Alma Jean Foye Stokes

Alma’s grandparents loved and were proud of the large farm they owned in the Tuskegee area.  She writes with fond memories of large family gatherings to harvest crops or just because her grandfather loved to see his progeny together enjoying the land that he was so proud to own and whose produce he was so happy to share with them.

Alma remembers the high expectations teachers and administrators at Tuskegee Institute High School had of their students. She cherishes memories of the camaraderie of walking home from football games. She honors the ancestors in her church who involved them in youth activities such as an annual trip to the beach and volunteering at the Tuskegee Veterans Administration Hospital built to care for Black veterans during Jim Crow.

Alma writes of her experiences with prejudice, attempted discrimination, and her resistance to it.  Alma credits Tuskegee’s Black community with teaching her to be proud, to help the community, and to expect to be treated with respect. Her mantra is “Do right because it is right.”

Alma and her husband have lived and worked in Camden, Alabama, Plains, Georgia, and Eatonton, Georgia. She still maintains close relationships with the friends they made in their various professional transfers.  

Alma served as City Councilwoman in Eatonton for sixteen. She was the first woman-and of course, Black woman to be elected to the council. Alma continues to be involved in community volunteer activities, especially with veterans, as she was in her youth.