Community remembers dedication of activist Annie Polite
Oct. 10—Phenomenal. Hero. Icon. Those were just some of the superlatives family, friends and others used to describe community activist Annie Polite on Saturday during a celebration of life service at the Historic Ritz Theatre in downtown Brunswick.
Polite died on Sept. 7, about a month shy of her 88th birthday.
Mourners filed into the Ritz to pay their respects and remember a woman who had a profound impact on the community.
Born Annie Clara Dixon in Tennille, Polite moved to Brunswick in her childhood years. She attended Risley High, where she met her future husband, Eugene Polite.
Polite graduated from Fort Valley State with a degree in early childhood education and moved to the Jamaica Queens Burough of New York City. She switched her focus to social work in the Big Apple, earning a graduate degree from Columbia University and working for New York City's child protective services department.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams sent a proclamation honoring Polite, which was read at the service.
With her background in childhood education and protective services, it shouldn't have been a surprise that she was especially active in education when she returned to Brunswick in 2001. Polite frequently attended school board meetings to offer her perspective.
A kindergarten teacher at Burroughs-Molette Elementary School relayed a message from former school principal Morris Arrington, who said there would not be a new Burroughs-Molette in the "true neighborhood" without Polite.
The teacher also told a story about how a retention pond on the new campus wasn't fenced in until Polite explained to school staff that the students could easily mistake the pond for a pool.
Polite's dedication included showing her support for local high school sports. Maria Mangram, girls basketball coach at Brunswick High, recounted how Polite sat in the same seat for every game and often had advice for the coach.
"'Coach, I'm gonna tell you what you need to do with those girls,'" Mangram recalled Polite telling her, which drew a laugh from the crowd. "She would come in and tell me what I needed to do — and you know what, I would listen. She actually got out there on the court with us one time and I was like 'Whoa.' I can remember it like it was yesterday. She got involved. She was dribbling down the court, trying to lay the ball up. The girls were like 'What is she doing?' And I was like 'Don't touch her.' She will always be very important to all of us, but especially to me."
Polite was also remembered for her staunch support of Ahmaud Arbery's family during the trial of the three men who were found guilty of murder and other charges in the shooting death of the 25-year-old in February 2020. She was at the courthouse every day of the trial despite her age, even beating the attorneys to the courthouse on most days.
"She got involved and she stayed involved," said Jessica Hamilton, one of Polite's nieces. "Her word was her bond. If she said I'm going to be there, (it would take) not an illness, but a severe illness to stop her from being there."
Former Brunswick Mayor Cornell Harvey remembered Polite as someone everyone in the community came to when they needed help or advice.
"She had a relationship with everyone in the community," Harvey said. "She was that figure that people go to for knowledge and wisdom."
Harvey was no stranger to Polite's determination, saying she had a specific way of getting her point across.
"She had a way of telling you she wanted something done, and then walk away from you," Harvey said. "She expected you to get it done. She told me, 'Son, I want this and I want that.' I said 'Yes, ma'am.' She came back and asked 'Is it done?' I said 'Yes, ma'am.'"
