23/54 PROJECT

Celebrating Black Appalachian Community

Finley

The Finley family made their home in Draper and later Pulaski, where Henry and Annie Finley raised their children — George, James, and Josephine — and signed them onto the Corbin et al. v. County School Board of Pulaski County (1947) lawsuit. Family members remember that no matter where life took them — George to Chicago, James to Pulaski, and Josephine to Pearisburg — everyone always gathered at “Granny Annie’s house.” Her home was the family’s anchor: a place where the boys worked the farm, grandchildren learned to pick beans and peel potatoes, and traditions of discipline, faith, and togetherness were passed down. 

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An interactive graphic of the quilt square. The linked information can also be found below.

The puzzle pieces on the Finley Family quilt square convey the sense of togetherness and familial ties that the family’s artifacts convey. Each member of the Finley family depended on the other during their lives; they were pieces of a puzzle, complete as long as the other person was by their side.

Artifacts by Family Member

Named Participant List

Snippet of signed participant list on lawsuit
George Finley, James Finley and Josephine Finley, infants, by Henry Finley, their father and next friend

Henry Finley is the father of the Finley family and was signed on as the parent of the Corbin et al. v. County School Board of Pulaski County, VA. et al. George Finley was the eldest son who signed on to the case. James Finley was the youngest son who signed on to the case. Josephine Finley was the youngest sibling to sign on to the case.

Giles and Pearisburg Town Sign

Members of the Finley family lived in Pearisburg, Giles County, which was established in 1806. It was formed from various parts of Tazewell, Montgomery, and Monroe counties.1 Giles County is known for its beautiful nature and is home to 37 miles of the New River.2

Sign reads: The town was laid off in 1806 when Giles County was formed, and named for Captian George Pearis, Early Settler. Established in 1808, it first incoporated in 1835 and reincorporated in 1914. Here, in May 1862, Union Troops under Colonel Rutherford B. Hayes were defeated by Confederates under General Henry Heth. The Present Courthouse was erected in 1836.

Henry Finley

Draper Pin image, coordinates, and Township petition

Snippet of township petition historical document with capitalized text
To the honorable A. A. Campbell, Judge of this Circuit Court of Pulaski County, Virginia

Henry Finley lived in Draper and signed a petition for Draper Township in October 1924. The District of Draper covers 40 acres of Pulaski County. The district is a historic aspect of Pulaski and encompasses the historic resources that came together in Draper Valley into a railroad depot in the 1800s. The establishment of the Draper Depot on the Norfolk and Western Railway led to the area’s existence. The oldest surviving building is the Draper Mercantile of 1887.3 Draper was named after the Draper family, most likely charter investors in the Virginia Company.4

Henry Finley WWII Draft Card

The U.S.A. enacted the Selective Training and Service Act of 1940 on September 16, 1940. It was the first peacetime draft in United States history. Those selected were required to serve a minimum of one year in the armed forces. When the United States entered World War II, the draft continued throughout the war. By 1945, around 50 million men had been registered for the draft, and 10 million had been conscripted into the military.5

Gunpowder Barrel

Henry Finley worked at the Hercules Powder Factory. Hercules is a gunpowder company and the operating contractor for the Radford Army Ammunition Plant (RAAP), a government-owned, contractor-operated facility.6 Hercules Inc. was the contractor responsible for building the RAAP facility, and by the end of World War II, the facility included 870 buildings.7 In 1941, due to unsatisfactory wages, a strike was called at the Hercules powder plant. Demands were to increase the wage from $1.10 to $1.50.8 Hercules’ subsidiary company, RAAP, was essentially a nuclear waste site located near primarily minority communities, specifically Black communities. Many of the people in these communities went to work for RAAP, and in turn, the companies polluted these areas, contributing to a phenomenon known as “ Eco-Racism”. RAAP also lacked proper safety regulations, leading to chronic illnesses in individuals who worked at the plant. Due to the historical lack of high-paying work opportunities for Black Americans, many accepted the hazardous working conditions to have access to higher pay.

Wheat

Henry Finley was a farmer. Agriculture is one of the most populous industries in southwest Virginia.9 The fertility of the soil and the vast waterways that inhabit the region solidified its status as a growing area for both the colonists and modern-day farmers.10 With the arrival of railroads in the mid-19th century, Pulaski’s agricultural market spread across the nation. However, there is a current decline in agriculture in Pulaski. There is a need to encourage younger generations to pursue this career and to ensure and improve the economic resilience of farms.

Vegetables

Henry Finley was a farmer and gardener who grew vegetables.

James Finley

Pulaski Furniture Co Tag

Pulaski Furniture tag with logo, number, and company name

James Finley worked at Pulaski Furniture Company. Pulaski Furniture Company was founded in 1955, originally named the Pulaski Veneer and Furniture Company. The company mainly produced bedroom furniture.11

Josephine Finley

Sewing Machine – Homemaker Symbol

Josephine Finley was a homemaker. Many African American women during the 1960s chose a profession of homemaking or domestic work due to racial and educational barriers to getting higher-status jobs. During World War II, Black women were encouraged to help the war effort by taking domestic labor jobs so that white women would be able to work in the manufacturing industry.12 In 1960, around 33 percent of Black women worked as domestic laborers. Also, in the 1960s, less than 20 percent of Black women held clerical jobs, compared to around 50 percent of white women.13

line drawing of sewing machine

David William Peoples

David Peoples is a descendant of the Finley family. He was the son of Ralph Peoples and Josephine Finley Peoples. As his 2022 obituary states, David Peoples enjoyed fishing, telling stories, and drinking coffee with lots of sugar.

