#ThisIsAppalachia: Eastern Kentucky Social Club Reunion
“love and respect yourself”
By Dr. Carolyn M. Sundy. June 20, 2020
The Eastern Kentucky Social Club Reunion celebrated its 50th Anniversary last year 2019 in Detroit, Michigan. The host was the EKSC Detroit Chapter. The President, Officers, and members planned an array of activities for the event. It is always a pleasure to meet up with family, friends, and others that attend the reunion. The first meeting was held in Cleveland, Ohio at a local Bar owned by a Lynch native.The first reunion was held in Cleveland, Ohio, and it was planned for about 400 people, but more than 700 people attended; and I was one of them. Each year the EKSC Reunion is held in different cities on Labor Day weekend. Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. The coal miners have contributed to the building of steel plants by providing coal to steel mills, electrical companies, and heat to homes in the winter time.Labor Day was the perfect opportunity to get together, starting on a Friday and ending on Monday (Labor Day). The highlight of the reunion was the Sunday Night banquet, which is always formal. The number of people attending has declined, due to age, sickness, and living out of fixed incomes. The EKSC Reunions are first class from the beginning to the end. Giving our best was instilled in us; we were raised in a village (the family, church, and school).You were taught the Ten Commandments at home, the teachers always stressed the importance of practicing them, and the Church always emphasized the reason you should obey them. Teachers also told us that we were somebody, and it is important to love and respect yourself. The coal companies built the schools in Lynch, Kentucky, with one for the white students and one for the black students. The company would recruit teachers from Historical Black Colleges and offered them the highest salaries.The teacher had high expectations of their students to graduate from high school and go to college. Graduation was a formal ceremony with the Baccalaureate ceremony being held on Friday and the Commencement was held on Sunday afternoon. In Lynch, the school is still standing on Main Street. The school has produced doctors, nurses, engineers, teachers, professional athletes, and many other leaders that have been recognized nationally. Education is as important today as it was back in the day to verify that we are contributors to society. Our story has been written and researched by Dr. William Turner throughout the years, and he is known as the best resource for Blacks in Appalachia. I will end with a quote from Mrs. Mattye G. Knight, “I am one and only one. I can’t do all things, but the one thing I can do. I will do it to the best of my ability.”Dr. Carolyn Sundy is Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion at Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College, Cumberland, KY. Photo by Jabari Guthrie with permission of Black in Appalachia.
