Top of the Hill

Theester “Sippi” Coleman (1908-1954) and Virginia Coleman (1920-2010) From the 1940s to 60s, Charleston was a stop on the "Chitlin Circuit," where Black musicians performed in "cat dances" or "Jim Dances." The Charleston Municipal Auditorium, promoted by Sippi and his wife, hosted stars like James Brown, Chuck Berry and Louis Armstrong. Sippi provided accommodations for performers due to segregated hotels. The audience mainly consisted of Black attendees with tickets priced at $2.50 for them and $2.00 for whites, who were seated in the balcony. The Colemans were pioneers in bringing Black music to Charleston. Sippi was also business manager and Virginia was chairman of the English Department for twelve years at West Virginia State College. In 2005 Sippi received an honorary induction into the Sports Hall of Fame (class of 1935).

Dandridge D. "Butch" Brown (1897-1954) was born in Charleston. He attended Washington Elementary and Garnet High Schools. He was captain of the West Virginia State College football team and made All-American as a guard. He was inducted into the Sports Hall of Fame at State in 1989.   He is credited with starting the athletic program at the former Gary District High School in McDowell County. He also taught in Weirton and Charleston prior to his death.

Anderson Hunt Brown (1880-1974) began his career as a stove pipe maker and carpet apprentice before becoming a trombone player in the show "Uncle Tom’s Cabin." He lived in Boston from 1907-1914 as a member of the Victoria Orchestra. Upon returning to West Virginia, he purchased real estate, established a business in “The Block” and helped build the Ferguson Hotel which hosted many notable celebrities. Brown served as Chairman Emeritus of the First Baptist Church, was a lifetime member of the Mattie V. Lee Home and was elected to the Charleston City Council in 1967. He instituted and won many civil rights cases.

Eustace Theophilous (E.T.) DuMetz (1895-1989) was born in Jamaica and moved to Charleston to work as an assistant photographer during World War I. He excelled in photography, opening his own studio and becoming a renowned retouch photographer. DuMetz covered significant news for the Charleston Gazette, winning awards for his portraits. He also freelanced for Black newspapers like the Pittsburgh Courier and Chicago Defender, operating DuMetz Studios for forty-five years.

Firemen George Coates (1921-1949) and Richard McCormick (1915-1949) died in the deadliest fire in Charleston's history on March 7, 1949, at the F.W. Woolworth building. Initially seen as minor, it became catastrophic when the floor collapsed, resulting in the deaths of seven firefighters, including African Americans Coates and McCormick. Coates heroically attempted to rescue his colleagues, saving one but perishing while trying to save another. While Coates's grave was marked with a military cross, McCormick's remained unmarked in the Black section of Spring Hill Cemetery until 2009 when the Charleston Professional Firefighters Association raised funds for two memorial markers honoring their sacrifice.

The Normans - John Clavon Norman Sr. (1892- 1967) was born in Bloomfield, New Jersey. Following the death of his parents, he was raised by his grandmother in North Carolina. He served in the U.S. Army during World War I, where he attained the rank of First Lieutenant. Norman pursued his studies in architecture at Carnegie Technical Institute, becoming the seventh licensed architect in West Virginia and the second African American to achieve this distinction in 1922. He built a thriving architectural career in Charleston, West Virginia, designing homes in prestigious neighborhoods as well as various public buildings. He chaired the department of architecture and engineering at the now West Virginia State University.  Norman was deeply engaged in his community and held the position of archon for the Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity, Boule regional chapter. During World War II he contributed to classified construction projects before returning to his architectural practice. In 1924, he married Ruth Stephenson Norman, (1898-1990) a dedicated educator and community leader who hosted a radio show for thirty three years and received multiple accolades, including Howard University Trustee Award for Distinguished Post-Graduate Achievement and the "West Virginia Mother of the Year" in 1975. They had one son, John Clavon Norman (1930-2014), who excelled academically, graduating magna cum laude from Harvard University and earning his medical degree in 1954. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Dr. Norman became an associate professor at Harvard Medical School, conducted organ transplantation research and contributed to developing the first abdominal left ventricular assist device at the Texas Heart Institute. He later chaired the surgery department at Marshall University School of Medicine.

William W. Sanders (1873 –1947) was born in Henry County, Virginia. He graduated from Lincoln University in 1897 and its Theological Department in 1900. After graduation he served for ten years as Minister of Hope Presbyterian Church, Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. He then came to West Virginia and first taught in McDowell County Schools. In 1913 he became the State Law Librarian. In 1915 he became State Superintendent of Negro Schools serving in that position for eighteen years before retirement. In 1923, he organized The State Congress of Colored Parents and Teachers and was its President for fifteen years. In 1925, he became President of the National Association of Teachers in Colored Schools, which later became the National Teachers Association. He served in that position for a year and a further ten years as the Association`s executive secretary. He was active in many church and civic organizations including as President of the West Virginnia Negro Elks Lodge. He was much in demand as a public speaker. He survived by his wife and two children.

Elizabeth Mason Harden Gilmore (1910 – 1986) was the first woman licensed funeral director and was a leading civil rights activist in Charleton. She co-founded Harden-Harden Funeral Home with her first husband. Upon his death she moved the funeral home to a stately mansion, which also served as her residence on what is now Leon Sullivan Way. The home is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Her second husband, Virgil Gilmore, was a two-term city councilman.  Mrs. Gilmore was an organizer and executive secretary of the Charleston chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). She participated in several boycotts and peaceful demonstrations--the most notable was a two-year boycott of the Diamond Department Store which led to the store integrating its lunch counter in 1960. Her Girl Scout troop was the first Black  troop admitted to Camp Anne Bailey, near Lewisburg.

James Successor Plot - Founded by Charles H. James (1862-1929) and his brothers, the James Corporation became the largest Black-owned business in America. Son, Edward Lawrence James, Sr. (1892-1967) and his sons E.L. James, Jr. (1921-1972) and C. H. James, II (1930-2007) and then his son C.H .'Chuck' James, III (1958-2021) who carried on the business, are buried here. The business moved from Charleston to California and became involved in supplying produce to Federal Prisons and McDonald`s restaurants.  Fourth generation ‘Chuck’, who was the  recipient of an Ivy League business degree, said  in 1997 that  when faced with strategic business decisions, he often asked himself, “What would my great-grandfather do?”

Oscar Desper (1891-1940) In the1920’s to 1940’s ice had to be delivered to homes for food preservation. The leading company of the day was the Diamond Ice Company. One of the few Blacks employed by the company was Oscar Desper who was described as a gentle man and was deacon of the Metropolitan Baptist Church. He would deliver the ice in a horse drawn wagon. After many years Desper decided to go into business for himself and purchased a truck to make deliveries. He was a trail blazer and employed high school boys to help.