“No matter what she faced in life, what sort of obstacle she had, she had a smile on her face. She had a good kind word for everybody and she went through life unafraid,” a close friend of Black’s, Penny Behling, told WATE.
Black was an English teacher at CHS and according to her students an inspiration. To honor her the CHS student council, with the help of the Beta Club, organized an event called Pink Out for Black.
Through this event, the school raised money for cancer research and to replenish two scholarship funds. The CHS Beta Club developed the funds just after Black passed away. One is for a graduating senior and the other for Black’s 10-year-old son, Mikey, who she raised alone. Mikey now lives with Black’s sister.
Mikey told WATE, “It’s pretty amazing that she could go through all that and be like, I am going to take this on and live with it.”
The initial plan for Pink Out for Black was to get all those present at the CHS vs. Gibbs home game to wear pink, event those supporting the opposing team. As plans developed, the event grew larger and larger.
CHS sold tee shirts, luminary bags, and chances to win gift baskets. Some CHS students and teachers were even inspired to cut and donate their hair to Pantene Beautiful Lengths; a program that uses donated hair to make wigs for cancer patients.
To culminate the event CHS dedicated their pep rally for the game against Gibbs to Pink Out for Black. At the pep rally each student and teacher donned a Pink Out for Black tee shirt turning the gym into a sea of pink and showing their support of those affected by cancer.
The Pink Out for Black pep rally caught the attention of WATE News Anchor Lori Tucker who made a trip to Claiborne County as a guest speaker.
Tucker began by saying, “We’re here to celebrate a very special life, but we are also here to discuss cancer.”
She went on to ask students if they could imagine a day when people did not know about a disease called cancer. A day when they could say we found a cure.
She told students that because of their support for cancer research and awareness through Pink Out for Black they were getting closer to that day.
“By what you guys are doing we are inching toward that day,” said Tucker. She encouraged students to continue their efforts and said, “I hope this becomes a yearly thing and becomes bigger and bigger.”
Also, during the pep rally, CHS teacher Shawn Peters and students Doug Collett and Will Singleton each cut their notoriously long hair and donated it to Pantene Beautiful Lengths. Bernice Tennyson made the cuts on the half court line.
Pink Out for Black continued after the pep rally into the CHS vs. Gibbs game where athletes and cheerleaders from both schools wore pink to the game in honor of Karen Black and all those affected by cancer.
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