Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy is characterized
as: a vivacious leader with an impressive record
of effective leadership; a versatile leader who
has experience on the local, regional, and
national levels; a valiant leader who dares to
make a difference by recognizing the need for
change and by working toward effecting
change; and a valuable leader who aspires for
herself and inspires in others excellence in all
endeavors.
1
A Lady of Valor
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy
…For unto whomsoever much is given,
of him shall much be required…
King James 12:48
2
This is A story of A Profile of Courage:
An Epoch of American History
Written By Dr. Sherman Bonds
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy
IS An iconic Figure
In African American History
Toward a century’s end, beginning where hope was found in 1863, it was the
signing of the Emancipation Proclamation, where Blacks and/or African American slaves
who resided in the Confederate States of America were granted their freedom. One
hundred years would pass before the institution of racism would be formally dismantled.
The final years of this particular period encompasses the years of 1954 through 1965. I
have placed a specific emphasis on these years, because there is a direct correlation with
the period of 1854 through 1864 and the events that took place between the years of 1954
through 1965. The institution of slavery would be dismantled at the end of the Civil War,
however, the institution of racism would rise and remain a prominent feature in America’s
landscape for 100 years, thereafter.
In 1854 Congress approved the Kansas-Nebraska Act which gave way to the term
popular sovereignty, -which allowed the residents to decide if they would choose to
become free or slave-based territories. However, slavery was deeply embedded in the
fabric of the United States of America. Such pronouncement was evidenced through the
Dred Scott decision of 1857.
In 1857, the Supreme Court ruled against Scott. Chief Justice Roger B. Taney
[TAW nee] said that Scott was not a U.S. citizen. Therefore, he could not sue in
U.S. courts. Taney said that slaves are not included, and were not intended to be
included, under the word ‘citizens’ in the Constitution (Klein & Pascoe, 2005, p.
241.).
As such, in 1861 slavery would find its way to the forefront of a nation’s
interposition and the act of humanity would prevail. It would be the same year where
Abraham Lincoln would be elected as the 16th President of the United States of America.
It would also be the same year where 11 southern states would secede from the Union and
form the Confederate States of America. Their president would come from the state of
Mississippi, and his name, -Jefferson Davis.
3
A civil war would ensue and last for four years (1861-1865). The Emancipation
Proclamation would be issued on January 1, 1863. The night before, the world and
particularly the African American community would begin what has become known as
the watch night, where I have come to believe it was the birth of hope for a nation that
was scorned by slavery. The 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution Abolishing
Slavery passed the Senate on April 8, 1864 and the House on January 31, 1865. The Civil
War ends April 9, 1865, with General Robert E. Lee surrender and five days later
Abraham Lincoln was assassinated.
While the institution of slavery was abolished on December 6, 1865, through
ratification of the 13th Amendment by the United States of America, the institution of
racism became the new mantle of oppression by the use of black codes for those African
Americans who had now become free men and women. Southern states used black codes
to deny African Americans their rights to this new freedom. The formable term for black
codes is known as Jim Crow Laws. However, the passing of the 14th Amendment
guaranteed citizenship and equal rights to all persons born in the United States.
This battle of access would linger for 100 years which brings us to the latter part
of the 1950s and 1960s. On May 17, 1954, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Brown v.
Board of Education Case -separate but equal public schools for blacks and whites were
unconstitutional. On December 1, 1955, Rosa Parks takes her seat on the bus in
Montgomery Alabama. The Montgomery Bus Boycott prevails. In 1957 Little Rock
Central High School was desegregated. In 1960, the sit-in campaigns begin. In 1961, the
freedom riders take to the buses and travel south to end segregation and challenge the
institution of racism. The integration of the University of Georgia takes place on January
6, 1961.