Image of smiling African American man in black shirt

Fishing

David Peoples enjoyed fishing. Fishing as a tradition has followed Black Americans since slavery, when enslaved people needed to fish to supplement their limited food supplies. Following emancipation, Black Americans in the South continued to fish, as Black people were pushed to the coastal areas after the Civil War. Fishing became a vital resource for Black families to feed their households and earn an income.14 At one point, 90 percent of the commercial fishing industry in the Chesapeake Bay was employed and owned by African Americans; however, in current times, this number has significantly dwindled.15

Storytelling

David Peoples enjoyed telling stories with friends and family.

line drawing of people sitting on floor chatting

Storytelling has been an integral part of African American history and culture. The tradition has existed since the first enslaved people set foot in the Americas, as they carried with them their oral traditions. From then on, folktales helped preserve the remnants of African culture in the Americas while also serving the spirit and giving slaves a brief escape from the hardships of slavery. Folktales have also become a part of African American literature, with many being written down, such as “Tar-Baby,” “Brer Fox,” “Brer Rabbit,” and many more.16

Sugar and Coffee

David enjoyed drinking coffee with lots of sugar. This anecdote was extracted from David Finley’s obituary, among other stories of his life and enjoyments. The small details the family added to his obituary demonstrate their strong love and appreciation for him.

Elderly Care

Daniel Lee Finley and Elizabeth Finley worked at the Draper Valley Nursing Home. They are the siblings of James, George, and Josephine, who were named in the lawsuit. This shows that the family is very generous and willing to help in the community, especially those who need it most.

There is a history of abuse in hospice care and medical facilities regarding African Americans. Regardless of income, African Americans are more likely than white people to avoid hospice care.17 This disparity is rooted in factors such as cultural apprehension toward the medical system, discrimination, and racial medical abuse.18 In the 1960s and 1970s, Black patients eligible for hospice care faced struggles in accessing end-of-life care, not only due to financial barriers but also because of discrimination. Daniel and Elizabeth Finley’s service in elderly care demonstrates the steps African Americans took to integrate themselves into the healthcare system and make these spaces more welcoming.

  1. “Giles County, Virginia History and Genealogy.” 2024. Genealogyresources.org. 2024. https://genealogyresources.org/Giles.html. ↩︎
  2. “Virginia’s Mountain PlaygroundTM – Giles County – Nature at Her Best!” n.d. https://virginiasmtnplayground.com/. ↩︎
  3. “077-0169.” 2024. DHR. March 2024. https://www.dhr.virginia.gov/historic-registers/077-0169/. ↩︎
  4. “Early History of Virginia Drapers.” 2025. Billdraper.net. 2025. https://billdraper.net/html/body_early_drapers.html. ↩︎
  5. The National WWII Museum. n.d. “Research Starters: The Draft and World War II.” The National WWII Museum | New Orleans. https://www.nationalww2museum.org/students-teachers/student-resources/research-starters/draft-and-wwii. ↩︎
  6. “Hercules List Employee Honors.” 1987. Southwest Times, September 13, 1987. https://www.virginiachronicle.com/?a=d&d=TSWT19870913.1.9&srpos=1&e=——-en-20–1–txt-txIN-%22Hercules+list+employee+honors%22——- ↩︎
  7. “Radford Army Ammunition Plant.” n.d. Www.virginiaplaces.org. http://www.virginiaplaces.org/military/radford.html. ↩︎
  8. “ACT to CALL STRIKE at HERCULES PLANT; A.F.L. Men Building Powder Factory Vote to Ask Approval.” 2025. Nytimes.com. 2025. https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1941/05/12/85492010.html?pageNumber=10. ↩︎
  9. “Southwest Virginia – Genedge.” 2024. Genedge. July 19, 2024. https://genedge.org/who-we-are/regions/about-southwest-virginia/. ↩︎
  10. “Southwest Virginia.” 2024. Virginia.gov. 2024. https://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/archivesmonth/2003/southwest/. ↩︎
  11. “Pulaski Furniture Website.” 2025. Pulaskifurniture.com. 2025. https://www.pulaskifurniture.com/our-story.inc. ↩︎
  12. discoversociety. 2014. “Unsung Heroes of the US Civil Rights Movement – Domestic Servants of the Deep South.” Discover Society. November 4, 2014. https://archive.discoversociety.org/2014/11/04/unsung-heroes-of-the-us-civil-rig. ↩︎
  13. “America Becoming: Racial Trends and Their Consequences: Volume II” at NAP.edu. n.d. Nap.nationalacademies.org. https://nap.nationalacademies.org/read/9719/chapter/7#125. ↩︎
  14. “Celebrating Black History through Fishing.” 2025. Take Me Fishing. February 4, 2025. https://www.takemefishing.org/blog/february-2025/celebrating-Black-history-through-fishing/. ↩︎
  15. Waldrep, Megan. 2024. “Black Fishermen Are the Cornerstone of America’s Commercial Industry – but Where Are They Now? : Megan Waldrep.” Megan Waldrep. February 11, 2024. https://meganwaldrep.com/Black-commercial-fishermen/. ↩︎
  16. Cunningham, David. n.d. “African American Folktale | Literature.” Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/art/African-American-folktale. ↩︎
  17. “Why African-American Seniors Are Less Likely to Use Hospice.” 2015. PBS NewsHour. May 5, 2015. https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/african-american-seniors-less-likely-use-hospice. ↩︎
  18. Threadgill Agency. 2025. “Black History of Hospice Care | Heart to Heart Hospice.” Heart to Heart Hospice. February 14, 2025. https://hearttohearthospice.com/blog/honoring-Black-history-month-pioneers-in-hospice-and-p. ↩︎