Weekend concert will celebrate life of historic Evansville educator Ira Neal

EVANSVILLE − When the community loses someone who has done so very much during his lifetime to showcase music, cultural traditions, education and the arts, it’s only fitting to respond in kind.

This Saturday, New Hope Missionary Baptist Church will host a gospel concert celebrating the life of longtime educator and community supporter Ira T. Neal, who died on Sept. 20 at age 91.

Singers from the community and from the African American Chorale Ensemble (which Neal is credited with founding) who participated in his many community musical and theatrical productions over the years are invited to add their voices to the gospel choir.

For 40 years, he provided the leadership for local Black History Month celebrations. His work was honored with two community-wide appreciation/celebrations in 1988 and 2010, and in 2013 he was inducted into the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. Hall of Fame.

But Neal, who beginning in 1960 taught many years for EVSC, is remembered for many other things because he never hesitated to tackle a project or a need.

“There was no limit for him,” said his granddaughter, Kristin Givens Finch.

Ira Tinsley Neal was born on Nov. 14, 1931, in Memphis, Tennessee, into a family with eight children. In 1947, at the age of 16, he dropped out of high school with the intention of joining the Air Force. But he soon learned that the segregated armed services had quotas for African American recruits, so he instead enlisted in the U.S. Army, in which he would quickly achieve the rank of sergeant first class

In June 1950, he had just returned from a tour of duty in Japan when the Korean War began. He decided to re-enlist for a six-year hitch, and he arrived in Korea as a rifleman in the 24th Infantry Regiment, 25th Infantry Division. He said that he was "blessed" when he was transferred to a weapons company as a forward observer.

While he was in Japan, he had obtained a GED, and he later used the G.I. Bill to get an advanced college degree, which led to his long and productive career in public education.

"I credit the military with whatever it is I've been able to achieve especially in terms of my education," Neal says in the Veterans History Project, an oral history in the archives of the Library of Congress. In that project, he talks about his military life and the experience of an African American soldier in a segregated armed forces.

Later, Neal became a graduate of the University of Evansville, where he earned a degree in Elementary Education. He added onto his education at Indiana University, earning a master’s degree in School Administration and Supervision, then eventually achieved a doctorate in Education from Nova Southeastern University.

In 1960, he began his teaching career at EVSC’s Chestnut–Walnut school. In 1962 he was transferred to Lincoln Elementary School. In 1965, he took a leave of absence to work for the Community Action Program of Evansville and returned to the EVSC 15 years later, in 1970, as the Integration Advisory Specialist, where he worked to eliminate minority group segregation and discrimination.

When he retired in 1993, Neal was the director of federal projects, managing grant funds approaching $4 million annually and he continued his work in race relations.

In addition to the African American Choral Ensemble, Neal is credited with creating and organizing the African American Academy, a Saturday morning enrichment program devoted to the contributions of African Americans in the United States.

But Neal’s work did not stop with his responsibilities within the EVSC. He taught for more than 20 years as an adjunct professor at the University of Southern Indiana, teaching cultural diversity and human relations.

As a member of New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, he served as a trustee, deacon, Sunday School teacher and choir member for more than 70 years.

His civic affiliations included being a Life member of the NAACP and the Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, and serving as a Trustee of Vincennes University, a Board Member of the American Red Cross, President of the Legal Aid Society, on the Vanderburgh County Judicial Nominating Commission, a member of the American Association for Affirmative Action and a member of the National Alliance of Black School Educators.

At Saturday’s event, a special memorial offering will be taken for the Dr. Ira T. Neal Memorial Scholarship Fund at Old National Bank. Contributions can be mailed to Old National Bank, One Main St. PO Box 718, Evansville, IN 47705, or in person at any Old National Bank branch location.

The Celebration of Life and Gospel Concert in honor and memory of Neal is set for 5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 18, at New Hope Missionary Baptist Church, 663 W.R. Brown Sr. Way in Evansville.

“We’re going to celebrate his life the way that he lived rather than focusing on his death,” said Finch.

Community singers will rehearse for the concert at 7 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 17 and noon on Saturday. Former AACE members will rehearse at 10 a.m. Saturday. All rehearsals are at New Hope.

Finch said her grandfather would have hated all of the accolades.

“He wasn’t someone who needed a lot of attention,” she said, noting that he had a “quiet confidence” that inspired anyone and everyone that they could accomplish anything.

“He came from such humble beginnings,” Finch added, but one important value he taught his family was “why not me?” When he was diagnosed with cancer, his attitude was “why not me?” When he earned his doctoral degree it was “why not me?”

“The take-away is ‘everything is available to you,’ positive or negative, for good and bad circumstances,” she said.

But regardless how Neal would have felt about accolades, they have come his way, including on a Dr. Ira T. Neal Fan Page on Facebook, which Finch would sometimes share with him on such occasions as his birthday. This past week he would have celebrated his 92nd.

From Paula Boenigk on that page: “Dr. Neal approached me many years ago at Lincoln K-5 about doing an after school theater project aimed at getting minority students (in) middle school and high school. The students produced about 15 plays in six years along with attending after school theater classes.”

From Bettye Poole: “For over 15 years, his EVSC Federal Projects funding carried our non-profit organization, The Black Women’s Task Force, assisting in our yearly Women’s Awards Banquet during Black History Month. Dr. Neal took my children under his wing and mentored them, teaching them purpose, pride, love for themselves, and love for God …”

From Cheish Ellison: “When I was just in the fourth grade he taught our after-school rock program. He told me the importance of staying off the street and not using drugs and alcohol and keeping God first. He would always remind me that God had a purpose and a plan for me …”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Concert will celebrate life of historic Evansville educator Ira Neal