Howard C. Gentry, Sr. Remembered

Mrs. Carrie Gentry (L) still remembers the evening she first learned that the new athletic facility on Tennessee State University’s campus would be named for her husband, the late Howard C. Gentry, Sr. Last Saturday, Mrs. Gentry was interviewed at the Nashville StoryBooth by Tennessee State University student, Chessley Jones (R). In her interview, she recalled many fond memories of her husband’s long career as both coach and athletic director at Tennessee State University. Mrs. Gentry was particularly proud of the Howard C. Gentry Athletic Endowment Scholarship Fund and its endeavors to provide financial aid to TSU athletes.

As a TSU student herself, Ms. Jones’s admiration of her interviewee was evident throughout. I was moved to witness an intergenerational friendship forming as the women conversed. Special thanks to the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society’s Nashville chapter for arranging this interview.