Total Action for Progress (TAP) will hold its annual Black History Month celebration at 10 a.m on Tuesday, Feb. 20 at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 1 Mountain Ave. in SW.
This event will be a celebration of African American culture featuring entertainment, guest speakers, and an awards ceremony, followed by a soul food luncheon and is free and open to the public. Those planning to attend are asked to register before February 15 by calling 540-283-4866.
This year’s honorees hail from prominent black neighborhoods around the Valley. The honorees are: The Barnett Sisters of Ballyhack, Mary Lee Barnett Moyer, Inez Barnett Rose Johnson, and Irene Barnett Clayborne, known to many as the Ballyhack Sisters, are believed to be the oldest living siblings born into the Ballyhack community. Their families have been stalwarts of the community for generations and they are the last 3 remaining of 9 children born to Lucian and Kate Hardy Barnett. The impact that the Barnett’s have had on Ballyhack is rooted in their history of loving and praising the Lord through song.
The sisters attended the old “Bally Hack School” and were very active members of Bethlehem Baptist Church. All 3 sang in the choir and were so devoted they walked a number of miles each way to church each Sunday.
Mary Lee Barnett Moyer, born in April of 1913, is the eldest of the Barnett siblings. Ms. Moyer was one of the first African American women from Ballyhack to work in a restaurant in Roanoke and was one of the first women in the community to own a vehicle. Ms. Moyer worked for many years for the Veterans Administration before retiring in the mid ‘70’s.
Inez Barnett Rose Johnson, born in February 4, 1924 is 94 years old. She was born January 18, 1930 and is 88 years old. Both Ms. Johnson and Ms. Clayborne now reside in Columbus, OH while Ms. Moyer continues to reside in the Ballyhack community.
Betty Fennell, born at Burrell Memorial Hospital in Roanoke, 1 of 5 siblings raised on Water Street, now South Broad St. in Salem and worked as a pharmacist assistant for 10 years at Burrell Memorial in addition to attending Cornett School of Business. She later began working for the Social Security Administration’s Office of Hearings and Appeals from which she retired in 2000. Ms. Betty is a member of the Red Hat Society and Golden Age Club was elected president of the Carver School Reunion Board, and takes pride in planning their reunions every two years. She has one son who has given her two beautiful and intelligent granddaughters. As a well-trusted member of the community, Betty also finds herself being a second mom to the children of the neighborhood. Her devotion to community service demonstrates her commitment to keeping the spirit of the Water Street community alive.
Stafford Lewis Sr. of Kingstown was born into the Kingstown community in 1927. The 7th child of 13 children born to Clifton and Lena Lewis and attended Kingstown’s one-room school house where he achieved a 7th grade level education. He then worked as a farmer at Hollins College before being drafted and serving in the Korean War for 21 months. Upon return from the war he worked in several meat processing plants, but later returned to his farming roots and is known as the “go-to” person of the Kingstown community. His innumerable contributions to the community include educating others to his faith and passing on his butchery and farming skills. He is a very active member of Ebenezer Baptist Church where he taught adult Sunday school for over 40 years and serves as a trustee and usher. Stafford is the husband of the late Minnie Lewis. Together they have two children, Stafford, Jr. and Patricia, 4 grandchildren, and 4 great-grandchildren. He attributes his long, happy life to always putting the Lord first and treating others the way he would want to be treated.
David Ramey Sr. pictorial of Henry Street, was born in Ridgeway, VA in 1939, but moved to Roanoke in 1949. At the early age of 5, David began to develop a love of drawing—he won numerous contests in school and even aspired to be an art teacher at one time. Once finished with school, David held various jobs before settling in at Norfolk and Western as a laborer in 1974. He retired from the railroad as a brakeman in 1996. All the while, David had a passion for preserving his fond memories of Henry Street. He documented these memories through drawings and written accounts in his book (pictoral), The Times and Life on Henry Street, published in 2012.
In 2014, David received the Citizen of the Year award in the arts from the Roanoke branch of the NAACP. David had six children, 11 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. On May 14, 2017, David passed from this earth, but his legacy lives on. His work can be found throughout the Roanoke Valley, including as “Art on the Bus,” on banners outside the new Claude Moore Education Complex, and at promotional events held by his son David Ramey Jr.
For additional information, please visit the Facebook event page located at the following link: https://www.facebook.com/events/1567086280055011/
