Kay Coles James, who visited the home of Dr. Robert Russa Moton in Gloucester County as a child, formed the Gloucester Institute to bring the house back to life and revive its former mission of championing racial equality. She calls it the 'cradle of the civil rights community.' PETER CIHELKA/THE FREE LANCE-STAR View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

Region is home to 'cradle' of civil rights

Restoring a legacy of leadership

BY EDIE GROSS

Date published: 1/19/2009

BY EDIE GROSS

GLOUCESTER--Forty years before the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. climbed the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to share his dream for racial equality with the world, Robert Russa Moton did the same.

Invited by President Warren G. Harding to deliver the keynote address at the memorial's 1922 dedication, Moton praised Lincoln's efforts to unite the country but insisted there was still work to be done.

"Twelve million black men and women in this country are proud of their American citizenship, but they are determined that it shall mean for them no less than for any other group, the largest enjoyment of opportunity and the fullest blessings of freedom," said the son of former slaves.

" Let us strive on to finish the work which he so nobly began, to make America the symbol for equal justice and equal opportunity for all."

Then Moton, a Virginia native and the second president of what is now Tuskegee University, returned to his seat in the "colored only" section of the crowd.

Moton died in 1940, 24 years before the Civil Rights Act outlawed racial segregation.

But his home in Gloucester County, about two hours from Fredericksburg, continued to serve as a gathering place for intellectuals and community leaders championing the cause of racial equality. The United Negro College Fund was born beneath its gabled roof.

Honored guests included Melvin Tolson, coach of the Wiley College debate team, which broke the color barrier in 1935 by defeating an all-white University of Southern California team; James Farmer, one of the "Big Four" leaders of the civil rights movement and founder of the Congress of Racial Equality; and King, who is said to have drafted part of his "I Have a Dream" speech in the shade of the home's 400-year-old live oak overlooking the York River.

"For many years, this was the gathering place. One person told me it would not be a mistake to call this the cradle of the civil rights community," said Kay Coles James, who is ushering in a new legacy of leadership at the historic home.

'SOLUTIONISTS' WELCOME

As a child, James played with dolls on the floor of the home's living room while her aunt and uncle talked strategy with other civil rights activists.

LEGACY OF LEADERSHIP Robert Russa Moton was born on an Amelia County plantation two years after slavery was abolished. His mother taught him to read in secret, fearing the plantation owner wouldn't approve. But when the two were discovered, the plantation owner directed his daughter to take over teaching Moton. He graduated from Hampton Institute in 1890, then remained there for the next 25 years as the school's head of discipline. He befriended Booker T. Washington, the first president of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, and following Washington's death in 1915, Moton became the school's second president. He traveled the country speaking on behalf of racial equality, raising money for Tuskegee and helping establish a veterans hospital in Alabama for black soldiers returning from World War I. He served as an adviser to Presidents Wilson, Harding, Coolidge, Hoover and Franklin D. Roosevelt. During WWI, Wilson sent Moton to France to inspect black troops. In 1935, Moton retired to Gloucester County, home to his wife's family. Four corporations, including Kellogg and Sears, donated $35,000 to Moton in honor of his public service. He used the money to build Holly Knoll at Cappahosic, a three-story home on the banks of the York River, which is on the national and state historic registries. Students from Hampton University actually did much of the work on the house for a grade. With invitations stating "Come to Cappahosic," Moton urged leaders to gather at his home to debate issues of the day. After his death in 1940 at the age of 72, his son-in-law, Frederick Patterson, continued that tradition. Patterson, the third president of what is now Tuskegee University, founded the United Negro College Fund, which operated a conference center at Moton's home for a time. GLOUCESTER INSTITUTE The nonprofit Gloucester Institute was founded two years ago to restore Robert Russa Moton's historic property in Gloucester County, and support young leaders working for racial equality. While the home is not offered "for rent," the institute makes it available for events that fall within its mission. Founded by Kay Coles James--who has worked in local, state and federal government as well as for nonprofits and private companies--the institute sponsors leadership conferences, writing workships and other events for young leaders. For more information, visit gloucesterinstitute.org.