By Becky Manley / Staff Writer
Education is the foundation upon which a successful life can be built.
That was the message delivered Tuesday at Laurel County Public Library by Dr. Aaron Thompson, interim vice president for academic affairs for the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.
Thompson, a former college professor whose formative years were spent in Central Appalachia, talked about Appalachia, racism and the importance of education to a standing-room-only crowd who gathered in the library’s Kentucky Room.
Thompson’s appearance was one of two events the Laurel County Public Library will host in February in connection with Black History Month.
Thompson’s speech was peppered with humor and he emphasized his pride about his Appalachian roots.
The youngest of nine children, Thompson said he was born in Clay County where his family lived in a three-room log cabin with a dirt floor.
Both Thompson’s father, an illiterate coal miner, and his mother, who graduated from eighth grade, pushed him to obtain an education, Thompson said.
His father, who worked in the mines from ages 10 to 60 when a broken back forced him to quit, told Thompson an education allows you more choice in how you earn a living, while his mother touted its economic benefits.
“My mother said, ‘Son, if you get an education, it will get you more money,’” Thompson said.
As his parents “pushed him toward excellence,” Thompson admitted he struggled because of the racism he encountered.
When public schools were first integrated, Thompson said he was among some students who had never seen a black person before.
Some of those students spat upon him or threw rocks at him.
“I had people chasing me home everyday and I was scared to death,” Thompson said.
After being routinely bullied by a boy on a school bus, Thompson said he told his father he was going to drop out of school.
His father, a deeply religious pacifist, responded, “Boy, there are two things worth fighting for: that’s education and your family.”
The next time he encountered the bully, Thompson — who briefly interrupted his speech to sternly tell a young girl in the audience not to fight — said he “took care of business.”
Once in high school, Thompson said he wasn’t sure how to succeed, so he identified the top five students and took the same classes they did and joined the same clubs.
Thompson called the approach “forced mentoring.”
“We call that stalking now and it’s illegal,” Thompson said.
After graduating from high school in 1975, Thompson worked a night shift job and attended classes during the day. He said he obtained two bachelor’s degrees in three and a half years.
“I”m not very smart,” Thompson said. “I’m just determined.”
After spending about 10 years pursuing a successful corporate career, Thompson said he decided to obtain his doctorate so he could teach college.
Although he’s working for the state now, Thompson said he misses teaching.
Thompson, who said motivation comes in both positive and negative forms, believes the keys to success can be found through family, the community, its institutions like schools and, ultimately, through personal responsibility.
“We need to teach our kids how to be responsible,” Thompson said.