In 1962, Mississippi riots, -James Meredith enrolls at the University of
Mississippi. In 1963, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and a host of protestors were met by
policeman and dogs in Birmingham, Alabama where he would later be jailed and placed
in solitary confinement. During this same year (1963) four little girls were killed in the
Sixteenth Street Baptist Church bombing by the Ku Klux Klan. On August 28, 1963 the
March on Washington occurred. On November 22, 1963 President John F. Kennedy was
assassinated and Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was sworn in as the 37th President of
the United States of America. On July 2, 1964, the passage of the Civil Rights Act of
1964 would become law. Sunday, March 7, 1965 would come to be known as Bloody
Sunday, it was the civil rights march from Selma to Montgomery that took place on the
Edmond Pettus Bridge in the state of Alabama.
One hundred years from the period of the civil war that ended in 1865 to August 6,
1965 where the Voting Rights Act of 1965 was signed into law, the suffering of a nation’s
people was favored with the possibility of opportunity. This great challenge was
prevalent throughout the western hemisphere. However, it was more ubiquitous in the
southern part of America than anywhere else in the nation. Equal access, greater
educational inclusion within the ranks of higher education was the model to be addressed.
4
In America higher educational institutions were faced with concept of inclusion
and the need to dismantle the framework for institutional racism. To better understand the
use of the term institutional racism, one may read my definition of institutional slavery.
What is institutional slavery? Before I provide you with a definitive definition for
institutional slavery I will provide you with this definition of slavery and limited review
where and how this practice has been delivered. Slavery is defined as:
Condition in which one human being is owned by another. Slavery has
existed on nearly every continent, including Asia, Europe, Africa, and the
Americas, and throughout most of recorded history. The ancient Greeks
and Romans accepted the institution of slavery, as did the Mayas, Incas,
Aztecs, and Chinese. Until European involvement in the trade, however,
slavery was a private and domestic institution. Beginning in the 16th
century, a more public and “racially” based type of slavery was established
when Europeans began importing slaves from Africa to the New World
(see slave trade). An estimated 11 million people were taken from Africa
during the transatlantic slave trade. By the mid-19th century the slave
population in the U.S. had risen to more than four million, although slave
imports had been banned from 1809. Most of the Africans sent to the
United States worked on cotton or rice plantations in the South, their status
governed by slave codes. Almost 40% of captives transported from Africa
to the Americas were taken to Brazil, where harsh conditions required the
constant replenishing of slaves. Following the rise of abolitionism, Britain
outlawed slavery in its colonies in 1833, and France did the same in 1848.
During the American Civil War, slavery was abolished in the Confederacy
by the Emancipation Proclamation (1863), which was decreed by Pres.
Abraham Lincoln. Brazil was the last to abolish slavery, doing so in 1888
(www.merriam-webster.com).
The word institutional is derived from the word institution which is defined as: “an
act of instituting; establishment; significant practice; relationship; or organization in
society or culture…” (www.merriam-webster.com); “or a custom, practice, or law that is
accepted by many people” (http://www.learnersdictionary.com/definition/institution).
For this article I defined institutional slavery as “the establishment and significant
practice where one human being is owned by another, and where the people of the society
establishes such laws where this behavior becomes a normal condition for cultural
practices within the society itself. Institutional slavery has no color-line, unless it is
intentionally drawn out within the society where such practices are accepted and framed
by those who make the laws that govern the society in which they live.”
The intuitive form of institutional slavery embraces the concept of an absolute
monarch, or absolute monarchy, which by definitions means: “a monarchy that is not
limited or restrained by laws or a constitution” (Dictionary.com). Whereas the explicit
statement of control over other human beings is applicable under the framework for an
absolute monarchy, and where ownership is embedded in its domination over that control,
5
institutional slavery is implied. Furthermore, imperialism drives the formation of
institutional slavery where the meaning embraces; “the policy, practice, or advocacy of
extending the power and dominion of a nation especially by direct territorial acquisitions
or by gaining indirect control over the political or economic life of other areas”
(www.merriam-webster.com) which captures the footprint for institutional slavery.
