey's open, warm-hearted personal style had won her 100,000 more viewers than

Donahue and had taken her show from last place to first in the ratings. Her success led to

nationwide fame and a role in Steven Spielberg's 1985 film The Color Purple, for which she

was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Winfrey launched the Oprah Winfrey Show in 1986 as a nationally syndicated program.

With its placement on 120 channels and an audience of 10 million people, the show grossed

$125 million by the end of its first year, of which Winfrey received $30 million. She soon

gained ownership of the program from ABC, drawing it under the control of her new

production company, Harpo Productions ('Oprah' spelled backwards) and making more and

more money from syndication.

According to Forbes magazine, Oprah was the richest African American of the 20th century

and the world's only Black billionaire for three years running. Life magazine hailed her as

the most influential woman of her generation. In 2005, Business Week named her the

greatest Black philanthropist in American history. Oprah's Angel Network has raised more

than $51,000,000 for charitable programs, including girls' education in South Africa and

relief to the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Winfrey is a dedicated activist for children's rights; in 1994, President Clinton signed a bill

into law that Winfrey had proposed to Congress, creating a nationwide database of

convicted child abusers. She founded the Family for Better Lives foundation and also

contributes to her alma mater, Tennessee State University. In September 2002, Oprah was

named the first recipient of the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences' Bob Hope

Humanitarian Award.

In January 2018, Winfrey became the first African-American woman to be honored with the

Golden Globes' Cecil B. DeMille Award, for lifetime achievement. In a powerful speech, she

recalled being inspired by seeing Sidney Poitier honored at the Globes decades earlier,

before emphasizing the importance of a free press and the power of speaking the truth in a

"culture broken by brutally powerful men."

"So I want all the girls watching here and now to know that a new day is on the horizon,"

she said, in closing. "And when that new day finally dawns, it will be because of a lot of

magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty

phenomenal men, fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to

the time when nobody ever has to say, 'Me too' again."

Site: http://www.biography.com/people/oprah-winfrey-9534419#synopsis