Livingstone News Service

SALISBURY — Livingstone College will host its first home football game since the 2019 season this weekend with the seventh West End Classic.

The first home game for the past six years has been dedicated to the community where the historically black college is located, the West End.

The West End Classic is a partnership between Livingstone College, the City of Salisbury and members of the West End Coalition (West End Pride and West End Community Organization combined). The game begins at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Livingstone Alumni Memorial Stadium.

Some complimentary tickets are available for West End residents.

Livingstone College and the West End Coalition typically meet for breakfast meetings throughout the year to discuss improvement issues related to the community and to vote on West End residents who qualify for Community Spirit Awards during the West End Classic game.

This year due to the pandemic, the two entities have not been able to meet and no awards will be presented. However, Livingstone College has decided to rename the award after a special member of the West End Coalition who passed away earlier this last year.

The West End Community Spirit Award will now become the Fannie. T. Butler Community Impact Award. It will be given to an individual, group or organization that has made significant contributions to the community.

Fannie Tillery Butler, a 1949 graduate of Livingstone College, was a founding member of the West End Community Organization and served as president for more than 25 years. She was the first director of Miller Recreation Center.

Butler taught math at several high schools in the area, retiring from Salisbury High School in 1989 after teaching for 38 years. She was a life member of the Livingstone College National Alumni Association, a member of the Livingstone Golden Anniversary Club, a 1999 Golden Graduate and an alumni queen.

She and her husband, David T. Butler Sr., had two children, David Jr. and Cynthia Butler King.

Butler died on Feb. 11, 2021, at the age of 92.

“We lost an icon of the West End Community and one of our most distinguished alumni, who wore her school pride on her sleeve,” said Livingstone President Dr. Jimmy R. Jenkins Sr. “Mrs. Butler was a paradigm of the excellence this institution produces. It is only fitting that this award be named after her to preserve her legacy.”