CHARLESTON – The great-granddaughter of one of Charleston’s first Black attorneys is working to have him recognized for his contributions to the Kanawha Valley and the state.
James Cubert Campbell, who was born in 1876, also was the first Black undertaker and first Black city councilman in Charleston, and he was prominent in the business, church and newspaper communities.
Samantha Stephens, his great-granddaughter, is working on getting a historical marker to honor Campbell and his work. An actress and writer living in Los Angeles, Stephens began delving into her family history in 2020 after George Floyd was killed by Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin during an arrest.
Samantha Stephens
| Stephanie Girard
“I only knew two things about my great grandfather until two years ago,” Stephens said. “He was the first Black undertaker in Charleston, and I knew he had been a lawyer. When everything was happening with George Floyd, we were under curfew. There were riots, and we were in the pandemic. The almost obsessive way the video blazed around the world while other Black people continued to suffer at the hands of police felt devastating.
“There were a lot of hard feelings and guilt. I was working at this financial technology company with mostly white men, and there were a lot of hard feelings and guilt. People were asking me if I was OK.
“I just thought, ‘You can ask if I’m OK, but what are you going to do?’ I haven’t seen any activism. I thought about Campbell. The sacrifices he made to help others.”
Stephens said a lot of Black people in the country don’t know much about their family histories. But she said she was fortunate that she was able to find out so much about her family and about her great-grandfather, who most people called Campbell.
“When someone is gone, their history is gone,” she said. “But, I was able to read articles he wrote. I saw his life in print. He had the press in his pocket. I found about a hundred articles that mentioned him.
“A lot of Campbell’s activism I find rooted in his background in law.”
Stephens said she was able to find information through West Virginia state archives and through newspaper articles Campbell wrote and others written about him.
“West Virginia keeps records of births and deaths, and I found his parents’ information,” Stephens said. “To know names of ancestors of mine who were slaves … I just never knew that was possible. It makes me feel so much more connected to my family and even this country. Campbell’s father fought in the Civil War. He built his own business and lived until he was 82 or so. Campbell was the first free person born in the family.
“To really not know anything about your family then to have it, it gives my life more meaning.”
Stephens wrote about what she learned and has posted it online.
Campbell went to Howard University and graduated in 1904. Later, he returned home and practiced law for a little bit.
“But, he was running into issues where Black people couldn’t afford to hire him, and white people didn’t want to hire him,” Stephens said. “But, I do believe that legal background really helped him in business and being a part of several other organizations.”
So, Campbell began writing for newspapers to supplement his income. He was a fervent supporter of the Republican Party, or “the Party of Lincoln.” He encouraged Blacks to vote straight Republican tickets to combat disenfranchisement and Jim Crow laws. He often traveled to campaign for various GOP candidates.
In 1912, Campbell opened his undertaking business called The House of Campbell. It was the first in Charleston to be owned by and for Black people.
“Based on my family members’ descriptions of The House of Campbell, it seemed my great-grandfather did quite well for himself,” Stephens said. “He constructed a new funeral home from the ground up, complete with a chapel attached.
The funeral home’s design drew inspiration from the Parthenon, complete with enormous white columns in front. My great-grandfather even commissioned a custom Cadillac ambulance and hearse to be shipped from Ohio, only adding to his prominence in Charleston.”
She also said Campbell was kicked out of the First Baptist Church because he enjoyed singing and dancing during the quiet services. He was asked not to come back.
“In retaliation, he built the St. James Episcopal Church,” Stephens said. “I asked my mom’s cousin, Murtala, if ‘St. James’ was a way for my great-grandfather to name the church after himself, to which he replied, ‘I wouldn’t put it past him.’”
In the 1920s, Charleston, was a prime location separating the North and the South.
“It was a destination for Southern Blacks during the Great Migration and a stopping point along the way to cities like Chicago,” Stephens said. “As a result, several politicians and civic organizers across the country looked to West Virginia as an example for legislation regarding race.”
The Campbell family lived in a neighborhood known as The Block.
