By Clint Confehr
PULASKI, TN — Many African-Americans are the descendants of “brave warriors” despite a misconception that all Black folks’ ancestors were enslaved, a retired educator says, emphasizing that lesson in bronze.
“I’m putting a statue up to let Black boys and girls know that we are not just descendants of slaves,” Vivian Sims, 94, says as unveiling of the statue is scheduled for June 17th in Cave Springs Park, 204 Spear St.
An 11 a.m. unveiling is planned for the statue — “Resurrection of Valor” — that faces North First Street (U.S. Highway 31). It’s 0.4 miles north of the Giles County Courthouse.
“I’m very appreciative that they had faith in me to to tell their story in bronze,” said sculptor Pamela Sue Keller.
Sims says Keller “made the most gorgeous statue with the boy looking up at the soldier.”
During 1991-1998, Sims was the principal of Southside Elementary School where Keller’s children attended and were befriended by the Pulaski educator whose latest lesson will outlast opposition to Black history in public schools.
Nearly 2,400 U.S. Colored Troops (USCT) forced Confederate soldiers from Fort Hill above Cave Springs Park, she said. Many USCT soldiers settled in Pulaski rather than return to a plantation. There were: 20,000 Blacks fighting the Confederacy in Tennessee; 200,000 in the South.
“It is because of those brave warriors that the Union won the war,” Sims says. “After slavery … White people don’t want Black people to know that. So, when the boys, in particular, grow up, they have no self esteem.”
Originally from New York City, Sims was a Fulbright Exchange Teacher before she married, moved to Pulaski and learned it’s where the Ku Klux Klan was formed. Disconcerted but undaunted, she taught school and realized African American boys had low test scores, were “lackadaisical” and “gave the most discipline problems.” As a principal, she found they had normal IQs, so she recruited “buddies” for them. Test scores improved with mentoring by married Black men with families, jobs and community success.
Nearly two years ago, Sims was named to the Pulaski City Council’s Community Advisory Council on Inclusive Recognition and Acknowledgement. Panelists were asked for suggestions. Sims recommended and council members agreed to honor the USCT. Inspired by a USCT statue in Franklin, she advocated a statue. She’s described by Keller as “the main patron of the sculpture.”
Sims is spending proceeds from a house sale decades ago. The money grew at a credit union.
“Everybody on the committee was satisfied” with the statue plan, Sims said. “God helped me find a way to tell my people…”
The retired educator’s enduring lesson flows from personal conversations. She visited Murfreesboro’s Bradley Academy Museum and Cultural Center and obtained names of USCT soldiers who occupied Pulaski as the Cvil War ended. “So, anytime I found a group of African Americans together,” she said, “I would take out my paper with the 2,400 names and I’d ask, ‘What’s your last name?’ They’d tell me and I’d look up their ancestor. Everywhere, nobody knew anything about the USCT even though 2,400 camped here. It’s why the north end of Pulaski is Black.”
Local leaders know Pulaski’s history can’t be changed. They’ve sought reconciliation for decades. “Resurrection of Valor” is another step. See VisitPulaski.com. Nearly a quarter century ago, merchants with stores around the courthouse closed during annual Klan parades and white heritage festivals. This year’s Juneteenth celebration includes a June 18 NAACP march and t-shirts displaying the original drawing of the statue at Cave Springs Park.