However, when one review this definition of institutional slavery, it applies to all,
no matter what color you are, the institution is constructed along the parallel axis of
human ownership, domination and submission to another human being. The institution
has no specific walls or tangible constructs that enclose the defenselessness of its
establishment and/or existence other than the dispositions that are imposed by those who
claim ownership of another human being according to the laws that establishes these
conditions. Its boundaries are captured in the legal framework of the cultures application
and its domination is bound by the application and/or interpretations of the laws by the
very people who use them to practice this behavior.
Yet the effects of this institutional concept have been overshadowed by others and
its meaning has been regulated to the Negro, Blacks and/or African American people.
Moreover, it has become and remains a stigmatizing narrative for the American
Diasporas. Thus, I move to apply this understanding to this narrative that I am presenting
to the readers.
Although, I have provided a basic understanding of institutional slavery and the
concepts of its formation. I have also provided the theoretical application for how it has
been applied to a particular race of people in the United States. It is important to
remember there are no boundaries for the application of institutional racism. The concept
and/or term is applicable to race and race alone. Therefore, by dismantling the institution
of slavery in America, we move to the fundamental formation of institutional racism.
Which by definition is “-the application and/or denial of privilege and access to all other
privileges that are accessible and available to others who are not subjects of the identified
racial group where such conditions are directly and indirectly employed.”
The Reconstruction of a Fair and
Democratic Society
By every account you can read and find the noble gesture to dismantle slavery
during the period where the Declaration of Independence was written in 1776. Yet you
will also find an unwavering desire to act accordingly. As such, an unfair and despicable
hardship would prevail and the people of color (Blacks and/or African Americans) would
suffer within and under what was described as the birth of a just and democratic society.
The history of our forefathers would lay siege to one particular racial group, and that
racial group would be the Blacks and/or African Americans. Suffer would they (Blacks
and/or African Americans), and for how long. From early as 1600 and before, you can
begin to count the years. However, let us begin with year of 1776 to 1865, nearly one
hundred years of institutional slavery in a democratic society. From 1865 to 1965, one
6
hundred years of institutional racism, an oppressed people within a democratic society.
After hundreds of years of both institutional slavery and institutional racism, America was
challenged by this depravity and the call for a fair and democratic society emerged.
While our history provides us with the birth of such scholarly institutions of higher
education which included: Atlanta University (1865); Lincoln University of Missouri
(1866); Howard University (1867); Morehouse College (1867); Clark College (1869);
Meharry Medical College (1876); Tuskegee University (1881); Spellman College (1881);
and many others, the fact was, these institutions were principally developed for African
American students only. America’s enigma –institutional racism had prevented the
opportunity for Blacks and/or African Americans from being admitted into other
institutions of higher learner, particularly those that were located in the South, because of
their race and race alone.
However, the time had arrived for systemic change, and it would take the courage
of a nation to see this through. One of the stories to be told is the Bellamy and Saxon
story. It is here where one could see the emerging dream of the great debate between
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois take form. Washington would argue the need
for skill labor and Du Bois would lead the charge for intellectual enlightenment. Captured
in the elements of the health sciences are the skilled specialists and intellectual
practitioners who must demonstrate both concepts as professional health care providers.
Who could become such a person and matriculate the academic rigors of a prestigious
white institution of higher learning? Without any doubt it would be Verdelle B. Bellamy
and Allie Saxon of Georgia and this opportunity would take place in 1963 at the Emory
School of Nursing, Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
Established in 1836 as Emory College and later chartered as Emory University in
1915, this renowned institution is located in the City of Atlanta, Georgia. Emory has a
profound and deeply embedded history in the fabric of Georgia’s educational platforms
for post-secondary advancement. However, this institution, like many others was faced
with the need to dismantle the institutional framework of racism for those who were
identified as Black and/or African American. This hypocritical underpinning of a nation’s
belief system would tear away at the heart of the institution mission statement which
reads: Emory University’s mission is “to create, preserve, teach, and apply knowledge in
the service of humanity.” The question during this time period, -was this mission
statement written to apply to all who were qualified to apply their knowledge in the
service of humanity or was it restricted to a selected few based on the racial group in
which they belong.
