Mourners retrace Bobby Cain’s historic walk
A crowd walked down Foley Hill on Friday Oct. 3 in memory of Bobby Cain who made the same walk in 1956. He was one of 12 Black students to attend Clinton High School that year, and the first to graduate, in 1957. (photo:Ben Pounds )
Cain was the first African American to graduate from Clinton High School, in 1957.
He began his senior year there along with 11 other Black students in 1956, just two years after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision that required schools to integrate. It was one year after Oak Ridge Schools, then under federal control, integrated in 1955.
Cain died Sept. 22 in Nashville. His body was returned to Clinton for a public viewing from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. before traveling in a white hearse down Foley Hill from the Green McAdoo Cultural Center to the present-day Clinton Middle School — the former Clinton High School — on Friday, Oct. 3.
Family members joined the walk, including Cain’s younger brother, James Cain, who said his brother’s walk remains a defining moment in history.
“That’s how it all started,” he said, referring to his brother’s time at Clinton High School and its lasting impact.
James Cain was 10 when his brother made that walk. He said Bobby’s courage always stood out to him.
“I think what’s changed the most is I see people actually connecting with each other, whether that’s good or bad,” he said. “People get to know each other and realize they’re not really that different. I think hatred is still there, even though there’s been a lot of integration, but I still think people can have the same attitude.”
James said he will miss his brother’s encouragement, counseling and mentoring.
“He was always an honest person and someone you could depend on,” he said.
Cain’s body was returned to Nashville. His funeral was held there Tuesday. He was buried at Hills of Calvary Memorial Park.