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[music] It's all about home A dedicated community advocate, an active member of the Trenton Community Council, he has been instrumental in several important initiatives, working to preserve the history and culture of the Trenton area.

Hello, I'm Don McCorry.

On this edition of Tennessee is Talking, we're sitting down with Sam Doaks III.

As an advocate for community empowerment, he's played a significant role in helping to raise the awareness and honor the history of African Americans in the region.

Let the conversation begin.

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[music] West Tennessee PBS presents Tennessee is .. Let the conversation begin.

Thanks for joining the discussion here on Tennessee is Talking.

Hello, I'm Don McCorry.

For being part of the local Juneteenth events that celebrate African American heritage, to efforts to save a historically Black school, Sam Doaks III has been a tireless advocate for Trenton's past and future.

Thanks for joining us.

Thank you.

Your family has a history.. Do you want to tell us about it?

Sure.

Thank you for having me.

It was Presbyterian minister Samuel Doak and his son that actually built the oldest college here in Tennessee, that's Tusculum University out in East Tennessee.

They are accredited for it, but it actually was the Doak slaves that shaped the bricks and built the school themselves.

Do you know what year that was?

Oh, excuse me, 1796.

1796, okay, got it.

Yes, sir.

The stipulation was that through oral traditions it's taught that when they built the school, he allowed them their freedom.

We're also learned that he gave them their education there as well.

That's one flag, but there's many others.

That's why we want to share this information with our viewers.

There was a private George Henry Doaks Jr. in the United States Army, as many people may know, was shot and killed by Jesse Hill Ford, the writer of Liberation, Lord Byron Jones, that made national news, NBC, New York Times.

This was in war, or was this [?]

This was in Humboldt, Tennessee, actually, and where they shot the movie, The Liberation of Lord Byron Jones, and also in Trenton.

1971, like I said, United States Army and mistaken identity, he ended up taking my cousin's life.

I say that to say this, that we are deeply rooted in the history of Trenton.

My grandfather was the first Black school bus driver.

His nephew was the first Black police captain.

It clearly sounds this has become very personal to you.

Can you share a little bit how you decided to become involved as a community advocate?

Yes, sir.

Big shoes, big shoes, .. My grandmother lived 99 and a half years, so we called her Mama Jolene.

When I moved back to Tennessee, she mentored me in her last years.

She coached me about the procedures that they took to incur change.

Going door to door, talking face to face, going to city hall or the county courthouse.

Service runs in your family.

Yes, sir.

As someone who is so deeply engaged in local initiatives, how do the impact of your work changing your community?

The response for events like Juneteenth has been amazing.

We've also collaborated with the local police for events like National Night Out to keep occurring annually to show our camaraderie between keeping our streets safe and the homes we live in.

I can definitely see that being here for Black History Month is one thing, but being there for the people of Trenton is another.

We represent everyone, and I do see a change in that.

How many years have you had the Juneteenth celebration?

Is this just for the past few years?

No, this will be our sixth year.

Sixth year.

Yes, sir.

We did one back in 2015, but in 2020, we began to have it annually.

The community is very receptive?

-Most definitely.

It grows every year.

I think our police officers have more fun than anyone there because they get to really engage the youth.

That's important.

Got it.

In your view, what is the importance of celebrating Juneteenth?

It gives a sense of identity.

Also, it allows people to understand that no matter what their cultural background is, that we are here as Americans, and that we can share the freedoms that everyone's been shared for so long.

We can do it with a sense of pride as far as knowing who we are, where we've been, and teaching where we can go.

Speaking of teaching, you have the opportunity, I guess, of teaching young people as well as adults about the holiday, the history behind Juneteenth itself.

How do you do that with the youth, especially?

Storytelling, one.

Oral traditions have gone on since the beginning of time.

Also, the story of the drum is important.

It's important that they know that.

The elders pass that down, that wisdom, to the children.

They're very receptive.

As you know, everybody loves music.

To understand what's embedded in that music, embedded in the heartbeat of the drum, is important.

Can you share more about the school?

I guess, how you ended up in Trenton, or your family ended up in Trenton?

Because you said you moved back here from Louisiana.

Oh, yes, sir.

As I've said, the Reverend Samuel Doak, he was one of the over-the-mountain men.

He started the Presbyterian Church of America, and also, like I said, established the first college here.

When he freed his slaves-- Actually, my grandfather taught us that we weren't even slaves, because their oral traditions taught them that they were free when they got here.

As people migrated west, they settled down in places like New Bern, the Dyersburg area, and, of course, Trenton.

I have a grandfather named George Washington Doak that built one of the oldest churches in Trenton, Jemima's Chapel, which also served as a Masonic lodge for years.

We see that you are the third.

Your heritage is obviously very deep.

I'm named after his son.

