OR Schools desegregation topic at Altrusa meeting

“Celebrating Courage — The Desegregation of Oak Ridge Schools Sixty-Five Years Ago” will be the topic of the next Altrusa International of Oak Ridge meeting.

This meeting will be held via Zoom, a news release stated. Members will be sent information on how to log in to the meeting. Visitors with a reservation are welcome to attend. Reservations may be made by sending an email to: altrusareservations@gmail.com by noon Monday, Sept. 21. 

Rose Weaver’s program will provide background on the first school desegregation in the South. In 1955, Atomic Energy Commission (AEC) headquarters ordered the Oak Ridge public schools to desegregate. 

Later that year, 85 students entered Robertsville Junior High and Oak Ridge High School. Weaver will share their challenges as they defied the Jim Crow culture of the South and became the first African American students to desegregate, establishing a brand-new model for Southeastern public-school education. 

Weaver grew up in the Scarboro community and learned at an early age, while attending the integrated Robertsville Junior High, that the world that she viewed on the TV was indicative of the new community she would encounter.  She is a graduate of Berea College in sociology and economics and received her master’s degree in government contracting while working at the U.S. Department of Energy subcontractor Wackenhut Services Inc. She worked some 39 years at the DOE subcontractors, UT-Battelle and at the K-25 Site and Y-12 plant, as well as Wackenhut Services Inc. Her professional experience includes technical writing specialist, staffing specialist, affirmative action manager, diversity/paralegal assistant and subcontract/small business manager. 

She is also owner of Weaver Consulting, a small business that provides technical assistance to small business and youth enrichment programs in community service, internship opportunities, mentoring and scholarships. She is currently employed by the Blossom Center for Childhood Excellence as Lead Preschool 1 Teacher and Community Outreach Aide, making youth kindergarten ready and preparing them with basic educational skills.

A member of several civic and social organizations, which include Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, East Tennessee Contracting Management Association, and the Scarboro Community Alumni Association. She is the Oak Ridge NAACP Education Chair and is also active at Spurgeon Chapel AME Zion Church, where she serves as Christian Education Director, Sunday School Superintendent and Love Thy Neighbor Ministry Coordinator.  

“Her greatest aspiration is that the Oak Ridge community and the nation embrace the contributions made by Oak Ridge African Americans and that this information be incorporated in the Oak Ridge Schools curriculum,” the news release stated.

She is currently the co-chairperson with Martin McBride of the city’s 65th Anniversary Celebration of Desegregation of the Oak Ridge Schools in 1955.

Altrusa International is a service organization comprised of community members focusing on leadership, partnership and service with an emphasis on literacy and education.