KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — The East Tennessee community offered a final formal goodbye to a civil rights pioneer and a man who helped shape the history of Knoxville. Bob Booker died when he was 88 years old.
People who attended his funeral say his legacy will continue to live on.
"Bob, of course, has written many books on the history of Knoxville, Tennessee, and were well received," said Charles Frazier, who worked with Booker at the radio station. "Also Bob's show on the station I work with as well, WJVE — it's a legend because there are a number of people who listen to the Bob Booker show. Bob Booker is a guy who loves Knoxville College. He told me he said, 'The only reason I pay to play the lotto is so if I hit, I want to bring Knoxville College back.'"
Booker has made a tremendous impact on the people who live in Knoxville. He helped integrate downtown Knoxville by organizing sit-ins during his time as the student body president at Knoxville College.
"That's his legacy and he will be well missed," said Edwin Campbell, who says he lived in the same neighborhood as Booker. "He was always in that this demonstration, stuff like that. They weren't afraid to get hit or knocked down. He would always get back up. I'm proud of him. I hate that he passed on. We all loved him."
Activism like Booker's led to the desegregation of lunch counters and movie theatres.
"The sit-ins that took place in Knoxville, Tennessee, he went to jail for that," said Frazier. "He was a (student body) president of Knoxville College. He also is a person historically, that's been involved in showing us our thumbprint of what our community was about. And leaving that historically, in history by way of videos and by way of books.
Robert Booker was said to have a wealth of Knowledge about the history of Knoxville. Those who knew him say he was a historian.
"He realized, he and the team, realized the importance of preserving our history in this community," said Representative Sam McKenzie (D - Knoxville). "This is a tough community. This isn't like a Nashville or Memphis. We're not as populated, so, he understood that. He understood the love that people have with each other here in East Tennessee."
Those who knew him say they want future generations to understand the impact of what he did.
"The future generations need to know that Knoxville was segregated at one time," said Frazier. "The future generations need to know that it took some nerve, it was against the law for integration in certain places. (Integration involved) a lot of people who protested. Bob had a lot of spirit. He had a lot of heart and he had a vision for the future for better and an integrated Knoxville and integrated America."
Those who attended his funeral had nothing but kind words to say about the civil rights leader. Some people say they even learned new things from him.
"He's always been a very impressive person," said Peggy Myers, who said she had known Booker for years. "In my opinion, he cared about his community and Knoxville in general. He managed to keep all of us up on our history here in Knoxville, Tennessee. And that was very important, and that was an awesome thing for him to do as a Knoxvillian. So he would truly, truly, truly be missed. And I just pray that he rest in peace. He always introduced things to me that even I didn't know, being here all my life, because some of the places that he's gone, I haven't been. But he definitely kept all of us on our toes as far as our Knoxville history."
Bob Booker served in the U.S. Army one year after graduating from high school. Thursday morning at 10 a.m., he will be buried at the East Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.