Chapter 5
Educating the Next Generation
I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Psalm 32:8
Black schools, vocational training, church-supported learning, and the belief that education was freedom
Education was never incidental at Saint John Missionary Baptist Church. It was intentional, communal, and deeply spiritual. Long before formal degrees became common in Newton County’s Black community, learning was framed as a sacred responsibility—something to be protected, pursued, and passed down.
In the decades following emancipation, African Americans in Newton County understood a hard truth: freedom without education was fragile. Literacy meant survival. Schooling meant mobility. Training meant dignity. And the church—often the only institution fully controlled by Black families—became the place where these beliefs were nurtured and reinforced.
Saint John did not operate a schoolhouse in name alone; it cultivated an educational culture.
Learning as a Collective Mission
Children raised in the Saint John community grew up hearing the same refrain echoed from pulpits, kitchens, classrooms, and club meetings: get your education. This instruction was not abstract. It was reinforced through action—by parents who sacrificed, teachers who stayed, and churches that celebrated achievement publicly.
Newspaper clippings preserved across decades show a steady rhythm: honor roll announcements, college graduations, vocational certifications, professional promotions, and civic appointments. These were not isolated successes. They were the outcome of a system built on expectation and reinforcement.
Education at Saint John followed multiple paths:
- Black public schools and vocational programs during segregation
- Historically Black colleges and universities such as Jackson State, Alcorn State, Tougaloo College, and Mary Holmes College
- Military service and technical training
- Professional degrees earned far from Newton County, but carried back home in legacy
Each path was affirmed as valid and necessary.
Teachers as Pillars
One of the most enduring educational influences tied to Saint John was the presence of teachers who treated instruction as both profession and calling.
Susie Gray Rayford stands as a central example. A graduate of Newton Vocational High School’s Class of 1939 and later a college graduate of Jackson State College, she devoted more than four decades to teaching. Her work extended from traditional classrooms into Head Start programs, ensuring that learning began early and remained consistent.
Her career illustrates a crucial reality: Black teachers were the backbone of educational continuity during segregation. They taught under-resourced schools, mentored beyond school hours, and reinforced civic responsibility through example. Her involvement in voter registration efforts and women’s organizations further linked education to citizenship.
Educators like Rayford did more than teach subjects—they stabilized communities.
Mary Ann Walker, daughter ofY.Z. Walker and Sarah Elizabeth Thornton Walker, another Saint John–connected educator, taught business and accounting at Clarke College, preparing students for professional and financial literacy in an era when such skills were rarely accessible to African Americans.
Other teachers who taught at Saint John or were part of the Saint John community included Freeman Nichols, Arzola Walker Hornsby, Clinton Collier, Laura Donald, Mattie M. Morton, and Lula Walker. Freeman was recognized in local newspapers as one of Newton County’s pioneering Black educators, having taught in various public schools throughout the county. Meanwhile, Lula Walker served as a government-paid schoolteacher in Ecru, Pontotoc County, Mississippi.
Higher Education as Breaking Ground
By the late twentieth century, Saint John’s educational reach extended well beyond Newton County. One of the clearest expressions of this commitment appears in students who advanced into leadership roles at historically Black colleges and universities.
Eric Cook, a Newton native and son of Rev. and Mrs. Michael Chapman, exemplifies this trajectory. A graduate of Newton High School, Cook attended Jackson State University, where he rose to become President of the Student Government Association during the 1994–1995 academic year. His leadership extended beyond campus politics—he helped ratify the JSU constitution and expand the student activity fund to $100,000.
He later earned a Ph.D. in Educational Administration, reflecting a sustained commitment to educational leadership and institutional reform.
Another figure whose roots trace back to Saint John is Dr. Cleveland Donald, Jr, whose educational journey placed him at the center of Mississippi’s desegregation history. Born to Cleveland Donald, Sr and Rose Mae Flowers Donald, a family deeply involved in Saint John church leadership and civil rights activism, Donald became the third African American student to enroll at the University of Mississippi in 1964 and later the second to graduate.
He went on to earn a doctorate from Cornell University and returned to Ole Miss to help establish its first Black Studies program—transforming an institution that once resisted his presence into one that acknowledged African American scholarship.
Educational attainment also extended into medicine and science. Dr. Theron Evans, Jr., a Newton native, son of Rev. Theron Evans, Sr. and Catherine Donald Evans, and a graduate of segregated local schools, became the first recipient of the Biloxi–Gulfport VA Medical Center’s Physician of the Year Award. Board-certified in internal medicine, a Navy veteran, and a clinical professor, his career exemplifies the far-reaching outcomes of early educational encouragement.
These achievements were not framed as departures from the community, but as extensions of it.
Vocational Training and Practical Education
Education at Saint John was never limited to traditional academics. Practical skills were equally valued.
Vocational programs, cooperative education, and military service were embraced as legitimate routes to stability and advancement. Gregory Walker, son of James Lee Evans, participated in vocational education programs, coupled with academic honors and later military service, reflecting how the community balanced aspiration with practicality.
That same balance is visible in the educational path of Edward Earl Walker, son of Roosevelt Walker and Johnnie Mae Owens Walker, as he represents the educational pipeline cultivated within the Saint John community. Raised in Newton County, he emerged as one of the county’s most accomplished youth leaders through his involvement in 4-H programs during the 1960s.
