This #Juneteenth, I'm taking time to remember my grandpa's grandparents. Mark Gassaway was born into slavery. He and his wife, Carrie Walls Gassaway, became impactful educators. Here's their story, rich with deep research by my uncle, Charles Kellogg, and cousin @kkellogg309. 1/n
Don't miss the part where Mark Gassaway became the first African American college graduate in Anderson County, South Carolina and started being called “Professor Gassaway.” @kkellogg309 2/n 
…Or the part where Carrie Walls graduated in one of the first classes from @SpelmanCollege (then known as Spelman Seminary) in the 1880s. @kkellogg309 3/n
Be sure to catch the part where Mark Gassaway was appointed postmaster in Belmont, South Carolina — a prestigious public service position — but then stepped down following threats made against him in the local newspaper. @kkellogg309 4/n
Stay tuned to hear about Mark and Carrie’s legacy of educational leadership, first at the Greeley Institute and then at Reed Street Grammar School #4. From the 1880s through 1919, they educated thousands of Black youth in Anderson. @kkellogg309 5/n
The #NatSec and #IR nerds will appreciate how Carrie used her connections to fellow Spelman alumni who had traveled to Africa to give the local Anderson children a global perspective. @kkellogg309 6/n
But things got crazy when Mark founded and became the first president of Anderson’s NAACP chapter in 1919. After one of the first meetings, he received threats that he and his family should leave Anderson (their home for ~40 years) within 24 hours… or be killed. @kkellogg309 7/n
The next day, he and his family left Anderson and moved to Cleveland, Ohio. They would never return. Still, Mark and Carrie’s work was not done. @kkellogg309 8/n
Professor Mark Gassaway went on to do speaking tours around the country, where he told the story of his work and his expulsion from Anderson. He spoke before large audiences with prominent colleagues, including Dr. W. E. B. DuBois. @kkellogg309 9/n
In 2017, #MarkHugheeGassaway was inducted into the @AndCountyMuseum Hall of Fame. The life and work of #CarrieWallsGassaway has been memorialized in academic research about education and community-building in the Black community. @kkellogg309 10/n
My uncle, Charles Kellogg, researched and narrated the video in this thread along with my cousin, Khadijah Kellogg (@kkellogg309). They have created a website — markgassaway.weebly.com. Please share to keep the legacy of #MarkHugheeGassaway and #CarrieWallsGassaway alive. 11/11
