Season 5 : The Power of Home - Episode 2: Faith in the Bootheel: Segregation, Survival and Strength

The “Power of Home” live podcast taping in Caruthersville, Missouri, now moves to Episode 2 – Faith in the Bootheel: Segregation, Survival and Strength. Seven different individuals remember what it was like growing up Black in Southeast Missouri.  Besides the Host Tamara Henry, other hometown heroes are:

Brian Sidney Presberry attended Washington Elementary School until integration took place during his fourth-grade year. His family then moved to Jefferson City, and he graduated from Jefferson City High School in May 1978. Brian attended Lincoln University on an athletic scholarship, excelling in both basketball and track and field. He became a two-time All-American in track and earned all-state first-team honors in basketball. He graduated from Lincoln with a degree in Business Administration.

Terrance D. Hubbard graduated in 1970 from Caruthersville High School. He worked for 36 years in the areas ofMortuary Science, Forensic Medicine, and autopsy pathology in the states of Illinois and Wisconsin, until his retirement. He received formal training at the Warsham College of Mortuary Science in Chicago and worked as an independent forensic autopsy assistant for the Waukesha County Medical Examiner's in Waukesha, WI. He is an Army veteran and a deacon at Greater Galilee Missionary Baptist Church in Milwaukee.

Margaret “Peaches” Fields is a long-time resident of Caruthersville, although she was born in the Mississippi Delta. She earned her GED in 1978 and an associate’s degree in early childhood education from the Mississippi County Community College (now known as Arkansas Northeastern College in Blytheville, AR). In May 2016, she earned a bachelor’s at Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, MO. She worked for more than 44 years in various capacities for the Delta Area Economic Opportunity Cooperation, retiring as the Caruthersville Head Start Center supervisor in 2009. She lives in Caruthersville.

Larry Jones, a talented visual artist, graduated from Caruthersville HS in 1969. He earned a Bachelor’s from Lincoln University in 1973. Larry spent 14 years working as a freelance artist in the Chicago area and served as a graphic designer, compositor, and illustrator for the PioneerPress from 1979 to 1987. From 1998 to 2003, he worked as a Youth Development Professional at the Boys and Girls Club of the Bootheel. He then taught art in the Hayti, Missouri Public Schools from 2004 until his retirement in 2016.

Leola Lasley Agnew is the wife of John Agnew, Jr., who served as president of the Washington School Reunion several years. She lives in Caruthersville.

Deloise “Presberry/Brown” Williams is a retired Registered Nurse who was born in Eudora, Mississippi, and raised in Caruthersville. After high school, she married Richard "Rickey" Williams, and they traveled during his military service. She spent 20 years gaining Civil Service experience in diverse fields. She attended Central Methodist University, Fayette, Missouri, and Lincoln U to become a Registered Nurse. Additionally, she was hired as Assistant Nurse Manager at St. Mary's Hospital and then director of Medical Services at Lincoln University. Later, she worked as Assistant Division Director of Medical and Mental Health Services for the Missouri Department of Corrections.