Roger Vincent Smith Share

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Roger Vin­cent Smith was best known for his advo­ca­cy for equal rights in his per­sis­tence with Pearl Bas­sett and sev­er­al oth­ers to deseg­re­gate the Mat­ter Park Pool and oth­er estab­lish­ments, and dri­ve pos­i­tive change in civ­il rights in the Mar­i­on com­mu­ni­ty. He was a life­time mem­ber of the NAACP’s local branch, and also served with the Grant Coun­ty Black His­to­ry Council.

Smith was also well-known for his long­time ser­vice with the U.S. Postal Ser­vice (38 years), as a let­ter car­ri­er and Deliv­ery Super­vi­sor. He served as pres­i­dent of the Nation­al Alliance of Postal and Fed­er­al Employees.

Smith served on many com­mu­ni­ty boards includ­ing the Com­mu­ni­ty Foun­da­tion of Grant Coun­ty, Mar­i­on Util­i­ties, and Mar­i­on Urban League.

He was a devot­ed mem­ber of Allen Tem­ple A.M.E. Church, serv­ing many years on the Trustee Board, as Gen­er­al Trea­sur­er, and sang in the Men’s Choir.

Roger Smith was inter­viewed by a local stu­dent for Wiki­mar­i­on, a local his­to­ry project led by Grant Coun­ty His­to­ri­an, Bill Munn. You may find his inter­view in 2001 at http://​wiki​mar​i​on​.org/​R​o​g​er_Sm….

Attached is also his full obit­u­ary with more infor­ma­tion on his life and legacy.