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Preserving the past, in the present, for future decendants generations
Leadership 2025
![Angela R James.jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/eb0544_b6cc77891bcf473395aee4b243b95367~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_171,h_222,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Me.jpeg)
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Angela R. James
President
Angela is the Granddaughter of Genevieve Beaufford (Buford); Great Granddaughter of Everett and Eldora Spruce Beaufford,; the 2nd Great Granddaughter of Irvin and Lucy Shelton Spruce; 3rd Great Granddaughter of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton; the 4th Great Granddaughter of Lucy Bearden Spullock, and the 5th Great Granddaughter of Matilda and Jerry, a reputed half-Cherokee man.
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Angela was born and raised in Pittsburgh and has resided in Detroit since 1985. She is a retired Lieutenant from the Detroit Police Department, a mother, and grandmother. Angela has a Bachelor of Science from Madonna University and completed Master courses at the University of Detroit Mercy. Angela is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and The National Smart Set Inc., Detroit Chapter. She is also on the Board of Trustees of the City of Detroit Police and Fire Retirement System. Her recent past memberships include the Links Incorporated, the Rhonda Walker Foundation and the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement professionals, as well as several professional associations related to her former career.
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![Phillip G. Henderson.jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/eb0544_dbbd0a2e83564c1eb328f05dd65f852e~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_159,h_222,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Phillip%20G_%20Henderson.jpeg)
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Phillip G. Henderson
Treasurer
Phillip is the 3rd Great Grandson of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton; the 4th Great Grandson of Lucy Bearden Spullock, and the 5th Great Grandson of Matilda and Jerry, a reputed half-Cherokee man.
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Phillip, the youngest of five, was born to Carey L. and Lillie M. (Powell) Henderson in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where he still resides. He married Jacqueline P. Henderson with whom he has two daughters, Reina and Jasmine. After high school, Phillip went on to study at David Lipscomb University on a Burton-Keeble Scholarship where he double-majored in Clinical Psychology and Bible. He then taught at the Orange Grove Center and at Orchard Knob Elementary. He became a licensed stockbroker and at 23 became a Regional Vice-President with his company. He was the first Black and one of the youngest RVP's in the Chattanooga area. In 1997 he was presented with the key to the city of Chattanooga. Since 1990, Phillip has been currently the Minister of the Alton Park Church of Christ since 1990. Under his leadership, the church has been computerized, a music ministry, radio ministry, and a puppet ministry have been established and the church has obtained a 501(c) (3) (non-profit) status. Phillip preached his first sermon on January 15, 1978, at the age of 12, and was ordained by Bro. W. C. Edwards. He is also the Director of the highly rated Alton Park Child Development Center, which he founded in 2004. Phillip has DNA tested with Ancestry.com and African Ancestry.
![Reina Henderson.jpeg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/eb0544_552b25d81a8e4ebe81e378b372932ab7~mv2.jpeg/v1/fill/w_167,h_222,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/Reina%20Henderson.jpeg)
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Reina M. A. Henderson
Secretary
Reina is the 4th Great Granddaughter of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton; the 5th Great Granddaughter of Lucy Bearden Spullock, and the 6th Great Granddaughter of Matilda and Jerry, a reputed half-Cherokee man.
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Reina is the oldest of two daughters (Jasmine) born to Phillip G. and Jacqueline P. Henderson in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She graduated Boyd-Buchanan High School, and pursued a Bachelor of Arts in History and a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy from East Tennessee State University. In 2019, she graduated from the University of Memphis with a Master of Arts in Caribbean History. Reina served as a graduate assistant for the Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change and as the secretary for the Graduate Association for African American History. She is currently a doctoral candidate at Duke University earning her PhD in Atlantic History with a pending graduation (2026). During her tenure as a doctoral student, she has served as a teaching assistant for multiple courses and as a graduate assistant for assessment in the History Department. She is also the co-president of the Hurston James Society for the Humanities and the Social Sciences. She also served as a graduate member of the History Department’s Task Force for Research and Education in Racial Equity and assisted her advisor in the recreation of a course on Critical Race Theory. She served as a judge for the West Tennessee History Day competition for four years. Reina received multiple grants and fellowships towards her education including an Academic-Year Foreign Language Area Studies Fellowship for Haitian Creole. She speaks English and French fluently, and Haitian Creole at a novice-level. She is an aspiring professor of History and an author. Reina is a member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Incorporated in its rechartering of the Sigma Xi chapter in Johnson City, Tennessee in 2015. Reina has DNA tested with Ancestry.com.
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![John Spruce for Website copy_edited.jpg](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/eb0544_858b382704614181b478bc0376292de1~mv2.jpg/v1/fill/w_171,h_222,al_c,q_80,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_avif,quality_auto/John%20Spruce%20for%20Website%20copy_edited.jpg)
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John Venson Spruce D.Ed
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Dr. John Venson Spruce was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
His professional career has consisted of being an instructor in the various sciences such as Chemistry, and Forensic & Environmental Sciences. He has used the knowledge gained over the years to guide and develop students for the past 37 years in the Dekalb County School System in Metro Atlanta.
He also had the opportunity to interact with students in extracurricular activities by coaching basketball, and track and field, earlier in his career. The development of these young people during that time has led to lifelong friendships to this day.
John is also a Risk Reduction Instructor with the state of Georgia. For the past 20 years he has retrained and counseled licensed drivers who have operated vehicles while under the influence of alcohol or drugs. His instructor responsibilities include modification of the lifestyle choices people make so they may avoid the legal issues that occur due to improper operation of vehicles.
His path in education took him from grammar school in Chattanooga to venturing to Howard University in Washington, D.C. to attend the university majoring in Zoology. The completion of his undergraduate studies occurred with obtaining a Bachelor of Arts degree at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. His graduate studies were completed at Clark Atlanta University in Atlanta, Georgia by obtaining a Master of Arts degree and the Doctor of Education degree at the university.
John has dedicated his life to becoming an individual who strives to have an impact on the development of our youth and people. This is all designed to potentially make a difference in their lives and their well-being.
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Alfred Shropshire
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Alfred has DNA tested with Ancestry.com, and is the Grandson of Pierce and Lizzie Spruce Shropshire; the Great Grandson of Irvin and Lucy Shelton Spruce; the 2nd Great Grandson of Hardy and Mary Bearden Shelton; the 3rd Great Grandson of Lucy Bearden Spullock, and the 4th Great Grandson of Matilda and Jerry, a reputed half-Cherokee man.
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Alfred, and his twin brother Allen, were born in Rome, Georgia, to Jessie and Pharies Shropshire, Sr. Alfred and Allen were raised in Pittsburgh, Pa.
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Alfred (and Allen) graduated from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania with Honors and Degrees in Biology and Chemistry and then served two years in the United States Army at Fort Jackson, Columbia, South Carolina.
Alfred began his civilian professional career in Philadelphia, Pa., at Albert Einstein Medical Center, developing a drug to be taken as protection against radiation. He later became employed by Wyeth Laboratory and Pharmaceuticals in Radnor, Pa. , as a Neuropsychopharmacologist and later testing rodent behavior in response to stimuli.
He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., Lincoln University Alumni Association, NAACP, Habitat for Humanity, American Psychological Association, and many other professional and local affiliations and recognitions.
Alfred was married to the late Pearl Thompson and they have twin girls, Tracey and Karen and one son, Alfred, Jr. He now resides in Rome, Ga., on Shropshire family land.