Macon Cove Campus
5983 Macon Cove
Memphis, TN 38134-7693

Union Avenue Campus
737 Union Avenue
Memphis, TN 38103-3322

Fayette Center

Gill Center

Millington Center

Southeast Center

Whitehaven Center

901/333-STCC * www.southwest.tn.edu

DATE: February 4, 2002
CONTACT: Calvin Burns, 901/333-5338 or Marilyn Duncan, 901/333-4247

Southwest Names Lacey Woodson Recipient

The 13th annual Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit program at Southwest Tennessee Community College is set for 10:45 a.m., Tuesday, February 5, in the Union Avenue Campus Theater, Union and Manassas. Earnest Edward Lacey, author and businessman, will receive the 2002 Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit. This event will initiate the African American History Month observance at Southwest. It is free and open to the public.

Lacey serves as a business consultant for small-business owners and start-up businesses. In addition, he is the host of two local television talk shows, Small Business Review and Ancestors.

A well-respected genealogist, Lacey is the author of a biographical novel, FreeJoe: A Story of Faith, Love and Perseverance. His other work , based on that same genealogical research is, The Search for FreeJoe: Researching A Family's History; Actual Account. The books recount the life of Lacey's great, great, great-grandfather, Joseph "FREEJOE" Harris. FREEJOE became a successful businessman after gaining his freedom from slavery. His business interests included real estate, carpentry, farming, inn-keeping and stagecoach routing.

Lacey receives invitations from across the nation to present workshops and to give lectures on genealogy. His topics range from genealogy in general to more specific topics on African American genealogy.

The Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit was established at what is now the Union Avenue Campus of Southwest Tennessee Community College in 1989. It is aimed at promoting the work of Dr. Woodson, who is considered the founder of African American History Month. Recipients of the award have fostered and/or preserved the African and African American presence in America. They have also made significant contributions to the American way of life and advanced Dr. Woodson's legacy of historical accuracy and inclusivity.

With 13,000 students, Southwest is the fourth largest institute of higher learning in the state. Southwest Tennessee Community College is a comprehensive, multicultural, public, open-access college whose mission is to anticipate and respond to the educational needs of students, employers, and communities of Shelby and Fayette counties and the surrounding Mid-South region.

For additional information about the Carter G. Woodson Award of Merit program, call the College at 901/333-5203.


Southwest Tennessee Community College is a Tennessee Board of Regents institution.