Whitlock's Compositions

Whitlock's Compositions: A Biographical and Pictorial Story of How Charles D. Whitlock, Owner of Whitlock's Florist, Attempted to Compose the Lives of His Two Daughters
By: Charlene Hampton Holloway, RN

Whitlock's Compositions tells the true tale of three African American women who did not give up on their chosen careers and obtained their education during the Great Depression through the 1960s Civil Rights era. As well as documenting well-known African American athletes in the 1960s, this inspiriting story speaks aloud to the saga African American families face throughout the country. The relevancy of this story to today's world post-COVID-19 is powerful as author Charlene Hampton Holloway, RN recounts how her mother, C. Thelma Whitlock, was nursed back to health as a one-year-old baby by her mother, Parthenia Whitlock, during the 1918 Spanish Influenza pandemic.


Written to inspire today's youth, Holloway hopes to encourage those of all cultures to set goals, obtain education in their dream careers, and never give up.

About the Author


Charlene Hampton Holloway, RN has been involved in Civil and Human Rights for all cultures for a number of years. She has spoken to elementary schools and teachers and several colleges regarding Civil and Human Rights. She began her membership in the Louisville NAACP branch at thirteen, willing to be jailed for the rights of people of color. Holloway is a retired registered nurse, belonging to her local KYANNA, a division of the National Black Nurses Association and is a Lifetime member, having volunteered in helping assess patients free-of-charge. In 2017, she was awarded for serving her community to advance the dream by the governor of Kentucky during the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Leadership Awards Ceremony. Additionally, she is a member National Council of Negro Women, Louisville Section.


Holloway loves families and children. She has three adult children, six grandchildren, and twin great-grandchildren. She and her husband Chet attend church together as well as Sunday school classes where she sings in their Legacy Choir and is a church First Responder for the medical team. She enjoys brisk walks, swimming and water aerobics with her husband at their local YMCA, as well as bowling with her extended family members during their bi-annual Whitlock Family Reunions.