From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)
Pleasant, Levege Vincent
(born: October 14, 1913 - died: June 5, 1995)Levege Vincent Pleasant was a civil rights activist who promoted equality with no discrimination or racism. He was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served on the staff in the national office in New York City. He was also a member of the New York Baháʼí assembly and served as treasurer. He was a Baháʼí spokesperson who gave talks on the elimination of prejudice on behalf of the assemblies in New York and New Jersey.
"My grandmother said that he travelled around the world with the Baháʼí." Quote from Dr. Alicia Howard, grand niece of Levege Vincent Pleasant. Attached to this entry is a post card that Levege V. Pleasant sent to his parents while he was travelling with Baháʼí members to a meeting in Haifa, Israel, in April of 1966. The Baháʼí World Centre and headquarters are located in the cities of Haifa and Acare, Israel.
Levege Vincent Pleasant also served on the board of directors with the National Health Circle for Colored People, Inc.
"The National Health Circle for Colored People developed out of the Circle for Negro Relief, an organization that helped meet the needs for black soldiers and their families during World War I. In 1919 the Circle was reorganized as a peace time program for the promotion of public health work in African American communities. ... The National Health Circle for Colored People also worked to recruit, educate and place African American public health nurses."
~Source: "National Health Circle for Colored People, Inc. Hiking the health road for others." Social Welfare History Image Portal (online). VCU Libraries.
The main office of the National Health Circle for Colored People, Inc. was located in New York City and its mission did not extend into Kentucky. Though the name of the organization was mentioned in Kentucky newspapers during Negro Health Week. The National Health Circle for Colored People was established in 1919 and continued to exist into the early 1950s when Vincent Pleasant was an active member.
In addition to his contributions to the national organizations, Vincent Pleasant networked with others through the social activities that he organized. In 1951, he hosted a farewell party in his Greenwich Village apartment for family members who were returning home to Kentucky. Among the guests was jazz singer and bandleader Cab Calloway. In 1940, Vincent Pleasant hosted the Alpha Laymen's League at the First Baptist Church Annex in Frankfort, KY. The league consisted of Alpha Pi Alpha Fraternity members who were also church laymen. The Frankfort organization had existed as early as 1925 when it was mentioned in the Chicago Defender newspaper. There were other leagues throughout the United States. They sponsored programs within the church. One of the last mentions of the Frankfort league was in 1960 when the Alpha Laymen Day program was held at Green Hill Baptist Church.
Vincent Pleasant was no longer in Kentucky or New York in 1960; he was living in California and was employed as an accountant at Macy's Department Store in San Francisco. Pleasant had been an accountant at the Macy's Department Store in New York City. He was among the few African American accountants in the state of New York, and even fewer in California. Pleasant moved from New York to California in September of 1958; after spending two weeks at home in Lawrenceburg, KY. Vincent Pleasant was employed at Macy's for more than 25 years. His name appeared on the guest lists published in the San Francisco Examiner to announce the annual celebrations for long-term Macy's employees.
During the summers, Vincent Pleasant would vacation in his hometown of Lawrenceburg, KY, which was noted in The Anderson News as late as 1980. He would later move back home. Levege Vincent Pleasant died in Frankfort, KY, in 1995 and is buried at the Woodlawn Hills Cemetery in Lawrenceburg. He was born in Lawrenceburg, the son of Edward S. and Genevia B. Pleasant. Emma Rose Pleasant Booker was one of his siblings.
Vincent Pleasant attended high school in Buffalo, NY. In 1933, he was a member of a quartet, along with Robert Roach, John Coleman, and John Gill. He attended Kentucky State College (now Kentucky State University) and was a graduate of Virginia Union University.
Sources: See Alpha Laymen league in "Frankfort, KY." The Chicago Defender, 25 July 1925, part 2, page 3; see Lavege Pleasant in "Lawrenceburg News." Lexington Herald, 10 June 1933, p.2; see L. V. Pleasant was host to the Alpha Laymen's League ..." in "Frankfort" by Orine Harris. The Chicago Defender, 09 November 1940, p.11; "Pleasant to speak at 2 Baha'i meets." The Post-Standard, 01 April 1950, p.3; "Vincent Pleasant honors Kentucky guests at party." The Louisville Defender, 22 September 1951, p.1; "Baha'is speak." Bergen Evening Record, 09 October 1951, p.11; "Baha'is to meet." Bergen Evening Record, 22 July 1953, p.10; "Baha'i World Faith." An ad in the Bergen Evening Record, 25 July 1953, p.3.
Sources: "Members of the New York Baha'i Assembly." The New York Age, 16 February 1957, p.11; see Vincent Pleasant in "Scribbling Socially" by Edith Brown. The Louisville Defender, 11 September 1958, p.9; "Anthony plans talk at Green Hill Church." The State Journal, 26 October 1960; see "Mr. Levege Pleasant of San Francisco ..." in "Did you know? Lisa McKee hostess at cookout." The Anderson News, 22 May 1980, p.8; "In small ways, in big ways ..." San Francisco Examiner, 30 October 1985, p.D1; see Levege V. Pleasant in "Kentucky Deaths." The Courier-Journal, 07 June 1995, p.9; "Levege V. Pleasant, 81" in "Obituaries." The Anderson News, 07 June, p.6; Levege Vincent Pleasant at Find A Grave.
*This entry was submitted by Dr. Alicia Howard, the grand niece of Levege Vincent Pleasant. She also provided the photo images, the postcard, the article from The Post-Standard, and additional details about her uncle's life.