Wilkie Clark
Wilkie Clark | |
|---|---|
 Wilkie Clark | |
| Born | March 8, 1920 Carrollton, Carroll County, Georgia, U.S. |
| Died | July 29, 1989 (aged 69) Roanoke, Alabama, U.S. |
| Occupations | Businessman, civil rights leader |
| Known for | Founding President, Randolph County NAACP Branch; founder of Clark Memorial Funeral Service |
Wilkie Clark (March 8, 1920 – July 29, 1989) was an African American businessman, civil rights leader, community organizer, and founder of Clark Memorial Funeral Service in Roanoke, Alabama. Born into rural poverty under the sharecropping system in the segregated Deep South, Clark overcame severe racial and economic barriers to build a successful business and lead civil rights initiatives at the local, state, and regional levels as founding president of Randolph County's NAACP Branch.
Early life and family
Clark was born in rural Carrollton, Carroll County, Georgia, on March 8, 1920, into a family of sharecroppers during the height of Jim Crow segregation. Children of Black sharecroppers typically had limited access to formal education, with local Black schools underfunded, short-term, and often held in church basements or farm outbuildings. These conditions made it nearly impossible for many Black youth to complete school. Clark left formal schooling early to help support his family during the Great Depression but maintained a lifelong habit of self-education and public service.[1]
He married Hattie Lee Peters Clark, an educator, who shared his commitment to community uplift. They had one daughter, Charlotte A. Clark-Frieson.[1]
Career and business leadership
During Clark's childhood years, he was deprived of a full high school education; forced to help his mother by sharecropping, the children were forbidden to attend school beyond 7th grade. Later, as a young adult, he worked as a chauffeur for a prominent white Roanoke doctor, Dr. G.W. Bonner. Added to these experiences, his 18-year tenure as a common laborer for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad exposed him to racial injustice and labor exploitation, deepening his commitment to equal rights and dignity for Black workers. In 1969, after nearly two decades of railroad work, he founded Clark Funeral Home, Inc. as a family enterprise in Roanoke, Randolph County, Alabama. Over time his funeral home evolved into not only as a local business but also a "safe place" for black citizens seeking to address their oppressive circumstances during the civil rights struggle. As an entrepreneur Clark effectively used his business as a platform for organizing blacks citizens and attacking racial discrimination in the local and surrounding communities.[1]
Civil rights leadership
In the 1950's Clark became the founding president of Randolph County's Branch #5053 of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). [2] Under his leadership, the local branch was officially chartered. As president, Clark was an ex-officio board member of the Alabama State Conference of NAACP Branches and actively engaged with the NAACP's Southeast Region. As a local NAACP President of many decades, Clark worked alongside and under the direction of such leaders as Mrs. Ruby Hurley, and Earl Shinhoster, both long-serving Regional Directors of the Atlanta-based, Southeast Regional Conference of the NAACP. Like other branch presidents, he was required to implement national NAACP priorities and complete leadership training from the national office.[1]
Throughout his decades of service — spanning from the 1950s until his death in 1989 — Clark expanded Black voter registration, challenged segregation in local schools, advocated for the hiring of Black educators and police officers, and defended Black residents’ civil rights. Leading a local NAACP branch in rural Alabama during this period was dangerous and often brought threats or intimidation. Despite this, Clark continued his work for over 30 years, ultimately receiving the NAACP's Distinguished Service Award for his commitment.[1][3]
Legacy and honors
After Clark's death in 1989, his only child, a daughter, Charlotte A.Clark-Frieson continued his legacy by operating Clark (Memorial) Funeral Service, publishing his biography entitled, "Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer: The Unconquerable Soul of Wilkie Clark", and establishing a Foundation in his honor. A portion of the book's proceeds has supported the Wilkie Clark Memorial Foundation, which identifies economic empowerment, historic preservation, and neighborhood revitalization in Randolph County as its major initiatives.[1]
In 2024, an official **Alabama State Historic Marker** was erected at the site of Clark Funeral Home in Roanoke. The marker recognizes Wilkie and Hattie Peters Clark's contributions to civil rights, Black economic independence, and local community development. The front side of the marker reads:
"Clark Funeral Home was established on this site in 1969 by Wilkie Clark and his wife and business partner, Hattie Peters Clark, representing the life-long dream of the well-known civil rights activist and entrepreneur. The funeral home was established in the East Roanoke Black community, which included the Randolph County Training School, churches, and businesses. This location would come to be known as the unofficial home of the Civil Rights Movement in Randolph County. Born in Carrollton, Georgia, in 1920, Clark was a WWII veteran and an award-winning founding president of the Randolph County NAACP, Branch #5053. Hattie P. Clark was a Randolph County public school educator for more than three decades. They recognized the need for Black people to have economic independence during their early struggles for enhanced civil rights in Randolph County. Establishing his own business, with the support of the Black community, freed Wilkie and his wife from the economic dependency that had prevented Black civil rights leaders from combating the region’s system of Jim Crow segregation and economic and political oppression. The Clarks used this business entity as a platform to advance civil rights reform in Roanoke and Randolph County."[4]
A long-time advocate for the education of Black students, Wilkie Clark was the first Black candidate for a seat on the Randolph County Board of Education. He was also instrumental in advocating for the hiring of the first Black police officers in Roanoke and desegregating the city’s recreation facilities. Wilkie and Hattie Lee also petitioned the city of Roanoke to pave streets in the Black community and provide water and sewer services, which were only available in White neighborhoods. The Clarks were especially active during the 1980s as key members of a coalition pushing for enforcement of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. The coalition included education, civic, clerical, and business leaders and supported a lawsuit, in which Clark was a plaintiff, designed to strengthen the Voting Rights Act. The coalition successfully advocated for additional polling sites and the inclusion of Blacks as poll workers and creating new single member voting districts from which Black residents could be elected. Renaissance man Wilkie Clark Wilkie Clark was among the local leaders in the movement for enhanced economic, educational, and political representation for the Black community in Roanoke and Randolph County.[5]
A street in Roanoke bears his name — Wilkie Clark Drive — and his family continues to advocate for the creation of the Wilkie Clark Community Center and Historic Site as a living tribute to his contributions.[1][6]
Personal life
Clark was a devoted member of Bethel United Methodist Church and was widely known for his humor, generosity, and dedication to uplifting his community. His daughter credits him as her first teacher and a lifelong inspiration.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Clark-Frieson, Charlotte A. (2005). Chief Cook & Bottle-Washer: The Unconquerable Soul of Wilkie Clark. Wilkie Clark’s Daughter Enterprises. p. XX. ISBN 0-9771401-0-5.
- ↑ "The History Of The Award-Winning Randolph County Branch, No. 5053, NAACP". The Clark Historic Landmark Site. Retrieved 2020-04-30.
- ↑ "Wilkie Clark NAACP Distinguished Service Award". National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Retrieved 2025-07-01.
- ↑ "Wilkie Clark Historic Marker Side 1". Retrieved 2025-07-01.
- ↑ "Wilkie Clark Historic Marker Side 2". Retrieved 2025-07-01.
- ↑ "City of Roanoke Proclamation Honoring Wilkie Clark". City of Roanoke. 1989-08-01.