Oak Ridge Today

Tickets on sale for Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival

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The 5th Annual Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival in Oak Ridge will feature three world-class storytellers from June 2-4, 2022: Sheila Arnold, Bil Lepp, and Kim Weitkamp. (Submitted photo)

The Flatwater Tales Storytelling Festival in Oak Ridge in June will feature three renowned storytellers: Sheila Arnold, Bil Lepp, and Kim Weitkamp. The festival is scheduled from June 2-4, and “early bird” tickets are now on sale. This fifth annual event will be in person with four shows at the Historic Grove Theater in Oak Ridge, and it will include the story of the Oak Ridge 85.

Early bird tickets can be purchased online at Eventbrite or the Ferrell Shop (cash or check only) in Oak Ridge. “This is a great Christmas gift for all ages,” a press release said.

The two-day storytelling event on Friday and Saturday will feature Arnold, Lepp and Weitkamp, “who are known to audiences nationwide for their wit, wisdom, and abilities to make audiences laugh, cry, and reminisce,” the press release said.

On Thursday, June 2, Lepp will lead a workshop.

Arnold will highlight the Friday night performance by telling the story of the Oak Ridge 85, the 85 brave young people who were the first to desegregate a school district in the South, the press release said.

“Few people know of this 1955 milestone event that took place in Oak Ridge,” the press release said. “Sheila will honor the Oak Ridge 85 by telling some of their stories.”

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Scarboro-Oak Ridge 85 honored in events this week

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The 85 students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955 are being honored in events this week.

The “Rooted in the Community” reunion events have been organized by the Scarboro Community Alumni Association. They are scheduled from Thursday, September 2, to Sunday, September 5.

“The event honors those Scarboro-Oak Ridge TN 85 students who integrated the schools as well as the Scarboro teachers,” said John Spratling in a recent interview. Spratling is the vice president of the organization and the Scarboro endowment fund established to honor the teachers and students by supporting enrichment programs such as ACT Prep Testing, leadership training, scholarships, and youth community service projects, a press release said.

“In 1955, 85 courageous young African American students from the Scarboro community were asked to be the first to enter all-white Robertsville junior and Oak Ridge High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee,” the press release said. “The reunion honors those 85 students and the Scarboro School teachers that provided inspiration and tools to prepare them for this new journey.”

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Jimmie Allen to perform at Secret City Festival

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Allen was named New Male Artist of the Year at the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards

One of country music’s hottest rising stars will perform on the first night of the Secret City Festival in Oak Ridge this fall, a press release said.

Jimmie Allen, who made history as the first black artist to launch a career with two consecutive No. 1 hits on country radio, including his debut single “Best Shot,” and his latest single “Make Me Want To,” was named ACA’s best new male artist of the year in 2021, a press release said.

“We are excited to bring a rising talent to perform in Oak Ridge,” said Naomi Asher, marketing chair of the festival. “Our lineup this year will appeal to a wide array of people and include all the fun activities and vendors that festival-goers have been used to seeing for years.”

The festival is scheduled from September 24-26 at Alvin K. Bissell Park. Doors open at 6 p.m., with the opener taking the stage at 7 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at https://www.secretcityfestival.com.

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Y-12 donates $8,500 for Scarboro graduates, honoring Oak Ridge 85

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Dorothy Kirk Lewis and L.C. Gipson, members of the Oak Ridge 85, hold the check representing the $8,500 donation from Consolidated Nuclear Security given in their honor. (Photo courtesy CNS/Y-12)

At the conclusion of a school year during which Oak Ridge commemorated the 65th anniversary of the integration of Oak Ridge High School and Robertsville Junior High, the Scarboro Alumni Association received an $8,500 donation for their scholarship endowment.

Consolidated Nuclear Security, the managing and operating contractor of Y-12 National Security Complex made the donation at the Scarboro Community Center on May 26 in honor of the 85 Black students who integrated Oak Ridge schools in 1955, a press release said. The endowment provides scholarships to selected high school seniors who have an association with the Scarboro community and who choose to continue their education.

Little-known history

The Oak Ridge 85, as they are known, consisted of 85 students who integrated Robertsville Junior High and Oak Ridge High School on September 6, 1955. They were the first students to integrate a public school in the southeastern United States, the press release said.

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Oak Ridge celebrating 65th anniversary of school desegregation

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Four of the “Oak Ridge 85” students at a recent music event. From left to right are Larry Gipson (Oak Ridge 85), Eric Dozier (musician), Deloise Mitchell (Oak Ridge 85), Emma McCaskill (Oak Ridge 85), and Mary Guinn (Oak Ridge 85). (Photo by Barbara McCord)

Oak Ridge is celebrating the 65th anniversary of its school desegregation this weekend.

“Sixty-five years ago this September, 85 brave and dedicated young African American students entered all-white classrooms in the Oak Ridge High School and the Robertsville Junior High School in Oak Ridge, Tennessee in a historic school system desegregation,” organizers said in a press release.

It wasn’t the first public school desegregation in the nation, but organizers said it was the first public school desegregation in the Southeast.

“As such, it challenged the racist and sometimes dangerous Jim Crow culture,” the press release said. “This desegregation stands as an important milestone in American civil rights history.”

The anniversary events are being held with the Oak Ridge school system. Public participation in some events had to be scaled back because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

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