West honored as part of Havelock Middle Black History program

Many years ago, when Alvin West was the janitor at then Havelock High School, he slipped into the corner of the gym to catch the end of a basketball game.

West knew he had made a mistake for that day and age.

"The policeman walked in, slowly put his hand on me and told me ‘You are not allowed to be in here,’" West told a group of students at Havelock Middle School Friday.

It was because he was black.

"When I was janitor of this school, I couldn’t sit where you are sitting today," West told the students gathered for a Black History program. "This is just to tell you how far we’ve come."

West would later become principal at the school, and he was honored with a lifetime achievement award Friday in the same gymnasium where that incident had taken place.

The honor capped the "Never Forget the Dream" program held annually at the school during Black History Month.

School secretary and bookkeeper Shelia Teel played the part of poet Maya Angelou and recited her famous poem "Still I Rise." The Havelock Middle School chorus sang "I’ll Be There" from the Jackson Five. Band teacher Mark Lorek brought down the house with his alto saxophone playing "Amazing Grace."

The guest speaker was David Byer-Tyer, a former Havelock Middle student who is now director of the African-American Museum in Nassau County, New York.

"I want you to do it bigger and better on the issue of racial justice," Byer-Tyer told the students. "I hope you refuse to let the current circumstances in you country be the common denominator on how you engage your future.

"When I think about African-American history and all of the accomplishments that were made as a result of the struggles for African-Americans for equal rights, it is impossible to discount their contributions to civil rights, social justice, racial discrimination and education equality. For many of us, it is hard to recall many of these issues. I think we suffer from historical amnesia."

Alvin West is a perfect example of the struggle Byer-Tyer discussed. West, born Nov. 26, 1942, in Havelock, went to grade school in a one-room school house and had to walk four hours to and from school, as there was no bus service for black children at the time. West graduated from Beaufort’s Queen Street High School in 1961 and then Shaw University, having earned an athletic scholarship playing football and baseball.

He came back to Craven County and worked as teacher and coach in Harlowe Godette Elementary School and later at Havelock Elementary School. West coached junior varsity football at Havelock High School, and in 1972, became fulltime assistant principal at Havelock Middle, then known as Havelock Junior High, and later principal.

In 1997, West became principal at Tucker Creek Middle School, which he helped design. He was Principal of the Year for 1986-87, and in 1988-89, was the North Carolina Association of Educators Person of the Year for Craven County.

Since his retirement, he has acted as a substitute principal at Havelock Middle School.

Current principal Tabari Wallace called him "Big, bad Mr. West. He’s intimidating and scary. He wrestled bears with a spiral notebook."

Wallace told a story about when West bought new clothes for three indigent siblings who had come to school three days in a row wearing the same clothes.

"And he asked for nothing," Wallace said of West.

Wallace called West legendary, a confidant, a mentor, a father and a brother.

In reading the award for West, Wallace said the former principal had influenced everyone he had come in contact with all through the years.

"When you do the math, it’s the whole community," Wallace said.

In accepting the award, a tearful West first thanked the staff and then the students.

"Today is emotionally touching to me and is a humbling experience," West said.

He said he didn’t know if he’d live to see the day that people of all races and creeds could come together as Martin Luther King had once dreamed.

"Look around at this place and look at what you see," he said. "I never thought that I would live to see this day and I am thankful. I didn’t think that I would live long enough to see this day."

West told the students that there was purpose in his stern treatment of them.

"I might get the megaphone. I might say get to class. I might punish you today but let me tell you something from the bottom of my heart: I love every one of you," he said. "You have the world in your hands. We need you. Somebody in this room will find a cure to cancer. In this room, we’ve got all kind of greatness."

West said that while he may have once been the janitor in the school, he was the best janitor that the school had ever seen.

"And I want to say to you, I’m almost 70 years old," West said. "Whatever you do, remember that Mr. West told you be your best."

The assembly responded by chanting "Be the best, be the best be the best."