WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH: ‘A quiet soldier’ of Civil Rights celebrates 95 historic years

Smith

By Gail M. Brown,

Guest Writer,

Smith
Smith

March is Women’s History Month and Holmes County native Elma Maxine Howard Smith has seen and been involved in a great deal of history. Recently, family, friends, church members and former students of the matriarch packed the fellowship hall of Holy Temple Baptist Church in West Jackson for “her 95th birthday celebration. Also known as Mother Maxine, Smith is a long-time member of Mt. Moriah M.B. Church of Pickens, Miss., and an associate member of Holy Temple.

The crowd gathered from as far East as New Jersey and as far West as Colorado to praise God in celebration of her longevity.

“If one would stop and simply allow her to expound, one would discover that she is a walking history book,” said Rev. Audrey Lynne Hall, pastor of Holy Temple. “I love to hear her speak with pride about being a classmate of the late great Medgar Evers at ‘Alcorn College’ as it was known then.”

As a historical reference for younger readers, Medgar Evers (1925-1963), a Decatur, Mississippi native, was an African-American civil rights activist and National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) field secretary for Mississippi, whose murder drew national attention. Evers had been subjected to threats for being considered the most visible civil rights leader in the state. He was shot to death in June 1963. (History.com). His Jackson, Miss. home today is one of Mississippi’s frequently-visited historic points of interest by many tourists.

Although not widely known due to threats of reprisal, Smith and other educators, were also woven into the fabrics of Black History, Mississippi History, American History and Women’s History.

“Our mother did civil rights work in the background because of her and her husband being educators and not wanting to lose their jobs,” said her eldest son, Dr. Langston D. Smith of Silver Springs, Maryland. “She was a strategist. She didn’t hold up a banner or wave a flag during the civil rights struggle. She was a ‘quiet soldier’ who worked without ceasing for the betterment of her people,” he added.

Numerous black educators throughout the South worked behind the scenes. Occasionally criticized by their peers for not being vocal, they still made a positive impact.

Emory University Professor Vanessa Siddle Walker, who has studied and written about the segregated schooling of black children, shares in her book, The Lost Education of Horace Tate: Uncovering the Hidden Heroes Who Fought for Justice in Schools, “the little-known story of how black educators in the South – courageously and covertly – laid the groundwork for 1954’s Brown v. Board of Education and weathered its aftermath” (Melinda D. Anderson, The Atlantic, Aug. 9, 2018).

A retired Mississippi educator of 39 years, Mother Maxine is a lifetime member of the NAACP. She is also a member of the Holmes County Chapter of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). The MFDP “was founded April 26, 1964 as part of a voter registration project for African Americans in the state. For over half a century blacks in Mississippi had attempted to attend regular Democratic Party meetings and conventions but were continually denied entry. They formed the MFDP, which welcomed both whites and blacks, to run several candidates for the Senate and Congressional elections June 2, 1964.” (https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/mississippi-freedom-democratic-party/)

Smith humbly recalls meeting civil rights champion Fannie Lou Hammer, one of the MFDP founders. Smith feels that the hard work and endurance of MFDP was instrumental in Mississippi African Americans finally getting the opportunity to attend regular Democratic Party National Conventions.

Smith was proud to have been chosen to serve as one of Mississippi’s delegates to the Democratic National Convention in 1992.

“It was the year that the young man from Arkansas became the nominee and won the presidency,” she said in her quiet, articulate voice. “I remember that it was so cold to me at the convention,” she added.

Holmes County Deputy Sheriff Sam Chambers, who was one of Smith’s former students from 1971 to 1975 at Durant Attendance Center, now Williams-Sullivan Middle School, and also a fellow Mt. Moriah church member, was among the guests at the celebration. He said he received very valuable lessons and guidance from Smith as a student.

“She was quiet spoken but would get the point over to you,” Chambers stressed. He stated that her involvement in politics as the chairperson of the Holmes County Democratic Executive Committee was exemplary to and for the entire county. He said that she has been [and still is] a strong pillar and example to all who know her.

Smith served several terms as president of the Holmes County Democratic Executive Committee. She also holds membership in the Mississippi Association of Educators (MAE), Holmes County Association of Educators (past president), Holmes County Retired Teachers Association, TRIAD (The Right Information and Direction) of Holmes County, Heroines of Jericho, and the Order of Eastern Star.

Reflecting on their history-making mother, Smith’s children appreciate her parenting skills and positive impact on their life.

Kermit Smith, her third child, said one thing he has always carried in life taught to him by his mother is: Always treat people the way you want to be treated. If you offend or mistreat someone, go to them, acknowledge what you have done. Apologize. If you are wrong, show sincere regret. He said he has lived life that way and truly believes it has benefitted him over 69 years of being on earth.

Don Smith, her fourth child, said that their mother taught them to pay God His 10% first, next pay yourself 10% and then pay your bills.

“My mom always said there’s something in a name,” said Corliss Smith Mills, the youngest sibling. “Names have meaning and people take on characteristics of their name. Mom was named Elma after her mother’s oldest sister. Now two of mom’s grandchildren have named their daughters after her: Elma Rose Davis and Zoe Maxine Smith.”

Holy Temple’s Deaconess Cheryl Brown, Smith’s fifth child and caregiver, said her mother was very instrumental in her becoming one of the founding members of the Mississippi Mass Choir. “Mom has been shy, yet outspoken in a gentle quiet way,” said Brown. “She believed in pushing her children and her students whose lives she helped mold during more than 39 years of teaching. Speaking of teaching – she comes from five generations of teachers on her maternal side.”

Carolyn Smith Massey, her second child, of Cranbury, New Jersey, and an educator of 40-plus years, commented, “Mommy, also known as Madame Butterfly, is the most caring person/mother anyone could ask for. Her patience is stellar and is the best emotion there is. I pray I can take a page from her book of life to not be quick to anger and slow to react. I believe that kind of temperament gives you longevity.”

Speaking of longevity, Langston Smith reflected on how things have changed since his mother was born. “When my mother was born in the Richland Community of Holmes County in 1925, bacon cost .47 a lb., chicken cost .39 a lb. and eggs cost .25 a doz. Many of the guests were amazed.

A church member shared that “Calvin Coolidge was president when Maxine was born.” She also echoed the sentiments that Smith is a walking history book and her life has spanned a total of 23 presidential terms.

When asked what her reaction to the then-Senator (D) Barack Obama being elected the nation’s first African-American president in 2008, she replied, “I got up out of my seat. Stood up and said, it’s about time. The color of his skin did not deter him from reaching his goal – the highest office in the [United States], and he represented all people. To God be the glory.”

The 95-year-old is grateful to God for the progress that her race and country have made that even today, when it is convenient to enter the church through the side door, she refuses any assistance by politely and articulately saying, “We don’t have to enter the back door anymore. I will go through the front, thank you.” She takes her walker and her time and goes through the front door.

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