By Michael Goings
One of the issues I have always had with the observance of celebrating and honoring people who have made history through their achievements and contributions in a national way stemmed from the fact that we have often overlooked those groundbreaking and trailblazing people who lived in our local.
Those individuals inspired and opened the door for others to enter into positions and professions that had been previously denied to African Americans. In my column today, I am going to list some trailblazers who broke the color barrier and made history as the first in their race to do so.
Law
Enforcement
Mr. Floyd Davis was the first man to racially integrate law enforcement in Dillon County. He was a gentle giant who stood six feet seven inches tall. There would be many who would follow in his footsteps, but he had the historical distinction of being the first when he served on the City of Dillon Police Department.
The first African American to serve on the County Sheriff Department was Mr. Earlie Ray Vanderhall.
The first Black man to be stationed in Dillon as a member of the South Carolina Highway Patrol was Mr. Moses Heyward.
The first African American to be elected as Sheriff and to a county-wide position was Mr. Douglas Pernell.
Politics
Elwood McQueen was the first African American elected to serve on the Dillon County Council.
Mr. Neal Bethea was the first African American to serve on the Dillon City Council.
Education
Mr. Robert L. McBride was the first African American to serve as a superintendent of schools in Dillon County when he served over the Latta School District for years.
Mr. D. C. Perry was the first African American to serve on any of the school boards of Dillon County.
Medical Profession
Dr. Robert Gordon was the fist African American physician to practice medicine in Dillon County.
Esther McEachern McBride made history in Dillon County when she served as the first African American to manage a department at Saint Eugene Medical Center. She was the director of the cardiopulmonary services for quite a few years.
Plant Managers and Licensed Contractors
The first African American to serve as a plant manager in Dillon County was Mr. Lodie C. Smiling. He managed the Rown and Sons Basket Factory for quite a few years until it finally closed down.
The first African American to become a bonafide state licensed builder and contractor in Dillon County was Mr. Randy L. Goings.
Library Director of
Dillon County
The first African American to be appointed to serve as the Library Director of all three branches of the library system was Yolanda Manning McCormick.
Professional Sports
The first African American to play professional sports from Dillon County was Mr. Leroy Stanton. He played in the Major League from 1970-1978 for the New York Nets, California Angels, and Seattle Mariners.
Entertainment and Music
The first African American who made an impact in the entertainment and musical field (who was raised in Latta, South Carolina by his grandmother) was Charles Benjamin Jackson (better known as Chuck Jackson). He popularized many songs that rated high on the R&B chart like Any Day Now, I Don’t Want to Cry, I Keep Forgetting, and quite a few others.
Exceptional African American Trailblazers from Dillon County
Bishop Joseph Benjamin Bethea was the first African American to be appointed to the position of being Bishop over the South Carolina Conference of the United Methodist Church. Professor Kenneth R. Manning was the first African American from Dillon County to graduate from Harvard. He is presently a tenured professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He is the author of the award-winning biography of Ernest E. Just entitled, The Black Apollo of Science.
L. Casey Manning has been a trailblazer in quite a few areas like being a high school All-American in basketball. The first African American from Dillon County to be appointed as a Circuit Judge by the South Carolina General Assembly.
Joseph A. McEachern was the first African American from Dillon County to be elected as a member of the South Carolina House of Representatives for the 76th District. Psychiatrist Kenneth Rogers was the first African American from Dillon County to be appointed as the State Director over the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.
If in your estimation or knowledge, I forgot to include someone who was a first and trailblazing African American from Dillon County, please forgive me. All things considered, I did my best to research and collect the names of the people who were featured in my column today. However, there is a possibility that someone’s name was omitted.
