As a part of a two-day “Grand Opening Weekend” for the new Todd County Public Library located at 507 South Main Street in Elkton, Charles “Donnie” Leavell, currently of Suffolk, Virginia, and formerly of Allensville, will be available at 1:00 PM on Saturday afternoon, November 23, 2024, for a book signing for his two recently released books focused on Todd County Training School.
His books, which have been published during the last two years, include Entergration: The Experience of One Black Child Entering into a White School and Todd County Training School: The Place Where Coal Went to Become Diamonds. Mr. Charles, a 1972 graduate of Todd County Central High School, also serves as the founder of and preacher at Open Hands Christian Fellowship in Suffolk, Virginia. A former Interior Communications Electrician 2nd Class with the United States Navy, Mr. Charles often returns home to Todd County to visit with family members here.
His first book, which was published in June 2023, focuses on the experiences of a young black student who transitioned from an all-black school to an integrated one. He also explains, “Entergration is the story of highs and lows and struggles and victories.” He emphasized, too, “how learning from two different school systems still impacts my life.” Noting “one door closed while another door opened,” he added the “entergration” of two school cultures impacted the many students who were involved in integration in Todd County. Mr. Charles was born in 1954, the same year as Brown vs. The Board of Education became law. In his discussion of the integration he experienced during his years first at Elkton Elementary and later at TCCHS, he explained his shifting from a segregated school to an integrated school was in many ways similar to Jesus deciding if he should travel through Samaria, a land known for its hatred of the Jewish nation.
His second book, Todd County Training School: The Place Where Coal Went to Become Diamonds, continues Mr. Charles’ sharing of details about the significance of attending Todd County Training School, a school that in many ways helped to transform the young adults who attended the school into young adults ‘shining’ brightly in their communities. A graduate of Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, Virginia, Mr. Charles earned a degree in business management, and he also served as a postal employee for 37 years. In talking about his experiences as a student at TCCHS, he shared in a recent WEKT spotlight on TCCHS alumni that he values most from Todd Central the connections he made, not only those with the TCCHS Class of 1972 but those of other classes as well. Please make your plans now to join Mr. Charles for the second day of activities for the “Grand Opening Weekend” for the Todd County Public Library. Mr. Charles is slated to be at the new library at 507 South Main Street from 1:00 until 2:00 PM.
~ Article by Carolyn L. Wells
November 15, 2024
