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Blog archive

October 2024

ARBORIST WALK: NOT FOR TREE HUGGERS ONLY!
10/29/2024

Bill Wishner: Visual Hunter
10/29/2024

Can a Village Group Fix Our Healthcare System?
10/29/2024

Community Board Directors Strengthen Village Board
10/29/2024

Connecting with Village Connections: The A, B, C, & D’s of Medicare @ 65+
10/29/2024

Grief is a Journey: Two Paths Taken
10/29/2024

Message from the President
10/29/2024

Promoting Informed & Involved Voters
10/29/2024

What Will Be Your Legacy?
10/29/2024

1619, Approaching the Election...
10/27/2024

Beyond and Within the Village - A Star is Born
10/17/2024

Happiness by Priscilla Leonard
10/11/2024

Those Winter Sundays by Robert Hayden
10/11/2024

Unpainted Door by Louise Gluck
10/11/2024

In the Evening by Billy Collins
10/10/2024

Wild Geese by Mary Oliver
10/10/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History
10/01/2024

September 2024

August 2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

1619 Wide Ranging Interests
08/19/2024

First Anniversary
08/19/2024

Alexandra Leaving by Leonard Cohen
08/16/2024

Muse des Beaux Arts by W. H. Auden
08/16/2024

The God Abandons Antony by Constantinos P. Cavafy
08/16/2024

Ch – Ch – Ch –Changes
08/15/2024

Cultural Activities Team offers an ‘embarrassment of riches’
08/15/2024

Engaging in Pasadena Village
08/15/2024

Future Housing Options
08/15/2024

Message from the President
08/15/2024

There Are Authors Among Us
08/15/2024

Villagers Welcome New Members at the Tournament Park Picnic
08/15/2024

Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night by Dylan Thomas
08/14/2024

A narrow Fellow in the Grass by Emily Dickinson
08/13/2024

Haikus
08/13/2024

One Art by Elizabeth Bishop
08/13/2024

Poem 20 by Pablo Neruda
08/13/2024

Still I Rise by Maya Angelou
08/13/2024

Trees by Joyce Kilmer
08/13/2024

July 2024

June 2024

May 2024

Emergency Preparedness: Are You Ready?
05/28/2024

Farewell from the 2023/24 Social Work Interns
05/28/2024

Gina on the Horizon
05/28/2024

Mark Your Calendars for the Healthy Aging Research California Virtual Summit
05/28/2024

Meet Our New Development Associate
05/28/2024

Putting the Strategic Plan into Practice
05/28/2024

Washington Park: Pasadena’s Rediscovered Gem
05/28/2024

Introducing Civil Rights Discussions
05/22/2024

Rumor of Humor #2416
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2417
05/14/2024

Rumor of Humor #2418
05/14/2024

Springtime Visitors
05/07/2024

Freezing for a Good Cause – Credit, That Is
05/02/2024

No Discussion Meeting on May 3rd
05/02/2024

An Apparently Normal Person Author Presentation and Book-signing
05/01/2024

Flintridge Center: Pasadena Village’s Neighbor That Changes Lives
05/01/2024

Pasadena Celebrates Older Americans Month 2024
05/01/2024

The 2024 Pasadena Village Volunteer Appreciation Lunch
05/01/2024

Woman of the Year: Katy Townsend
05/01/2024

April 2024

March 2024

February 2024

January 2024

Betty Kilby, A Family History

By Richard Myers
Posted: 10/01/2024
Tags:

The group had a presentation by Betty Kilby Baldwin.  Dr. Baldwin is the author of "Wit, Will and Walls" and the coauthor of "Cousins", with her cousin Phoebe Kilby. A recording of a talk by Betty and Phoebe regarding their book is available on the Village YouTube Channel. You can read about their presentation on our blog post – Cousins. This current talk was recorded and is also available on the Pasadena Village website.

Dr. Baldwin began her talk sharing her belief that "you cannot reject or change the past" but you can use the past to "educate, encourage and motivate".

Dr. Baldwin began discussing her book "Wit, Will and Walls" with the story of her father, James Wilson Kilby.  Her father was a tenant farmer in Virginia, as were his family members.  He completed the fourth grade and then left school to help his family.  As an adult, he was defrauded of twenty-four acres of land because of his poor literacy skills.  This made him determined that his children would be educated.

He tried to enroll his oldest sons in Warren County High School only to discover the school was segregated.  His sons attended an alternative school which was inferior and did not provide his sons with the education he believed they should have.  With greater determination, he approached a Civil Rights lawyer, Oliver V. Warren, about ensuring Betty Ann Kilby could attend Warren County High School.

In 1959, Betty Ann Kilby et al v. Warren County Board of Education was filed.  This led to an order to desegregate the Warren County schools.

Dr. Baldwin shared her high school experiences.  At the time she entered high school she was fourteen and received threats, taunts and was physically attacked in the school gym.  She recounts being fearful every day she attended and wanting to stop. But, her father encouraged her to finish high school which she did, becoming the first female in her family to graduate from high school.  

She had a desire to continue her education but was unsuccessful in being admitted to any college she applied to.  Sixteen years later, she was able to enter Shenandoah College. She ultimately completed a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts degree and received an Honorary Doctorate.

In spite of what she has achieved, she still recounts the fear she felt in high school saying "you don't die but, know what death feels like".

Dr. Baldwin shared that her father lived long enough to see each of his five children graduate from college.

Questions followed and are available on the meeting recording posted on the Village YouTube Channel.

Those present thanked Dr. Baldwin for her presentation.

The group will meet again on October 18, 2024 at 12:00 PM PST. At the presentation, Sharon Kyle and Dick Price will return to provide us with more insight about how a mixed-race couple is affected by the background of racism that we all experience. Sharon and Dick have presented before and their presentation is available at Dick and Sharon, Mixed Race Marriage. This will be particularly interesting in this election year, as Dick and Sharon compare their reactions to the news of the day.

These presentations are open and we welcome guests. For more information about how to get access to the meetings, contact our office by email or phone at: 626-765-6037

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