You're named after his son.

Yes.

Got it.

All right.

I understand that there's a historically Black school in Trenton that you are committed to saving.

You want to share that story?

Most definitely.

Trenton O. Rosenwald is a passion of mine.

Oh, it's been over 10 years now, but congressional candidate and former city Alderman Hollis Skinner, as well as local historian Dr. Al Jordan, reached out to me when they saw my solo efforts.

They felt to express the fact that it definitely takes a village.

You can't do it by yourself.

I think it was Dr. Caroll Van West out of MTSU that let them know that you're going to have to have a community response in order to save this school.

It was Hollis that went out there in 2017 and spoke to the State Building Commission that stopped the demolition of the school.

This is something I'm very passionate about.

My father did graduate from the original version of Trenton Rosenwald, which was burned down in 1954.

It was built in 1928.

It was burned down in 1954 and rebuilt.

That's the building that stands there today over 70 years.

Is it a middle school or high school?

It was a high school.

It was a high school.

Then it became a middle scho.. Then it became a community center.

Now it's just a daycare.

The majority of the building is vacant.

Are there fundraising efforts or events that you're holding to get people physically to help you with this?

As you said, it takes a village.

It obviously is going to take some money.

Definitely.

Do you have any fundraising efforts that are in the works that the community can get involved in also?

It's like my grandmother said.

It's a face-to-face town.

I'm zero emissions.

I walk pretty much everywhere I go in Trenton because it's a small town.

It's good.

People know you.

We've worked up something like a good response of sorts, a consortium going from local government and non-profits and churches all the way up to Nashville, as far as even the Speaker of the House and the Congressman, are very supportive in our efforts to resurrect that building and repurpose it as a hub for the community.

I know you've probably run into some challenges and some roadblocks during the process, but it has not stopped you and your efforts for making sure this happens.

I'm sure the community would love to get involved, so is there a place that they can go, is there a website or a Facebook page that we can go to find out more information to show that support?

Right now, my Gmail is sufficient, which is trentoncommunitycouncil@gmail.

If anybody would like to reach out, right now, like I said, it feels like we're beginning over and over again.

Now we're beginning to actually implement this plan that people have this dream of creating a community hub.

If anybody else has that dream, that would be more than welcome.

It sounds like you've had some setbacks, but it has not derailed the entire project itself.

No, sir, it hasn't.

It's anything, it's fueled even more motivation to get it accomplished.

Good.

That Gmail address is?

trentoncommunitycouncil.

Great.

Do you want to talk a little bit about .. Sure.

That was birthed by Hollis and Dr. Jordan.

Like I said, the concept of going out in the community and finding people who are willing to incur change.

My role has been just recruitment and almost as if glue of a sort to try to find people's gifts and put them in the proper place where they can implement that change in Trenton throughout Gibson Co.. Are there vacancies on the council?

Are you looking to add to it or you just want more support for that council?

I believe everything's on hold until we get something accomplished at that school.

I believe every desert community requires an oasis.

We don't have that in Trenton.

It could provide many resources, and the team we have put together, I believe, is really sufficient in what their efforts are.

I would like for the community who is excited about this project, who may want to get involved, to be able to have something to connect to allow them.

Where, once again, is the school in Trenton, if they wanted to visit it?

If you're familiar with history, and it's called geographical racism, most Rosenwalds are in the bottoms in any city that you go to, or in the lowlands, in the flood zones.

That's the same in Trenton.

Ours is located right off of 2nd Street and Lexington Street, right there in the heart of the city, just only a couple blocks from the city hall and the county courthouse.

We're right there in the community.

All right.

Has the city government or state government provided any support in this project?

Most definitely.

We're not taking no for an answer, and those nos have turned into yeses during this last decade or so.

Yes, the city has vowed their support.

The county's got our back, and we're really excited about that.

How many people do you have on your team, or is it you?

Trenton Community Council is made up of pastors, mothers, fathers, just laymen, people who work in politics.

It's a very gray area as far as specifying who these people are because at any given time people are willing to help.

I've attempted to take me, myself, and I out of the equation and implement our, us, and we.

It's very important that we do this together.

We started off as a nonprofit, like I said, and right now we're just recalculating.

Now that things have grown and we've gained so much support.

Gained support and recognition.

Yes, sir.

I just had a great thought that if it's not being done already, this would be a wonderful conversation with young people to have within their schools.

With the schools that they live in, to know the history behind the school that you're trying to save.

I don't want to give you any more work, but I'm sure that the schools would welcome to have you at one of their assemblies to share this information with young people, to get them engaged as well.

Definitely.

I network with the schoo.. Trenton Special School District has been very gracious.

I also am on the council at the library on the board, just appointed trustee, I believe in education.

It's very important that people have a sense of what we're doing.

