Black History in Marion County began when my grandmother Leola Reynolds Griffin was taken from a plantation in Brunswick Georgia with her young children and brouhht to Martin Florida to work for a wealthy family. She gave birth to a daighter she named Dorothy Katherine Griffin. Dorothyy Katherine attended school in Martin and Orange Lake Florida. She was converted from Baptist to Methodist and after meeting her husband Henry Crowell Jr. she purchased her first home on S.W. 2nd Street at the age of Seventeen. God saved her in the Church Of Yhe Living God, The Pilar, Ground and Truth. From that ministry, she went to a revival by the Late Bishop W T. Philips,Founder of The Greater A.O.H. Church of God from that ministry she became an Elder, A Pastor, an Overseer, A Bishop and Apostle She is my mom to me. She was very old school, I always say she had the mentality of her people from that time. She wanted her children to be perfect. She chastised us, the way she knew how, she covered secrets the way she was taught. But one thing she tried to do was live by the Word Of God. She believed “spare the rod, spoil the child.”
She was not and is not perfect but her faith in God was the one thing she was sure about.
She was so focused on church and God, I promised to never go to church again. I thought how could she love me and beat me. That being said, this is my Black History. My mother a Black Creek Indian who loves the Lord. She gave me life. If there are things I could change I would; however, looking back she did the best she could back then. This post focuses on my mom Black in History. She is a Pisces, Born March 19th. She will give and have given the clothes off her back to many. She has ever since I can remember taken in people and helped them get on their feet. She does not seek notoriety. She says, it is what God requires. She endured a lot of abuse from male pastors but she paved the way for all women in Marion County to be able to stand in the pulpit and preach the Word of God.
No matter what she did or did not do wrong she is and always have been a trailblazer. She taught her daughters to do the same.
She made me believe I can do anything through Christ Jesus.
Because of her I started my own school from K-4 to 12th grade and an adult high school diploma program in 2004 to give people a second chance. I did the first 24 hour daycare owned by a black person along with the K12 program. We were fully Accredited through the Southern Association Of Colleges and Schools (SACS) with a Co Accreditation through Christian Schools Of Florida (CSF)
and the National Council on Private School Accreditation (NCPSA)
I believe that their is nothing we cannot di if we put God first. We graduated our first class in 2010.
that is Black History to me.
I am thankful for the tough road that I had because I am stronger now. I am the first child of 12 children to graduate from a 4 year University with honors Cum Laude.
My Sister Patricia integrate Osceola Jr. High School, paving the way for me to come three years later as she graduated from Forest High School with Honors. My sister Ella became the first black to mange Zales Jewelry Store and the first black to manage the gift shop at Silver Springs. That is black History to me. I honor all those blacks who took care of me in school challenging me to focus on the positive after being separated from my Black friends and attending school where I was told to select a trade because I could not afford College.
I am now Dr. Pastor Kathryn J. Crowell-Grate and proud of my achievements.
Happy last day of Black History mom and my sisters and me.