Arminta Justice

Arminta Justice was a lifelong resident of Huntington. She attended Barnett Elementary School and graduated from Douglass High School. After high school, she attended West Virginia State College and styled hair to pay for her tuition. She earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and years later, she earned her doctorate degree in psychology.

Justice began her career working for the State of West Virginia as assistant director of the Colored Children’s Home on U.S. 60 in Huntington. When the Children’s Home closed, she went to work for the West Virginia Division of Highways for 21 years. Former Huntington Mayor Ed Ewing hired Justice as the PBX operator and had a desk built near the entrance of City Hall from which she greeted and directed visitors.

Justice sought to improve race relations during the Civil Rights Era and through the 1980s in Huntington. She assisted with Cabell Circuit Judge Dan O’Hanlon’s Work Release Program and served as chairwoman of the Police Community Relations Program. This program hosted block parties in the community for children every summer.

In 1960, she was honored to be an electoral voter for the state of West Virginia. She proudly cast her vote for John F. Kennedy and later attended his inaugural ball. She kept all of her memorabilia from that historic day.

In the 1970s when racial tensions were high and riots were occurring near Marshall University, Justice camped out in the parking lot of a gas station along Hal Greer Boulevard to encourage calmness and civility. She pleaded with rioters to go home and worked to prevent further harm and injuries. The Huntington Police Department protected and assisted her in keeping the community as calm as possible during that time.

Justice served as the assistant chairwoman of the Black Business and Professional Women’s Association, which brought the Ebony Fashion Show to Huntington. She also was a member of the graduate chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.; served as vice chairwoman of the Democratic Women’s Club; served on the board of directors for the A.D. Lewis and Fairfield East community centers; and served as vice chairwoman of the Cabell County Community Services Organization. She also was a dedicated member of Sixteenth Street Baptist Church where she was a Sunday school director.

Justice retired from the City of Huntington on July 7, 1986. She continued to work within the community and was given the title of “Ambassador of Goodwill.”