In the 53 years since graduating from Langston high School, Norman Howard has experienced a lot.

During his career, he was trained to direct fighter jets in the US Air Force to targets, managed human resources for two of Ford Motor Company’s massive automotive plants and determined how much to pay Brazilian employees during a period of hyperinflation. Mr. Howard has also served his community. From Big Brothers Big Sisters to the Boys Scouts and Junior Achievement to providing leadership for his church’s Steward Board, Mr. Howard’s service to others has been nothing short of exemplary.

It’s the teachers who molded his world at Langston who deserve the credit, he says.

“Langston had a very profound, positive impact on my life,” he said. “I would not have experienced the kind of success I’ve had without the nurturing, the support, the compassion of the teachers who taught me there.”

After graduating from Langston in 1965, Mr. Howard attended East Tennessee State University for a year. Subsequently, he enlisted in the US Air Force shortly after and worked as an air traffic control and warning specialist (an air traffic controller, of sorts), identifying enemy aircraft and helping fighter jets reach their targets during the Vietnam War era. While stationed in South Carolina, he earned a bachelor’s degree at historic Benedict College, Columbia, SC. Upon graduating, Mr. Howard received seven job offers. He accepted one from Ford Motor Company and headed north to Detroit. He later earned a master’s of business administration from the University of Detroit.

Mr. Howard worked for Ford for some 24 years in human resources (HR). He rose through the ranks to become human resources manager for two of Ford’s auto manufacturing plants, one with 1,800 employees, the other with 4,000.

Next, Mr. Howard joined the executive team of “Greek Town Casino” in Detroit where he was vice president of human resources.  There, he was responsible for a myriad of HR duties and responsibilities, including staffing, employee relations, benefit programs, salary administration, union negotiations, performance evaluations and the training of 3,000 employees.

He then learned of an opportunity with the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, one of the largest grant-making foundations in the country.  The philanthropic “powerhouse” established by the well-known Kellogg cereal founder, W. K.  Kellogg.  As human resources director for the foundation, Mr. Howard’s work took him around the world. The foundation had staff in South Africa, South America, Mexico and several other countries. Traveling to those countries and learning the specifics of Human Resource administration, compensation packages and employment laws outside the United States allowed Mr. Howard to further expand his professional skills.

Regardless of where his work took him, Mr. Howard says he always relied on the foundation he received at Langston to guide his direction and leadership style.

“The learning I had at Langston was the basis of how I did what I did,” he said. “There were certainly occasions when I would be in situations and I would think back on those role models (at Langston).”

Indeed, teachers at Langston served dual roles: as educators and role models for their students.

“Being a young African American male in that time period, it was a challenge to identify men in business and industry and other leadership roles (other than our parents) to emulate, so there was a great focus on our teachers,” Mr. Howard said.

The teachers and administrators at Langston were not only highly educated, but they were passionate about teaching young people, he said. They also set high expectations for their students.

“We had to prepare ourselves to be the very best at whatever we did. It wasn’t good enough to do a good job,” he said, adding that the high expectations carried over from the classroom to the athletic field to the larger community.

“We were taught to be very competitive and at the same time to be supportive and compassionate with our fellow students and those in the community. We were instructed to be honest, share and help one another within the community.”

Langston’s teachers’ instruction carried outside the classroom, too, he said.

“They were very good at providing insight about the larger world and what to expect, even though they had not had the opportunity to experience some of the things we were going to face,” he said. “I’m not sure they could foresee the future that we would face specifically, but they recognized the challenges.”

Langston served as the center of the African American community, next to our churches, in Johnson City for decades, and its influence is evident in every graduate, regardless of their career path after high school, Mr. Howard said.

“Before desegregation, one thing Langston provided was a strong learning community that instilled in us an awareness of ‘self-worth,’ pride in our ability and respect for one another. This created a bond of togetherness that sill exists today,” he said.

 

Johnny Russaw knew he was going to change things when he started school at East Tennessee State University in 1964. As the school’s first black football player, Russaw broke barriers while amassing a stellar athletic career at ETSU.

“I knew I was going to change environments. I had always been in all-black environments. It was different at ETSU. Langston prepared me to go in and handle things like that,” he said.

Russaw’s was of one of the last classes to graduate from Langston High School, Johnson City’s only black high school. Langston is also one of the few remaining Rosenwald Schools, which were built to educate African-American children across the South in the early part of the 20^th century. Langston operated from 1893 until 1965 when it closed following desegregation.

“I think a lot of people looked at Langston as a sports type of place because we were very successful in sports. But our educational program was what really helped me. It really motivated me to be and do what I did when I went to East Tennessee State,” Russaw said. “I was prepared. Our teachers at the time went above and beyond what we needed to know.”

Russaw said the school’s academic materials were not always up-to-date. In fact, many of the books were cast offs from Science Hill High School. Even so, teachers did what was necessary to ensure students were prepared academically.

“I think in looking at how it shaped my life, it made me more of a man. All in all, it shaped me to be a better man in my community and the places I’ve been,” he said.

Russaw graduated from ETSU with a degree in education. He worked as public safety officer for the Tennessee Valley Authority for many years before retiring. During the next chapter in his life, he worked as a substitute teacher, often at Science Hill, and worked for a decade as housing manager at Bethel Housing, an elderly housing unit in Jonesborough.

“I think it’s important to preserve Langston because it was an institution we looked at as our second home. Coming up, when we were kids, we would look at upperclassmen and we wanted to be like them,” he said. “We had a history at that school, just like people had a history at Science Hill, and you want to preserve those memories.”

Russaw said he often tells his kids and grandkids how they need to carry on their heritage, but he recognizes they’re living in different times than he did. That’s why he thinks it’s so important to preserve Langston for future generations.

“It’s going to be a multicultural center. It will probably have the flavor of Langston, but it’s for the city of Johnson City and the surrounding areas to come and see,” he said. “We still want it to be where black history lives. History is not complete unless you have everything in it. I don’t think the history of Johnson City would be complete without Langston in it.”