“Bordered by brothels and considered undesirable by the white citizens of Charleston, Black residents settled into the area,” Stephens said. “They created businesses, headquarters for fraternities/secret societies, a public high school and an elite hotel.
“Though they lived in a thriving, prominent neighborhood, residents knew everybody and their business. Neighborhood kids played in the street, and community events bustled with energy and life. These institutions made Charleston a cultural hub for entertainers and intellectuals.”
Even as he thrived professionally, Campbell still worked to better the lives of Black people. That included his family and others.
“He taught my grandmother, Charlotte, and my great-aunt Marjory to drive because he didn’t want them to sit in the back of the bus,” Stephens said. “He also sat on several committees that sought to protect and uplift the Black and immigrant communities of Charleston. These groups fought for and achieved the desegregation of the public library, the implementation of an anti-lynching law, the creation of West Virginia's first Blacks-only 9-hole golf course, and the legislation restricting the showing of D.W. Griffith’s film Birth of a Nation — all before 1935.”
In 1931, Campbell became Charleston’s first Black city councilman, a seat he held for 25 years until his death in 1956.
Campbell was active in the Charleston branch of the NAACP, which Stephens said was the model branch for the national NAACP. He and T.G. Nutter, the first Black member of the West Virginia Legislature, were community leaders.
Stephens said Campbell also started the first Black golf club in Institute, which is where the historically Black college West Virginia State University is located.
“He (Campbell) owned some land there, and I believe he sold some to the university,” Stephens said. “He also left some land to family. Institute was a special place for him.”
That’s why she’s working with the university to erect the memorial marker to honor Campbell. Stephens said the school is on board with the plan, and she hopes to have a ceremony during homecoming weekend.
And last year, Charleston Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin issued a proclamation honoring Campbell for his service as a city councilman and for his work to improve the city.
Stephens, who was born in New Jersey and raised in Philadelphia, moved to Los Angeles about eight years ago to pursue her Hollywood dreams.
“My ultimate goal is to develop his story into a television series,” she said. “I’ve never seen a period piece about a wealthy black family. There’s this whole world here.
“He was a newspaper columnist. Also worked in census office. A lot of it is very relevant today. He lived through a pandemic as well. He was born just as Jim Crow laws came into effect.
“Reading my great-grandfather’s words in print felt like oxygen. I could not live the rest of my life without reading every word I could find.”
When Campbell died in 1956, the family closed The House of Campbell after 44 years. It and other prominent Black-owned businesses on The Block were sold to the state and razed for “urban renewal” projects.
“During conversations with my family members lucky enough to remember Campbell, they each came to the same conclusion — he was born at the wrong time,” Stephens said. “Although my great-grandfather led a remarkable life, he never felt like he accomplished enough. Despite his wealth, respect, and prominence in his community, he was frustrated that he could not take his political ambitions beyond his city council seat.
“He always felt resentment from the white businessmen in Charleston, whom he knew would not elect him to a higher office. Despite his tenacity in business, he was oppressed by Jim Crow laws and the ideology of the time.”
Stephens said she was surprised at how much she found out about Campbell and the rest of her family’s history. She said her Black history in school was limited to Harriet Tubman, Martin Luther King Jr. and Rosa Parks.
“With so much Black history lost because of slavery, racism and the whitewashing of American history, I never knew I had the right to search for my family history,” she said. “I didn’t think there would be anything to find.
“Discovering the rich details of Campbell’s life have been profound. I believe his remarkable insight into the power of the press was one of his greatest assets. His intimate relationship with the media allowed his story to be preserved and now passed down through our family.
“It saddens me that the America I live in is not more progressive than the America he was trying to change; that Black people are still combating relentless contempt. Though the tragic events of summer 2020 made me skeptical that our country is making progress in dismantling systemic racism, I don’t think my great-grandfather would want me to feel that way. Instead, I think he would encourage me to use my voice, build community, and challenge my oppressor — maybe then I’ll realize my ancestor’s wildest dream.”