January 15, 1923 - December 9, 2014
Riley and Sadie went to Sadie's parents’ retirement home when
it came time for the birth of their little girl. It was here in the middle
bedroom of this small home built by her grandfather and his neighbor that Alice
C. Royal came into the world on January 15, 1923. Her grandparents James and Alice Hackett were
one of the first families to move to Allensworth; California's first town
built, financed, and governed by African Americans.
In her 2008
book, Allensworth, The Freedom Colony
Ms Royal talks about living in Allensworth when she was seven and eight years
old.
“I was a second and third grader in the Allensworth School in the early
1930s. I remember the big dictionary and the potbellied stove, playing
hopscotch and jump rope with the other girls. Aunt Grace always went early to
ring the school bell. Older boys like my brother Edward would bring wood for
the potbellied stove. Everyone had duties: some would erase blackboards, some
would fill inkwells, somebody else would do something with the blotters.
Everyone was involved in the process.”
“At nighttime, Aunt Grace would take us by the hand and we’d walk from
the Hackett home to other parts of Allensworth. Everyone knew everyone, and
respected Aunt Grace, the teacher. We’d
learn about celestial bodies – look up, you’d see a star or maybe a shooting
star or a half-moon. I remember the sights and sounds of animals early in the
morning.”
She has always been an advocate of Colonel Allensworth State
Historic Park. Before there was a park she served on the Colonel Allensworth
State Historic Park Advisory Committee; the group that led the charge to
establish the park. From its inception
she has supported the Friends of Allensworth. She waged a successful campaign
to include the story of Allensworth in California’s fourth grade social studies
texts. She was ever present at special
events at the park. Always with a line of visitors waiting to have a few
minutes to ask her questions or have their picture taken with her. In the words
of George PIlling she was the benevolent queen of the park.
On December 9, 2014, Ms. Alice C. Royal crossed over to that
land where there is no more crying and no more pain; a land where the streets
are paved in gold. The family held a
private graveside service at the Hanford District cemetery on December 18, 2014.