Faced by this challenge to overcome such a devastating set of circumstances, a
courageous women by the name of Dr. Ada Fort who was the Dean, for Nell Hodgson
Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory University paved the way for the admittance of
two African American women, Verdelle B. Bellamy and Allie Saxon. These two African
American Women were the first to be admitted into the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School
of Nursing at Emory University before Emory won their lawsuit in 1962 which allowed
African Americans to be admitted while maintaining their tax exemption status. Dr. Fort
7
was named Dean at Emory in 1950. Dean Fort, mantra –“No Wrong Time for the Right
Thing.” Her unsung ally, and legal scholar, Attorney Henry Bowden 32c, 34L made a
graceful attempt to stall the progress of Dean Fort’s campaign toward the integration of
the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing. Bowden, then chair of Emory’s Board of
Trustees and the legal attorney who was leading the battling for integration at Emory,
endeavored the Dean to limit her resolve until the legal battle was won. However, Dean
Fort, held her position and championed her mantra “No Wrong Time for the Right
Thing.”
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy, an iconic figure in African American History is a story
worth telling and then some. There comes a time where we read about the history of some
of our African American leaders and most often it is in the month of February. The lives
of so many great leaders who paid the ultimate price for the privileges we have today as
African Americans can be found in our historical records. We read about some of them in
our text books at school, and we watch the unyielding experiences of a nation’s unrest
through their acts of civil disobedience demonstrated in films, documentaries and
presentation on our television sets.
However, there comes a time when we get to stand close to some of them and
retell their stories to others and this is one of those times. Who can claim her? Many do:
-the States of Alabama, & Georgia; Tuskegee University; Grady Memorial Hospital;
Morehouse College; Emory University; Georgia State University; and several more, as
do I. She is the daughter of the late Zephry and Gladys Stovall-Brim. She married the
late Monroe Bellamy in 1950 and gave birth to a son named Michael.
Her legacy began in Birmingham, Alabama where she graduated high school and
entered the historic landmark institution of Tuskegee University. However, in 1962, Dean
Fort began a quiet search for two African American women for the purpose of integrating
Emory’s school of nursing. The qualities required would be the capacity to engage in the
rigorous academic program of the Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing at Emory
University. They would need to be thick-skinned, their perseverance would have to rise
above that of average, it would have to optimize excellence, and they would need the
fortitude of determination along with the will to survive the insurmountable challenges of
hypocrisy and the embedded conditions of institutional racism.
Reared by a loving mother and grandmother, Mrs. Bellamy recalls her parental
guidance by saying: “I had a strong mother and grandmother who taught us the basic
Christian principles. And they told me I could be anything I wanted to be with hard work,
determination, faith, and integrity.” During this period Rosa Parks had already taken her
seat on the bus, which is now recorded as the Montgomery Bus Boycott that ushered in
the civil rights movement where equality for all became the mantra of the nation.
Bellamy made her way through the trials of suffering brought forward by a nation who
could not see her beyond the color of her skin.
Yet, on a cold January morning in 1963, this beautiful Black, African American
Woman would walk through the doors of the prestigious halls of Nell Hodgson Woodruff
8
School of Nursing at Emory University and become the first of the two blacks enrolled to
graduate from Emory University. Mrs. Allie Saxon would become the second graduate in
the same year. This was the same year Martin Luther King Jr. was arrested and jailed
during an anti-segregation protest in Birmingham Alabama. It was the same year where
Martin Luther King Jr. gave his “I Have A Dream” speech in Washington D.C. –It was
also the same year where four little girls “Addie Mae Collins, Cynthia Wesley, Carole
Robertson and Denise McNair,” loss their lives in the basement of the 16th Street Baptist
Church Bombing. It was the same year that Emory University open its doors for the
reconstruction of a fair and democratic society. The institution of racism was dismantled
on the campus of Emory University, and Verdelle B. Bellamy, along with Allie Saxon
provided the leadership for inclusion at this renowned institution of higher learning.
