At the Feet of Our Elders

We have lost the importance of knowing the knowledge and wisdom we can gab by listening to our elders when they speak. I have been fortunate enough to understand the importance. With this understanding, I have met some amazing people. People are from different walks of life. Elders are as important to a community as anything we can think of simply because of their ability to teach us through their experiences. The growth of any community relies heavily on how that community treats its elders.

One evening while attending a meeting in Roanoke where the discussion was focused on buying a historical building in the Gainsboro area, I came across a few people who have played a vital role in the development of the community

I was reared. Many of those in attendance were former educators, coaches, preachers, civil rights activists and more. One individual stood out, but I had never spoken to him. I had heard about him but I never had taken time to know for myself who he was. Most of us want that for ourselves, a reputation that speaks for us even when we are not around. Richard Chubb’s honorable reputation definitely speaks for him. I will tell you more about him in a bit.

The conversation focuses on purchasing the once famous Dumas Hotel, now known as the Dumas Center, from Total Action for Progress. In its heyday, the hotel was vibrant. It was the happening place on Henry Street from the 1920s until the 1970s. During segregation, it featured famous black entertainers including Duke Ellington, Fats Domino, James Brown, Dizzy Gillespie, who could not stay at the white-owned hotels. The Barlow Family, a father and son duo – Mack Barlow, Sr. and Mack Barlow, Jr. – owned the hotel.

The group discussed the opportunities the Dumas Center could bring to the city and focused on the importance of owning an institution such as the Dumas, which sits in close proximity to Downtown Roanoke. A dynamic moment occurred when Richard Chubb stood up decked out in one of his stylish three-piece suits and hat to direct the group to the historical importance of buying back the Dumas Hotel. When he stood up, I said to myself, he looks familiar and when he began to speak, I instantly said to myself, I have to introduce to myself to him.

“This is our last hope,” Chubb said, referring to the fact there is not much left on Henry Street that still reflects the African American culture that once was the foundation of the Gainsboro community.

Who would have known that those words would turn into a relationship – like a grandfather to a grandson or a teacher to student? He embodies qualities I had admired about previous generations of men: well dressed, well spoken, respectful and courageous. What I did not know at that moment, was he had lived a life of dedication to his community and his people.

Chubb was born May 28, 1936, in Roanoke to Leon and Perneller Chubb. He has two sisters. His parents, he said, stressed the importance of education. He attended Harrison Elementary School, Booker T Washington Junior High School and is a 1954 graduate of Lucy Addison High School. Growing up in a loving home and community, Chubb knew he could be successful because he saw success from people who looked like him. He would attend Bluefield State College where he received a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education and would later earn a master’s degree from Western Kentucky University. He would participate in many protests while at Bluefield State in the late 1950s that would prepare him up for a life of activism.

Chubb was a teacher, coach and guidance counselor at Roanoke schools including Monroe, Booker T. Washington, Harrison Elementary and Hurt Park Elementary. In 1971, Chubb became principal of Harrison Elementary, his former school. When integration occurred, the school board voted to close Harrison and to bus children to different schools. “When you close a school, you close the community,” Chubb said. There were 946 students at Harrison when it closed in 1971. Seventy of those students were white. Chubb did not let them close Harrison without fighting to keep it open. He would walk the streets of that community asking people to appeal to the school board to reverse its decision, but he could not turn the decision around.  In 1977 a Roanoke Times article headlined: “Principal persisted to get his job,” detailed Chubb’s perseverance to become principal at Hurt Park Elementary. In that same year, the Hurt Park family honored him with a day of appreciation. That same year, then Mayor Noel C. Taylor presented Chubb with a key to the city. He was principal at Hurt Park for 16 years before retiring in 1991.

Chubb is the definition of never giving up until you accomplish your goals. He has been married to Frances Patterson Chubb for 56 years. She, too, was a longtime educator. They have one daughter, Andrea Chubb. When asked what has kept him going, Chubb said, “The support of his loving wife and his daughter.” Today Chubb continues to be a mentor, friend and father figure to many people throughout the Roanoke community. At the young and vibrant age of 82, Chubb is still doing what he can do to make sure things are fair for all people, especially the younger generations. Chubb, as an elder, is full of wisdom.