{"id":32383,"date":"2026-02-24T22:16:53","date_gmt":"2026-02-25T03:16:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/?p=32383"},"modified":"2026-02-24T22:16:53","modified_gmt":"2026-02-25T03:16:53","slug":"local-african-american-resident-describes-different-experiences-being-raised-in-georgia-and-studying-at-tusculum-participants-celebrate-the-written-words-of-african-americans-at-event","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www3.tusculum.edu\/news\/news\/2026\/local-african-american-resident-describes-different-experiences-being-raised-in-georgia-and-studying-at-tusculum-participants-celebrate-the-written-words-of-african-americans-at-event\/","title":{"rendered":"Local African American resident describes different experiences being raised in Georgia and studying at Tusculum; participants celebrate the written words of African Americans at event"},"content":{"rendered":"

GREENEVILLE<\/strong> \u2013 Raised in a Christian family in Georgia, Bill Edmonds learned the principles by which everyone in the household lived, including love and the Golden Rule.<\/h3>\n
\"Bill

Bill Edmonds speaks during the African American Read-In.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cI remember going to church before I started school,\u201d Edmonds said during his remarks Tuesday, Feb. 24, at the African American Read-In at Tusculum University<\/a>. \u201cAnd those values are still with me today. You learn respect for people, and you treat them as you expect them to treat you. And this is what I have believed or tried to live throughout my life. There is a verse from a song that says, \u2018Let the life I live speak for me.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonds kicked off the annual event at Tusculum, during which students, faculty and staff honored African-American writers by reading their works. He is a 1971 graduate of Tusculum, who earned a bachelor\u2019s degree in sociology and subsequently worked for the state of Tennessee in a variety of professional positions for 41 years. He retired from Walters State Community College in 2011 as associate director of disability services.<\/p>\n

He served on Tusculum\u2019s Board of Trustees for eight years.<\/p>\n

A beloved person in the community, many individuals came to hear his talk, called \u201cEvolution of a Tusculum graduate.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of the people he came to know was Eva White, the first African American student admitted to Tusculum. Dr. Peter Noll, professor of public history and museum studies, shared a bit about her history at Tusculum as part of the occasion. After graduating from Tusculum, she earned a master\u2019s degree and taught in Greeneville.<\/p>\n

The region in which Edmonds lived as a youngster in the 1950s and 1960s did not adhere to the guidelines by which he was shaped. He said not all of his experiences were pleasant for him or other African Americans. Edmonds shared that his parents taught their 11 children to understand their surroundings \u2013 to be careful, know where they are and be aware of the people they are near and know what is going around them.<\/p>\n

\"Bill

Bill Edmonds, middle, shows his photo in a Tusculum yearbook. He is joined by his daughter, Elise, and grandson, Tai.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cThere were places you went and places you didn\u2019t go,\u201d Edmonds said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t go looking for trouble because it would truly find you. Sometimes, trouble would come looking for you. You could be at the wrong place at the wrong time \u2013 never seen or heard from again. I never experienced physical violence, but I got looks. I got verbal abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

While he knew some white people, Edmonds was unable to establish any type of friendly relationships with them because of the Jim Crow laws in place at that time. He remembered a classmate of his who was executed at age 16 after being accused of raping a white woman.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese were some of the things we had to live with in the Southeast,\u201d Edmonds said. \u201cYou don\u2019t get over that thing. You visualize that forever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sixty years ago, Bill Edmonds\u2019 high school guidance counselor attended a college fair in Atlanta, and a representative of Tusculum was present. One thing led to another, and after receiving a scholarship, Edmonds enrolled at Tusculum. He was joined by three other African Americans from his high school as well as a student from Liberia and another from Jamaica. He said he felt somewhat intimidated by the presence of so many whites.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was not necessarily afraid, but I was very cautious,\u201d Edmonds said. \u201cI was extremely aware of my surroundings, what I did and where I went. Tusculum was not at all what I expected. I did not know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised at what I found here. Tusculum served as a laboratory for me and for a lot of other students in terms of changing attitudes and changing what I felt. I did feel some hatred, and that was not good. But Tusculum helped erase a lot of preconceived notions I had about 99% of the white population.\u201d<\/p>\n

Edmonds credits classmates from the Turner House on campus who recognized his anguish and took him under their wings.<\/p>\n

\"Tusculum

Tusculum student Adam Billingsley reads \u201cCaged Bird\u201d by Maya Angelou.<\/p><\/div>\n

\u201cWe started making friends,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were the first friends I had in terms of people I could trust. I felt the sense that this person had my best interest at heart or would not hurt me. The people that surrounded me \u2013 faculty, staff and students \u2013 treated me as if I was any other student. My fellow dorm members wanted to include me in everything that they did.\u201d<\/p>\n

One of today\u2019s students, JP Campione, wrote a feature story about Edmonds and introduced him at the event.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you introduce someone, it\u2019s easy to begin with a list of accomplishments \u2013 degrees earned, years served and titles held, but those things only tell part of a story,\u201d Campione said. \u201cAnd story is what this event is all about \u2013 stories that carry memories; struggles; resilience; and, most importantly, love. Throughout his life, Mr. Edmonds has encountered and demonstrated all of these. Through it all, he has led with love, treating people with dignity, offering guidance as needed and choosing to open doors for others, not because it was demanded but because it was right.\u201d<\/p>\n

Steve Anderson, a Tusculum alumnus and the outreach and retention specialist with Student Support Services<\/a>, met Edmonds when he was a student.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe teaches you the ropes, he tells you the people to be around, and that made me more comfortable,\u201d Anderson said. \u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for him, I wouldn\u2019t have graduated in 2004 because he helped keep me here.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the conclusion of Edmonds\u2019 talk, Tusculum took time to celebrate the words written by African American authors in a variety of genres. One by one, students, faculty and staff went to the microphone to read all or part of various reading material.<\/p>\n

Among the works that were highlighted were:<\/p>\n