Women's History: Pam Joyner

Pam Joyner is a McLemoresville native who dedicated her life to education and has now answered a second calling in public service as the vice-mayor of Trezevant.

Pam’s mother, Luella Hall, was a maid, and her father, David Hall, worked at the Milan Arsenal and was a lifelong farmer. She told The Banner, “I grew up on a big farm in McLemoresville. We had cows, pigs, rabbits, chickens and we grew mostly cotton.”

Pam attended MTA and McLemoresville Elementary and graduated from Trezevant High School in 1974. She was a four-year basketball player and a member of the state championship team her senior year.

She earned her degree in Distributive English from Austin Peay and her Masters in Education from Bethel College.

She began her teaching career at Huntingdon High School in 1979 before moving to West Carroll Middle School in 1983. She taught primarily eighth grade up until her retirement from West Carroll Junior Senior High School in 2016.

She was called back to teach part of the following year and then continued as a substitute until 2019.

Pam was sworn in as a fill-in alderman for the Town of Trezevant in December 2016 and has been reelected twice since. She has served as vice-mayor for the majority of her tenure.

She also serves on the board of trustees for the Carroll County Library, as a clerk at McLemoresville Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America and as a member of the Order of the Eastern Star.

She is a charter member of the Austin Peay chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha, one of the “Divine Nine” historically black Greek organizations.

Pam told The Banner, “I knew I wanted to be a teacher all my life. There were quite a few educators in my family. When I was little, I would always play teacher.

“I always wanted to be an English teacher. Ezra Martin, who was one of my English teachers in middle school, as well as my band teacher and basketball coach, really led me to develop a love for English.”

She says she didn’t get enough experience writing during high school, so it was a struggle in college. “When I became a teacher, I was going to make sure that my students were well-prepared for writing.”

She said, “I loved my students, I think I was probably hard on them, strict, but I wanted them to get the most out of their education.

“To see these young people come back and become doctors, lawyers, teachers, it just touches you. It seems like no matter how old you get, they remember you. It’s amazing to see them. I just love them all. They have really inspired me and touched my heart. I’m grateful to our dear Lord for allowing me this privilege of teaching.They have taught me as well. It’s been a gratifying, humbling experience.”

Her foray into politics came at the request of fellow teacher and classmate Alderman Pam Bryant and Mayor Dennis Mitchell, whose children Pam (Joyner) taught.

“I’m not a politician. Any little thing touches my heart; it bothers me if I think somebody is being mistreated. When you’re trying to help the citizens of Trezevant, and they know you’re trying, it helps. It’s hard, not having the finances to do a lot of the things that would help the citizens.

“You have to put yourself in someone else’s position. If you were there, you would hope and pray that someone would be there to help. To care about people, I think, is the most important thing. The Lord wants us to be an example as he is to all of us to show love and compassion.

“I just want to do the best for the citizens of the town of Trezevant and always consider what’s in the best interest of them. And I pray that they will understand that we are really trying our best. We’re here to listen. We don’t have the finances all the time, most of the time. But let’s work together and try to make our town beautiful. I want to see our town grow and be a beautiful place to live.”

She spoke about some of the obstacles she’s faced in the different aspects of her life.

“As a woman, and as an African-American, many don’t feel that you are qualified. I’ve had experiences where I’ve said something, and people will go behind you to verify, as though they have to hear it from someone else.”

“But,” she said, “They may take away a lot of things, but they can’t take what’s in your mind. I guess after teaching for many years, I’ve decided that I’m gonna speak up.”

She spoke about one small victory early in her career. “When I first started at Huntingdon, there was a male in a role, he was my boss, and was of course making more money than I was. He was going to leave, and I would assume that position. I was going to be doing my job plus his job, so I asked for a raise, simply for what he had been getting. I was told, ‘Well I don’t know if you deserve it.’ I said, ‘I don’t know if I want to work here anymore.’ I think it was important to speak up. For a long time, and there are still times now, when I don’t like to say anything. My dad taught me to just listen to people and you’ll find out a lot about them. But I did speak up, and I got my pay raise.”

She noted, “I’m just used to being in a role when you aren’t taken at your value anyway, so I’ve just pushed it to the back and said, ‘I’m just going to do my best’. I don’t worry about it.”

She spoke about the strength of women. “I think about my mom. She is my rock. She had to endure so much. The strength of women is just amazing. I think of Ruby Bridges, Rosa Parks, you could name so many. And the women of McLemoresville. They were just so strong. I’m so proud to be from there.”

She opined on the source of that strength. “I think it’s faith. Regardless of how you’re treated and misunderstood, if you’ve got a strong faith in the good Lord, He’s going to take care of it in good time.”

She offered this advice to younger generations of women. “Make sure that you have a good knowledge of what you’re doing. Stand up, be a good advocate for yourself, be firm, look them in the eye. You’ve got to do that. Be consistent, have confidence in yourself and your knowledge. If you don’t believe in yourself, no one else will. Whatever you do, make sure you take the good Lord with you. You have to have a strong faith and pray and know that whatever storm you go through, God’s gonna be there.

“Have a friend that has the same values as you. One with good moral character. That’s what I’ve been blessed to have in my best friend Psyanita McCullough, since we were five years old. When you have somebody that has the same moral character, even though sometimes you fall, you get back up. You may be going one way and they know that it’s wrong; they’re going to tell you. We’re there to help each other. It’s the same with my husband, Ronnie.”

Pam is currently the only woman on the Trezevant council, of which she says, “I think it’s very important that we are involved. Women need to have a voice.”