Paul Hubbert, AEA director, talks with Carl Elliott’s nephew, Buzz McKinney, Sunday. Photo By: Elizabeth Higgins
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Carl Elliott’s legacy celebrated at museum
01-26-2009
University of Alabama Education Policy Center officials, Alabama Education Association Director Paul Hubbert and family members of the late Carl Elliott, a longtime United States congressman, gathered Sunday to tour the Carl Elliott Museum and learn more about Elliott’s history and its importance to the history of the state.
Elliott, who was elected to eight consecutive terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, was crucial in passing the National Defense Education Act in 1958, which has given millions of Americans the opportunity to attend college.
“It was a landmark legislation and it happened because this man out of Birmingham, Ala. didn’t have enough money to go to college and he decided everybody shouldn’t have to go through what he did to be able to go to college. There wasn’t a Bevill State. And there wasn’t all these opportunities,” Mary Jolly, former legislative assistant to Elliott, said.
Dr. Steve Katsinas, director of the Education Policy Center, said Elliott is to be commended for his work on the act because it was passed during a time when so many were denied education.
“I think this is a very special story. (The act was passed) five years before George Wallace stood in the door saying no to education for minorities in our state. Alabama’s Carl Elliott and Sen. Lister Hill passed legislation that opened doors for hundreds of thousands around the country, if not millions, to go to college,” he said. “We think this is something that the people of Jasper, Ala. and Walker County have every right to feel very, very proud of.”
Katsinas said he hoped gathering people influential in Alabama’s education system to view the museum would help to induct the history of Elliott — and his work in the U.S. Congress — into the Alabama History curriculum, which is taught to Alabama students in the fourth, seventh and eleventh grades.
“The idea was to get together some different levels of players in hope that something good will happen here,” he said. “I keep trying to see if there might be interest in getting some different entities to help develop modules for the teaching of Alabama History that might involve this museum.”
Hubbert, who was a close friend of Elliott’s, said he hopes to see the museum and Elliott’s history become part of the state’s curriculum. He said he believes the museum is an ideal place for students to visit.
“It’s a great place for children all over to come and learn about someone I knew as a great man,” he said. “The fact is that when he was in Congress, Congress had never done anything for education. You look now, Congress is looking at a bill that would probably bring somewhere between $700 and $900 million to the state of Alabama. So he started something.
“Carl Elliott was someone who had great foresight and understood the importance of education in the development of our economy and the development of our country. He understood that in America you got ahead by merit, not by accident or birth. He saw education as the opportunity for kids like himself — who grew up poor — to get ahead.”
Elliott’s nephew, Buzz McKinney, said making Elliott’s story known to more children in the state will hopefully inspire more to seek greatness despite poverty.
“This was a common house. From these rather common surroundings, a common man came and did some really uncommon things,” he said. “I think what will ultimately come out of this is he will be recognized for his continual efforts to provide educational opportunities. That was his legacy. That’s what he loved is giving opportunity.”
Adding Elliott to the curriculum would also be positive for the museum by possibly making it a place for school field trips.
“It would get more people interested in discovering it,” said Penne Mott , Bevill State Community College associate dean for the Jasper campus.
The college is responsible for the upkeep and daily operation of the Elliott museum, so popularizing the museum would also be beneficial to the college, Mott said.
In addition to teaching these educational leaders about Elliott’s history, it was also a celebration of his legacy.
“Mr. Elliott was so oriented toward public service. This house is important because I think it demonstrates that you don’t have to be rich and have all the advantages that come with having money, you can still be poor, as Mr. Elliott was, and get something done,” Jolly said.
As a part of this celebration, the family members and educators wished Elliott’s sister, Mable Carpenter, a happy 89th birthday with cake and refreshments. She is the only surviving member of the nine Elliott siblings.
Carpenter is a former educator and member of the AEA.Elizabeth Higgins
reprinted by permission of Daily Mountain Eagle |
