In observance of Black History Month, the Rotary Club of McMinnville invited James “Mickey” Gwyn to speak on Thursday. Gwyn is a McMinnville native and graduate of Warren County High School of 1975.
He served in the U.S. Air Force for 26 years and worked 18 years with the Department of Veterans Affairs. He has also written and published a fictionalized memoir based on his experience at WCHS. Most McMinnville residents may know Gwyn best as being the founding host of “Soul of Warren County” on Ben Lomand Connect’s Community Channel 6.
Gwyn spoke to the Rotary Club about a few Black people that have made history in Warren County. He also gave a brief history lesson on the Bernard School and gave credit to the Young Men United for their preservation efforts and keeping the gymnasium as the last standing relic of the school.
Gwyn mentioned Sam Leftwich, a stonemason, who donated the land to build Bernard School, McMinnville’s first school for Black children. In 1946, the original structure burned, but in 1947 a new building was erected and dedicated. In 1965, Gwyn said the school was slated to be closed which made Bernard School a political issue at the time. Gwyn said, “The candidates for the Board of Mayor and Aldermen during that year used the reopening of Bernard School as a political ploy.”
After schools integrated, Bernard School was demolished. “There was a swimming pool there at one time; that had been filled in.” He then thanked the Young Men United for their efforts to keep the Bernard Gymnasium standing.
Gwyn told the club, “If they hadn’t stepped in, I don’t think Bernard Gym would be standing today. But they did their part, they stood up. They renovated the gym; it’s a very nice venue, right now.”
Gwyn fears many may not understand the significance of Bernard School. He said, “We grew up at Bernard School. We spent our summers at Bernard School. We swam at Bernard School, and actually, there was a time where that was the only place we could swim besides in the river. It holds a special place in my heart.”
Other local history makers Gwyn mentioned were William Houchin of Houchin & Biles’ livery stable who became one of the richest men in Warren Co. in the 1800s; 1942 class president and valedictorian of Bernard High School Carl Rowan who went on to be a celebrated journalist, an appointed official for the United States Government, and the first African American to hold a seat on the National Security Council; and his younger brother Mark Gwyn who was the first African American selected to be and was the longest serving director of the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.
Gwyn recognized notable athletes from Warren County in Jeff Womack, Lester Strode, and C.J. Taylor. He told the club, “During the last century, the African American population in Warren County has never exceeded 6%, but if you look at the accomplishments of people who have ties to Warren County, it’s really amazing that small a number could do such great things locally, stately, nationally and internationally.”
Gwyn appeared in a half-hour interview on the weekly FOCUS program. The conversation will air on McMinnville Public Radio 91.3-WCPI Tuesday at 5 p.m., Wednesday at 5 a.m., Thursday at 1 p.m. and Friday at 1 a.m.
