Page 35 - Florida Sentinel 2-4-22

Black History: The History Behind The Names
James Elementary School
In 1966, Williams Ele- mentary School opened in East Tampa. It was named after a prominent physician, Dr. Reche R. Williams. It educated students in East Tampa until 1996, when it was closed.
The school was reopened in 1998, and named in honor of Clemmie Ross James, a pioneer in the field of educa- tion, as a K-5 school. James was a longtime educator who also volunteered as a politi- cal, civic, and equal rights worker.
CLEMMIE ROSS JAMES
Just Elementary School
Ernest E. Just was born August 14, 1883, in Charleston, South Carolina. As a small child, he con- tracted typhoid fever and the disease severely affected his memory.
His mother had to teach him to read and write again. He enrolled in an all Black boarding school at Kimball Union Academy, a college preparatory high school in Meriden, New Hampshire.
He continued his educa- tion and graduated magna cum laude, in 3 years, as the only Black. He won nearly every prize available, but was denied the opportunity to give the commencement speech.
Just distinguished him- self, specializing in the fields of botany, history,
ERNEST E. JUST
and sociology. As a scien- tist, he worked within ma- rine biology, cytology, and parthenogenesis, and advo- cated the study of whole cells.
In 1911, Just was asked by 3 students to help with
the establishment of a male fraternity on the campus of Howard University. On De- cember 15, 1911, the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc., Alpha Chapter came into existence.
A Rufus Choate Scholar, Just was conducting re- search in Roscoff, France, when World War II began, and was advised to leave. He elected to complete his work, “The Unsolved Problems of General Bi- ology,” before leaving.
He was captured by the German Army in 1940, and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp. He was rescued and returned to the United States in September 1940.
Just died on October 27, 1941, of pancreatic can- cer. He was 58 years old.
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