The 'Uncle Tom' Principal in Coming of Age in Mississippi

A Look at Anselm J. Finch

By Roscoe Barnes III
Chairman, Anne Moody History Project
Copyright (c) 2018

#AnneMoody

---------------------------------------

For me, it's a good day whenever I learn something about Anne Moody or I meet someone that knew her. The day gets better when I discover someone who can confirm some of the things she wrote about, especially those stories that may have been questioned by some.

I recently had the good fortune of speaking with Charles E. Johnson, a retired Superintendent of Education for Wilkinson County, who not only saw Moody play basketball in school, but he also shared personal stories that supported some of her experiences. One story in particular dealt with Anselm (sometimes spelled “Anslem”) J. Finch, whom he knew as "a dirty, low down" man who could not be trusted.

"I went to school under him,” Johnson said in a recent interview. “It’s hard to describe him. He was an Uncle Tom and more. He didn’t care for us. For him, it was all about the money.”

According to Johnson, Finch was actually "Mr. C.H. Willis," the founding principal of Willis High School featured in Coming of Age in Mississippi. He said there was never a "Willis High" and that Moody changed the name of the principal and the school.

In the March 5, 1948 issue of the Jackson Clarion Ledger, Finch is mentioned as "head of the Centreville colored school." In March 1948, Moody would have been seven years old, the same age she attended the school which she described as "the only Negro school in Centreville." She wrote that the school "had only been expanded into a high school the year before I started there."

Finch is also believed to be one of the men connected to the August 1959 murder of Samuel O'Quinn and, as Moody put it, "one of the biggest Uncle Toms in the South." She wrote: "It was said that he was the one who squealed on Samuel O'Quinn and also helped plot his death."

In Chapter 17 of Coming of Age, Moody wrote about her high school graduation in 1959. She commented on the opening of a new school for Blacks, and she said that Willis became the principal of the new school. She wrote:

Wilkinson County was a recipient of one of the new “Separate but Equal” schools built throughout the South as a result of the 1954 Supreme Court Decision. It had been under construction on a fifty-two-acre plot in Woodville for almost a year when I graduated in 1959. The following September all the Negro high schools in Wilkinson County would consolidate into the new school, giving it nearly three thousand students and eighty to ninety teachers. It was supposed to be the largest new school in the state and it caused much bickering among the Uncle Tom principals and teachers in the county. Many of the teachers sought positions as heads of various classes or departments and the principals challenged each other for the position of head principal. Since Willis was the biggest Tom among the principals of the merging schools, he was the one chosen by the state board for this job.

The new school was actually called Wilkinson County Training School, according to Johnson. He said Finch was the principal of the new school. Today the school serves as the Wilkinson County High School in Woodville, Miss. 

Moody was not alone in some of her views of Willis/Finch. Papers held by the State Sovereignty Commission show that Finch was "opposed to any NAACP activity" during that time.

The Jackson Advocate (September 10, 1966) reported civil rights groups launched campaigns "to destroy all locally responsible Negro leaders whom they have branded with the mark of 'Uncle Tom.'" The paper noted Finch "has long been a marked man."

In a March 17, 1959 memo to the director of the State Sovereignty Commission, Zack J. Van Landingham wrote that Finch was "very much against the NAACP." Although he was "severely criticized" by NAACP members, he found support from the sheriff and school superintendent. Landingham noted:

The Sheriff and Supt. of Education regard Anslem J. Finch as an excellent source of information regarding Negro activities in that county. They consider him absolutely reliable.

Finch's reputation is also described in the California Law Review [Vol. 101:445]:

Throughout the 1950s the Sovereignty Commission monitored a series of complaints within the black community about various teachers and superintendents, including Superintendent Anselm Finch. Although Superintendent Finch was instrumental in creating Wilkinson County’s first black high school in 1959, increasing education opportunities for black students throughout the 1960s, Finch had a reputation for his accommodationist stance. His own writing reveals a personal ideological conflict based on pragmatic concerns and pressures felt by some black leaders. He spoke against those who demonstrated in opposition to the black education system and spoke in favor of collaborating with the white community to gain access to resources; and yet other writings imply a strongly felt connection to the civil rights movement.

The California Law Review identified Finch as "Superintendent," but the truth is, he never became superintendent, according to Johnson. "He ran, but he did not win," he said. "He lost by a 1,000 votes."

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Would you like to know MORE about Anne Moody? Visit here to

see the timeline of important events in her life history!

 -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

For more information: 
See the Anne Moody page here.
Questions about the Anne Moody History Project may be directed to Roscoe Barnes III via email at doctorbarnes3@gmail.com or roscoebarnes3@yahoo.com. For updates on Anne Moody history and the on-going work of this community service project, simply follow this blog or follow AMHP on Twitter (@AnneMoodyHP). #ComingOfAgeinMississippi