I think the children of Trenton maybe have more of a desire for this than even the elders because of the lack of resources in Trenton.

On a broader scale, how does this impact the narrative of African American culture throughout the country?

You're talking about how small Trenton is, but this is a big project.

It has to have an impact going forward for a larger community.

Something like have a movie done.

We've had movies they've done before, but someone to get the story out.

Most definitely.

Working on some documentaries.

Rosenwald alumni documentary, Martin Luther King, 40 year anniversary documentary there in Trenton.

It reaches out to, I believe, to everyone who has a passion for their elders, the struggle, the stories that they've passed down.

Dr. George said, "Doing nothing is never an option," is what he says.

It's very true.

I think it just reaches out to our story entirely.

You also mentioned that you have pastors on your council.

You've obviously had been able to share this, or they would share it within their churches.

Yes, sir.

During 2018, I think crime was on the rise, got pretty violent.

We created a ministry network where ministers were able to get together.

We prayed on the streets.

It's made change.

They know what the heart of this effort is.

Crime rate has gone down exponentially in the crime-riddled areas.

That's impressive.

It's something that we take pride in, and prayer is a big portion of that.

You mentioned the documentary that you working on, you want to share a little bit more about that.

Can you tell us without letting the cat out of the bag?

Yes, most definitely.

I'm so thankful for PBS in supporting my efforts in that.

Ms. Faye Dodd, she's a former schoolteacher at Peabody High School.

She's been wonderful putting together the Martin Luther King marches throughout the years.

During COVID, she reached out to me for some assistance as far as collaborative efforts to continue.

Because of the spirit of the season, COVID lost one and people were zooming instead of getting out.

At the same time, Trenton Community Council was planning our first Juneteenth.

Those pastors came together and white churches, Black churches, white pastors, Black churches, in the spirit of Dr. King.

We got together.

You said they started during the period of COVID?

Most definitely.

We weren't really affected by COVID in Trenton.

There was an outdoor event also.

Yes, very risky.

Like I said, the spirit of the age requires people to be bold at times.

That's a remarkable achievement and continue going today.

Yes, sir.

How do you think this documentary is going to impact the citizens of Trenton to allow them to come, I guess, a little bit more deeply enmeshed with Dr. King's message about equity and justice?

I believe when those children sit down with their grandparents and their parents and they get to see them in their younger ages demanding righteousness, it'll kindle a fire within the next generation.

They'll feel responsible almost to get out there and do when it's required to do.

Now, I know that you're not going to be able to do this without including some personal stories of your family history within this documentary also.

Don't be modest.

Anybody that knows me knows that I'm for others.

I put self last.

I put others first.

If you want to know about me, I'm not even really a Trenton native.

My people are from there.

We've been there almost 200 years.

I was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

I was baptized at St. Boniface, which if the history of Milwaukee-- This is not about me.

If you like to Google St. Boniface, Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the '70s, you'll see that same spirit is within me.

Is alive within you.

Most definitely.

That's great.

I look forward to it.

Our viewers will look forward to it, to be able to find out a lot more about your family's story as well.

Thank you.

Yes, sir.

What impact do you want to have on the.. What would you identify as a benchmark or a hallmark of achievement that you would be really proud of?

The school completion?

The school, definitely.

I'm affiliated with libraries, so expanding the library, definitely.

Having more than just celebrations, but really heartfelt gatherings where people can share their ambitions.

We can grow.

We have room to grow in Trenton.

We're the county seat.

That's my hope, is that we can grow with this time and not be stuck in the past there.

For so long, we were deprived of voice.

Now that their voice is prevalent, I hope it's a clear and precise one.

Yes, sir.

Good.

The other thing I know, there are people that want to get involved.

Once again, remind us how to go about getting involved.

Start at your local city council meetings.

Find out the issues, what's going on.

Ask questions.

Get out there.

Be bold.

Scripture says, gird your loins.

Fill with your heart of hearts.

Don't go through hearsay.

Find out really what's going on and network with the people that have the resources to get the outcome that you require.

That's it.

We're in an age where it's easy to network.

It's hard to humble yourself to ask for help.

Humble yourself.

Everyone that knows me knows I give away tennis balls.

I actually brought you one.

I don't know where I put it.

I've given over 100 in the last year.

The concept behind that is that when the ball's in your court, it's your time to serve.

Great.

Thank you.

Unfortunately, we are running out of time on this edition of Tennessee is Talking.

We want to thank Mr. Doaks for joining us.

Thank you, Don.

If you want to re-watch th.. remember it can be streamed anytime on the PBS app along with all local Channel 11 programs.

You can also watch it on westtennesseepbs.org.

Keep the conversation by following West Tennessee PBS on social media.

Until next time, keep on talking Tennessee.

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