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www.newpittsburghcourier.com Vol. 113 No. 47 Two Sections
NOVEMBER 23-29, 2022
For the Currys, Hampton University is
ALL IN THE FAMILY by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
A trip from Pittsburgh to Washington, D.C., is nothing new. Then traveling from D.C. to Hampton University, in Hampton, Va., wouldn’t be considered earth-shattering, either. But taking that trip down to Virginia from Pittsburgh with close friends and seeing a statue of your father...now that’s special. That was precisely the experience for Clarence F. Curry Jr., the highly-educated engineer, professor and management consultant. This past July, Curry, along with members of the historic “FROGS” organization, chartered a bus to D.C. to experience the National Museum of African American History and Culture, then proceeded to the famed HBCU, Hampton University, where he saw the statue of his own father, Clarence “Jap” Curry Sr. Pardon the pun, but the statue of Clarence Curry Sr. pretty much has “cemented” the Curry family at Hampton University forever. But the marriage
between the Currys and Hampton University didn’t start with Clarence Curry Sr. THE CURRY FAMILY and its descendants first had their involvement with Hampton University in the 1800s. John Manley graduated from Hampton in 1892. Manley was Clarence F. Curry Jr.’s great grandfather. Curry Jr.’s grandparents on his dad’s side, Irving and Rowena Manley Curry, graduated from Hampton around 1920. Curry Jr.’s dad, Clarence Curry Sr., graduated from Hampton in 1941. Curry Sr.’s wife, Sadie, graduated from Hampton in 1943. Clarence Curry Jr.’s son, Clarence Curry III, graduated from Hampton in 1991. Clarence Curry III met his wife at Hampton. Their daughter, Jocelyn Curry, now attends Hampton as a junior, in the pre-med program. Clarence Curry Jr.’s sister, Doris Curry Parks, graduated from Hampton in 1967. Ask a Curry who the real “H-U” is, and you know what college they’ll say. Ironically, Clarence CurSEE HAMPTON A8
CLARENCE CURRY JR., right, sits next to a statue of his late father, Clarence “Jap” Curry Sr., at Hampton University.
The Larry E. Davis ‘CORRECT AN EGREGIOUS Awards Celebration WRONG’ Bethel AME Church wants their land back in the Lower Hill by Rob Taylor Jr. Courier Staff Writer
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THE DR. LARRY E. DAVIS BLACK EXCELLENCE IN THE ACADEMY AWARDS were held, Nov. 3, at the National Aviary. The honorees were, from left, Esa Matius Davis, James P. Huguley, Ed.D., Valerie Kinloch, Ph.D., and Sandra A. Murray, Ph.D. See more photos on Page A11. (Photo by J.L. Martello)
Bethel AME Church Pastor Dale B. Snyder has nothing but love for Epiphany Roman Catholic Church, which has a majority-White congregation, on the corner of Centre Avenue and Washington Place in the Lower Hill District. “But we wish we would have gotten the same exemption as Epiphany Church got,” the reverend proclaimed. Epiphany Church, built in 1902, is still standing. “Big Bethel,” as Bethel AME Church was known, was built in 1906 at Wylie Avenue and Elm Street, also in the Lower Hill. But, as Rev. Snyder said
during a Friday, Nov. 18 news conference, “they took our church by eminent domain. They condemned it.” Sure, other churches were torn down by the City of Pittsburgh and its Urban Redevelop Authority as part of the city’s plan to redevelop the Lower Hill in the 1950s. But Bethel AME Church had a membership of over 3,000. “We were doing everything good for our community,” Rev. Snyder said. “We were the voice of the community, we had everything...boy scouts, girl scouts, lodges, fraternities, sororities, Negro League Baseball team, we opened up the first school to teach SEE BETHEL AME A10