The Phillis Wheatley Community Center in Greenville inducted Clyde Mayes, John McCarroll, Xanthene Norris and Richard W. Riley into the center’s Hall of Fame at a luncheon event on October 16, 2023. The Hall of Fame Champions were selected for their extraordinary leadership and contributions to the community over many years.
Our community has faced challenges over the years, and we would not be where we are today without the hard work and dedication of these four leaders. Each of them has left an indelible mark on our history.
Clyde Mayes was inducted as the Athletic Champion who led the newly integrated Wade Hampton High School basketball team to back-to-back state championships in the 1970s and later played basketball professionally in the NBA and Europe. Mayes’ leadership at Wade Hampton was the subject of the book The Mighty Generals: A Story of Basketball Championships and Racial Unity in the Deep South.
John McCarroll was inducted as the Community Champion (posthumous) who served as executive director of the Phillis Wheatley Community Center for 30 years. Under his leadership, the center grew from a $60 budget when he started in 1970 to a $1.8 million budget when he retired in 2001.
Xanthene Norris was inducted as the Education Champion who earned her master’s degree at Furman University where she was one of the first Black female students. She taught at Sterling High and Greenville High and tutored or mentored several of Greenville’s notable leaders. She was also a civil rights advocate and served for 25 years on the Greenville County Council after her retirement from teaching.
Richard W. Riley, former Governor of South Carolina and United States Secretary of Education, was inducted as the Public Policy Champion. A staunch advocate for public education, Riley is known for leading the charge on the passage of the Education Improvement Act, one of the most consequential pieces of education reform legislation in South Carolina history.
WYFF News 4 anchor Jane Robelot served as emcee for the event.
Board members Ray Lattimore (former chair) and Dennis Braasch received special recognition for their dedication to the Center.
Ohhh nooo!!! I wanted to be there!!! I can’t believe that the tickets are sold out!!! I wanted to be there to honor and thank Mrs. Norris. My brother Edward Floyd was in the same class as Joseph Vaughan at Sterling High School in 1964. She and Mrs. Alberta Grimes came to our house to tell my parents that Ed was too smart to not send him to college. He graduated from Bethune Cookman College. This led to the rest of the Floyd siblings graduating from college as well.
I definitely wanted to show appreciation for our former governor and Secretary of State Mr. Dick Riley. I was one of the teachers that created lesson plans for Black History to be taught with the regular history in the public schools and from this I created a program that received the highest award from The South Carolina Education Association that I do now as a one woman show.
Clyde Mayes is so special and was such a leader and inspiration at our alma mater, Beck High School! I would love to be there to help honor him.
Mr. McCarrol called to hire me to work at Phillis Wheatley right after I was hired to teach in the public school system. I was so thankful that he offered me the job, but I had signed my teaching contract.
All of these people are so deserving to be recognized and I hate that I won’t be there!!!🥲