Barrier breakers, legends and history makers

By Vivian Shipe KNOXVILLE, TN — They ARE Black History: Dr. Robert Booker Jr., and Theotis Robinson Jr. Knoxvillian Bob Booker, as he is known across the country, was born in what was known as The Bottoms in East Knoxville. He is an Army veteran who came home from the war and during his years at Knoxville College, where he was president of the student body, was a solid figure in the civil rights movement, leading sit-ins to push for desegregation, even spending time in jail for the cause of justice and equality. Dr. Robert Booker, Jr. Less than a mile away, up the hill from Knoxville College, Theotis Robinson Jr., who also participated in the lunch counter sit-ins in the turbulent 60s, was also& breaking barriers at the University of Tennessee. Robinson became the first African American undergraduate to enter the university. It was no easy feat, they didn’t want to let him in, so he kicked open the door with the power of the pen, succeeding in getting the board of trustees to change their policy. These are great men of “first.” Booker went on to become Knoxville’s first Black Tennessee State representative while Robinson would be the...