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy would further the advancement of a people who were
viewed by others as inferior, detestable and unworthy. Her successes would provide the
framework for others to follow. Her aspirations are heartfelt and her achievements are
numerous. Hereafter you may review her courageous profile and successful
accomplishments. We salute you my dear lady of valor, may your legacy go forward and
be an inspiration to others, for you have given that which has been required and the
virtues that you have imparted for others epitomizes the moral excellence of your
character. You truly are a lady of graciousness, and you are much-admired for your
goodness and contributions to our communities, and the nation is in a better state, for your
gallantry and service speaks for you.
Verdelle B. Bellamy
Education
1958 Bachelor of Science Degree Tuskegee Institute (University)
Tuskegee, Alabama
1963 Master of Science in Nursing Degree
Nell Hodgson Woodruff School of Nursing, Emory University
Atlanta, Georgia
Certification
Administration- American Nurses Association
Community Gerontology Leadership - Georgia State University
Career
1983-98 Associate Chief Nursing Services/Geriatrics
United States Veterans Administration Medical Center - Atlanta, Georgia
1963-82 Coordinator & Supervisor (Medical & Surgical Services)
United States Veterans Administration Medical Center - Atlanta, Georgia
1958-62 Nursing Instructor Grady Memorial Hospital School of Nursing
Atlanta, Georgia
9
1957-58 Clinical Associate - Tuskegee Institute (University)
Tuskegee, Alabama
Executive Committee & Board
Membership
st
1 African American Elected Executive Committee – 1971
Nursing Association of Georgia
st
1 African American Appointed Board Member -1974
Georgia Board of Nursing
st
1 African American President -1978
Georgia Board of Nursing & Michigan Nurses Association
Member Board of Directors – 1984 - Veterans Administration - Atlanta, Georgia
Member Board Gerontology – 1985 – Georgia State University
Publication & Citations
 The Southern Region: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow 1922-1986
 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated; Lillian H. Harvey 1912-1994
 A Short Biography (Dr. Lillian Harvey was the Dean of the School of Nursing at
Tuskegee Institute from 1944-1973); and
 The History of Grady Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, 1944-1973.
Awards & Honors
2005 – Emory Medal– Emory University - Atlanta, Georgia
1993 Inducted as a Fellow – American Academy of Nursing
1988 America’s Top 100 Black Business and Professional Women,
Dollars & Sense Magazine
1988 Veterans Administration Leadership
1986 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Freedom Hall of Fame Award
1985 Distinguished Alumni Citation of the Year Award
National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education
1984 Mary Mahoney Award – American Nurses’ Association
1984 Black Nurses Association Special Achievement and Community Service Award
1983 Commemorative Award
Emory University Commemorating the Twentieth Anniversary of the Admission and
Graduation of the First Black Student to Emory University
1983 Excellence in Health Care Professional Award
The Black Nurses Association, Incorporated
1982 Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, Outstanding Service Award
Atlanta Alumnae Chapter
1981 National Association for the Advancement of Colored People,
NAACP Unsung Heroine Award, in the Field of Health Science
10
1981 The Distinguished Tuskegee Institute Alumni Merit Award
Tuskegee, University Tuskegee Institute – Tuskegee, Alabama
1980 The United States Congressional Record for Achievements,
Awards & Honors Continued
Congressman Wyche Fowler, Jr. Atlanta, Georgia
1979 Outstanding Administration Medical Center (Atlanta)
1979 National Medical Association and
National Council of Negro Women Service Award
