Dr. Winston Marcus Whitehurst
Overcoming By Faith
BY: ROBIN COWHERD
W
hen it comes to birthdays, some people may think Winston Whitehurst has it made because he has two! You see he was born at home with the help of a midwife who could not write. There was no birth certificate. So, depending on who you talk to, he was born on either April 13 or April 19, 1932. Two birthdays might be great as a child, but it gets complicated as you grow up. His birthday was not all that was complicated in the life of Winston Whitehurst. He was born in the South Norfolk area of Chesapeake, but most of his early years were spent in the Berkley section of Norfolk, where he lived with his single mother and his grandmother. His mother earned two dollars a day doing domestic work. He never knew his father, but had two loving uncles and, at 14, a wonderful stepfather. In his community, a single parent headed many families. Winston considered himself fortunate… he had people who loved him and a few role models and mentors along the way. There were only two young men in his neighborhood who went to college. Winston says, “I
wanted to be like them.” Education was an important focus of his life, aided by a teacher who lived down the street, Ms. Eleanor Williams. When young Winston and others in his class needed school supplies, like paper or pencils, Ms. Williams was there to help out. Despite the fact that many young people Winston knew did not graduate from high school as early as he, he focused on the goal of receiving a college education with a great deal of persistence. Young Winston worked hard. At 14 years old he was shining shoes by a Norfolk burlesque theater and on the ferryboat to Portsmouth. He knew his customer base well: military men and where they traveled. He was also a newspaper carrier and worked in a pool room (pocket billiards). His family had very little money. Food and basic clothing were provided, but if Winston wanted new school clothes, basketball uniforms, or a bicycle, he would have to work to buy them.
Growing up as an African American in Norfolk in the 1930s and 1940s was not easy. Just getting to school presented daily challenges. His elementary school years were spent at Abraham Lincoln School in Berkley. But after sixth grade, Winston was off to Booker T. Washington Junior High and High School. Transportation was a problem. Unless you had money to ride public transportation buses, you had to walk to school. The route passed directly by Ruffner School, which was a school attended by all white students. Often Winston and the young people with whom he walked were chased, taunted, and even subjected to rocks and other objects thrown by the Ruffner boys. They never stopped to fight back. Winston vividly remembers one day when two Ruffner boys were about to attack him, when a young white girl told her classmates to leave him alone - they actually listened to her. Initially, Winston’s family did not regularly attend church. Another family in the downstairs apartment introduced Winston to the New Hope Congregational Christian Church where he, his mother and grandmother later joined. This church provided him with most of his basic Christian education. Winston says, “There was a lady who lived downstairs who told me as a young teen, ‘God has a plan and your job is to try to live into it.’” I always remembered that advice.” Winston was baptized at age 12. As a youth, Winston remembers watching television – except not at home. The big thing to do was to watch television through the windows of a furniture store. Many times, all that was on the screen were test patterns, but he enjoyed watching nonetheless. At home, there was radio from which he listened to sports. His favorite memory was listening to Joe Louis fights. He also liked Inner Sanctum, a horror mystery with a creaking door that opened and closed the broadcasts. Another favorite radio show was Mr. District Attorney, and
Winston can still recite the signature opening announcer known as the “Voice of the Law.” He worked several jobs after graduating from high school in 1949, including being a delivery person for W.G. Schwartz Department Store and stacking oil drums at Craney Island. He took his first college class at Norfolk State University in 1949, but his collegiate career was placed on hold when he was drafted into the Army in 1953 during the Korean conflict and was sent to Germany. He served in the Ordinance Corps and he continued his education through correspondence courses. The unit was desegregated but consisted of just two African Americans, including Winston, and compromises had to be made. For example, the showers could be used, but not at the same time as white soldiers and the one thing he learned was that he had to go to bed with a loaded rifle for his safety. He completed his Army service in 1955. Winston married his first wife in 1955 after returning to Norfolk. They had three children together: Winston, Jr. in 1956, Rick in 1957 and Charlyne in 1960. The marriage lasted eight years. Throughout the children’s development, Winston was supportive in their educational, athletic and other activities, and continues to have a strong, active relationship with each of them today.
Winston never lost his focus on education and through the GI Bill, he was able to restart his college classes at Norfolk State. Norfolk State also facilitated another milestone in his life. While struggling with his Spanish studies, he met and dated the young Eunice Brown. She agreed to tutor him in Spanish. Later they began to date and after a twoyear courtship, they married. Through this union, their daughter Darlyne was born. In the early ‘60s, colleges in Norfolk were segregated. Winston and Eunice had the distinction of influencing a change in this area. There was one Spanish class that they both needed to take, but it was not available at Norfolk State during that particular semester. They learned that the class was being offered at Old Dominion University (ODU) and took the initiative to explore the possibility of going there. They registered for the class, however, before attending it ODU President Lewis Webb requested separate interviews with them. After hearing why each of them wanted to attend, President
Webb agreed to permit them with one proviso - “he wanted absolutely no publicity, and if we were there to integrate ODU, he would take us to the highest court in the land,’ Winston said. Winston and Eunice became the first two African Americans to attend ODU. Only one white person talked with them during the entire semester. She was the teacher. Winston’s love of education has continued throughout his life. He graduated from Norfolk State with a Bachelor’s Degree in History in 1964. He took Continuing Education classes through the University of Virginia, as well as graduate classes at Virginia State University. From 1971 through 1973, Winston studied at Virginia Tech through a graduate tuition scholarship and, despite many hurdles along the way, obtained his Masters and Doctorate degrees in Education. The hard-working young man from the Berkley section of Norfolk overcame every hurdle presented and became a scholar.
"God has a plan, try to live into it.." His academic work career included teaching at NSU for seven years, serving at Jacox, which was then a Junior High School, as a Social Studies teacher, and becoming one of two African Americans to integrate the faculty at Norview Junior High School. He retired, for the first time, as Assistant Superintendent of Chesapeake Public Schools in 1991. Winston was asked to teach History at Elizabeth City State University 1992, and retired the second time in 2000.
Winston believes that throughout his career, “religion played a major part in the events, even though I did not realize it. What Christ has done is to put me where he wants me,” he explains. He became the first African American moderator of the Presbytery in 1981. In 2017, Winston received the Martin Luther King Award for Excellence in Community Service for his work with health care and public education reform in Virginia. He explains that, “the linchpin for me was Micah 6:8 related to justice mercy, compassion and
forgiveness.” Through his advocacy for justice, teaching and human relations work, he has indeed proven through his life experiences and his response to them that he is a worthy recipient of this award. “I hope no young person will ever say that because of being a product of a single parent, he or she cannot achieve,” Winston says. He encourages young people to “gravitate to God who will put things in place for your success.” Winston and Eunice joined First Presbyterian Church in 1997. They continue to serve the church through the Tree of Lives Ministry, the Living Waters ministry, the Dunamis Prayer Ministry and as lay leaders in many ways. Over 70 years ago, someone told Winston Whitehurst, “God has a plan, try to live into it.” Yes, He does, and yes, Winston continues to seek Christ’s will for his life!