Newspaper coverage frequently highlighted Edward’s achievements in science, agriculture, and leadership. He served as president of the Saint John 4-H Club, competed at district and state levels—including contests held at Mississippi State University—and earned recognition as an Outstanding Teenager while a student at N. H. Pilate Vocational High School, from which he graduated in 1968.
Edward continued his education at Alcorn A&M College (now Alcorn State University), earning a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Education in 1972. He went on to serve as a federal soil conservationist with the United States Soil Conservation Service, holding positions in Batesville, Wiggins, and Vicksburg, Mississippi.
His career reflected the Saint John belief that education was not merely personal advancement, but a responsibility to land, community, and public service. Though his life was cut short at age thirty-one, Edward Earl Walker stands as a clear example of how church-supported learning, vocational training, and youth leadership programs translated into professional achievement and civic contribution.
Organizations such as 4-H Clubs, Extension Homemaker programs, and church-sponsored youth groups reinforced discipline, record-keeping, public speaking, and leadership—skills that translated directly into workplace success.
This approach recognized that education had many forms, but one purpose: independence rooted in service. As educational attainment increased, its impact became visible not only in classrooms and churches, but in corporate, medical, and governmental leadership far beyond Newton County.
Professional Advancement Beyond Newton County
Education at Saint John did not only produce teachers and physicians—it produced engineers, executives, and administrators who carried their community’s values into corporate and public spaces.
Fredrick Walker, the grandson of Y.Z. Walker and Sarah Elizabeth Thornton Walker, a graduate of Newton High School, earned a degree in chemical engineering and later became the first African American chemical plant manager in Chevron’s history. His career placed him in leadership roles across the United States and internationally, yet he consistently acknowledged his Newton County roots.
Similarly, Daryl Brown, another grandson of Y.Z. Walker and Sarah Elizabeth Thornton Walker, a Newton native, progressed through Mississippi Power and Georgia Power, ultimately serving as a regional sales and marketing manager. His professional achievements were complemented by serving as captain in the U.S. Army Reserve, where he served since 1987 reinforcing the pattern of disciplined, community-oriented leadership.
Women, Higher Education, and Service Professions
Saint John women pursued education not only for personal advancement, but as a means of service.
Tawny Evans, daughter of Huey Clinton Evans and Cindy Billingsley, a student at Alcorn State University, was named to Who’s Who Among Students in American Colleges and Universities, a national recognition based on academic achievement, leadership, and service.
Healthcare was another avenue through which education translated into community care. Pamela Juanita Hall, daughter of Sam Purvis Hall and Juanita (Sally) Evans Hall, graduate of Newton High School, earned an associate degree in nursing and became a registered nurse, representing a long tradition of Saint John families entering the medical field to serve others.
Women, Education, and the Future
Black women associated with Saint John played an outsized role in sustaining educational momentum.
From homemakers’ clubs and youth organizations to advisory committees, women like Johnnie Mae Owens Walker, Agnes Mae Walker Wesley, Catherine Donald Evans, Sarah Elizabeth Thornton Walker, Ruthie May Bender, Mary Francis Walker Brown, Charcy Needham Walker, Georgia Nell Jordan Moore, and others ensured that learning remained embedded in community life. Their work with youth programs, civic organizations, and school advisory boards bridged church, home, and classroom.
Education was not seen as separate from moral development. It was intertwined with discipline, service, and self-respect.
Achievement, Loss, and Continuity
The story of education at Saint John includes both triumph and tragedy.
Young people like Gregory Walker, Ashley Cora Banks, Derek Van Dyke Brown, Inez Campbell, Clinton Chapman, Darnell Keshune Donald, Titus Evans, Henry James Hickmon, Jr., May Helen Jordan, Brittany La’Sha Walker, Claudie D. Walker, Margaret Ann Walker, Margaret Ann Watkins, Peggy Williams, Marquise Poole, among many others whose names appear throughout school records, church programs, and newspapers, represent generations whose promise was nurtured by family, school, and church. Their academic recognitions, leadership roles, and community support reflect the ongoing investment made by Saint John across time—even when lives were cut short.
Their remembrance reinforces a core truth of this chapter: education was never just about outcomes; it was about belief.
More recently, Marquise Poole, a scholar-athlete and honor roll student, exemplified the continuation of this educational legacy into the twenty-first century. His posthumous graduation and the community’s response underscore how deeply education remains tied to identity, hope, and collective pride at Saint John.
Education as Freedom
At Saint John Missionary Baptist Church, education was understood as freedom in motion.
It was freedom to vote.
Freedom to migrate.
Freedom to lead.
Freedom to return home changed.
From segregated schoolrooms to university boardrooms, the church community created an environment where learning was expected, supported, and celebrated. Each diploma, certificate, and honor roll listing served as quiet resistance against a world that questioned Black worth.
Saint John did not merely educate individuals—it educated generations.
And in doing so, it ensured that faith was not confined to the pews, but carried forward into classrooms, professions, and futures far beyond Newton County.
At Saint John, education was not preparation for leaving—it was preparation for living.