1978 Woman of the Year in Professions, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated
1978 Bronze Woman of the Year, Iota Phi Lambda Sorority, Incorporated
1977 American Nurses’ Association Commission on Human Rights Award,
for efforts in eradicating the barriers toward full participation
of Black nurses in American Nurses Association
1977 The Distinguished Ludie Andrew Service Award – National Grady Nurses Conclave
1977 Professional Achievement and Community Service Award
Atlanta-Tuskegee Alumni Club
1977 Outstanding Performance Award – Veteran Administration
Professional Organizations,
Associations, Community/Civic
Affiliations
American Nurses’ Association, Incorporated
Chairwoman, Mary Mahoney Award, 1996
Member, Nominating Committee, 1985-1987
Georgia Nurses’ Association
Chairwomen, Affirmative Action Committee 1974-1977
Chairwomen, Human Rights Commission,
Member, Board of Directors and Executive Committee, 1971-1974
National League of Nursing
Georgia League of Nursing
Charter Member, Century Club, American Nurses Foundation, 1983
Emory University Alumni Association
Tuskegee Alumni Association
Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Incorporated
Chairwoman, Publications Committee, 1985
Supreme Basileus, 1973-1977
Basileus - Atlanta Chapter, 1963-1965
National Council of Negro Women
State Coordinator, Black Family Reunion, 1987
National Association of Advancement of Colored People
Golden Heritage Life Member
Member, Membership Committee
Zonta International
11
Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing,
Epsilon Alpha Chapter, Georgia State University
Professional Organizations,
Associations, Community/Civic
Affiliations Continued
Top Ladies of Distinction, Incorporated
President, Atlanta Metropolitan Chapter, 1985
Chairwoman, Regional Scholarship Program, 1985
National Parliamentarian Association
Vice President, Dogwood Unit, Atlanta, Georgia
Judge, Vocational Industrial Clubs of America, 1986
Nurses Organization of Veteran Affairs, Incorporated
Vice President, 1986-1988
National Secretary, 1984-1986
Board of Directors, 1980-1982
Christian Fellowship Baptist Church
Charter Member, 1991
Trustee 1991-2015
Member of Leadership Council 1991-2015
Member of Finance Committee 1991-2015
Member of Sanctuary Choir 1991-2015
Member of Nominating Committee 1991-2015
A Distinguished Lady
among Women of Distinction
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
Mrs. Verdelle B. Bellamy was initiated into the Gamma Tau Chapter of
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated in June 1958
at Tuskegee University, Tuskegee Institute - Tuskegee, Alabama
National Experience in Delta Sigma Theta
National Secretary 1988-1982
1984-1986 National Executive Board
1985 Diamond Jubilee Member
1985 Chairwoman, National Telecommunication Telecast for Regional Site
1983-1985 Member, National Nominating Committee (Board Representative)
1982-1984 National Executive Board
1981-1982 Member, National Program Planning Development Committee
1979-1981 Chairwomen, National Housing and Properties Committee
12
1980 Chairwomen, National Task Force for Delta’s Atlanta-life Project for
Families and Murdered Children
1977 Golden Life Member
Regional Experience in Delta Sigma theta
1982-1986 Director, Southern Region
1982-1987 Convener and Facilitator, Delta Internal Development Workshops for
Undergraduate and Alumnae Chapters
Local Experience in Delta Sigma Theta
1987- ??? Founder’s Day,
Physical and Mental Health and Political Awareness and Involvement
1979-1981 President, Atlanta Alumnae Chapter
1977-1979 President, Atlanta Alumnae Chapter
1976-1979 Ebony Fashion Show
1968-1972 Social Action
1970-1974 Assistant Recording Secretary
1970-1972 By-Laws Committee
1964-1966 Chairwoman, Courtesy Committee
13
I fought a good
fight - I Finished
The race
and
God led the way
14
Remember Someone Else is always watching you
Be a good Example
15