A.J. Whittenberg
Abraham Jonah Whittenberg was born in 1918, one of fourteen children in Fork Shoals, S.C. At sixteen he moved to Simpsonville to attend St. Alban's Training School, graduating in 1931.In 1941, Whittenberg married Eva McGowan, and together they were active members of Springfield Baptist Church, where Whittenberg served as a trustee and taught Sunday School. He opened Whittenberg's Service Station in Greenville, but he was forced to close it due to reprisals against his business due to his civil rights activities.In 1959, Whittenberg was the president of the Greenville NAACP when he hosted Jackie Robinson to speak at the South Carolina NAACP conference. After Robinson and other African Americans were threatened with arrest for sitting in a "whites only" section of the Greenville Airport, Whittenberg helped organize a major march on January 1, 1960, which drew over a thousand participants and attracted national attention.For the Whittenberg family, civil rights was a shared commitment. A. J. Whittenberg, Jr. was arrested for demonstrating against segregation in 1960. In 1963, Whittenberg and his attorneys filed a lawsuit that. enabled his daughter, Elaine, to transfer schools, leading her to become one of the first African American students to desegregate Greenville schools in 1964.Not long after Whittenberg's passing in 2001, a Greenville elementary school was named in honor to his civil service.
Xanthene Norris
As an educator and community leader, Xanthene Sayles Norris has established an exemplary career of public service and civic engagement.
Born in Winston Salem, N.C., Norris grew up and attended public schools in Greenville, S.C. She graduated from Sterling High School in 1946 as the valedictorian of her class. She earned a bachelor's degree from Clark College in Atlanta, Ga. and a master's degree from Furman University in Greenville. She is a retired educator who served as a Greenville County teacher, high school counselor, and adult education director.
Because of her diplomacy, initiative, and determination to honor the legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Greenville County officially observed the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday for the first time, on January 16, 2006, and as a continuing national celebration.
After 25 years serving District 23 on Greenville County Council Norris decided to step away from politics leaving a legacy of service and a lifetime of work in the community that’s now the responsibility of those she’s mentored.