Protect the Butterflies

By Sherylyn B. Bailey J.D.

The story takes place in Sanson, Mississippi a fictitious town that has escaped the tumultuous events of the Civil Rights Movement and the Vietnam War by burying its head in the sand like an ostrich. In Sanson, people in the Southside dont mix with those on the Northside, except for two kids Elizabeth, who is black, and Joseph, who is white. Elizabeth and Joseph learn about race, religion and life from each other. When the unthinkable happens to Elizabeth, Joseph must defend himself while trying to find the horrible person who savagely raped her.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 19, 2013
• ISBN: 9781493147878

Sherylyn B. Bailey J.D.

Sherylyn Bouldin Bailey, JD earned a Juris Doctorate from Walter F. George School of Law affiliated with Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Brooklyn College and a Master of Arts in Education from New York University. She has been teaching Social Studies and Law for twenty years. She became a dean of students at The Police Officer Rocco Laurie School in Staten Island, New York.

Book preview

PROLOGUE

In the 1960s, there was a lot going on all over the United States. Even Sanson, Mississippi, could not escape the Vietnam War or the explosive Civil Rights Movement. It is hard to say which event had the country more in its grip. Which event affected you really depended on where you lived and what your circumstances were. Yet nothing seemed to affect Sanson. The people in Sanson thought that all the speeches and protest marches were an unnecessary inconvenience. Most of the Negroes did not believe anything would come from the Civil Rights Movement. Nothing would change.

There were no meetings or marches in Sanson.

CHAPTER 1

Willis Morris was a go-getter, a self-starter. Willis Morris’s ancestors grew up on the Milege plantation. The Milege plantation was owned by Tom and Rebecca Milege and, in its time, was one of the best plantations in the South. It was often said that the Milege plantation was so prosperous because Tom and Rebecca were kindhearted, God-fearing people. They did not consider the plantation inhabitants slaves or unpaid workers. They considered their workers as human beings who must not suffer because of the color of their skin or the unfortunate beliefs of the country. No, their workers—as they called them—must have a decent place to live and good food, and they were taught to read and write.

Rebecca always said, This wretched state will not last much longer. It is unnatural! We have an obligation to God to prepare our workers for the times ahead.

And prepare them they did. Their workers not only learned to read and write, but they also learned how to farm, sew, and how to make can preserves, and strangely enough, they were encouraged to decorate their surroundings.

The workers were given paint and colorful cloth, not drab burlap, to make curtains and dresses. They were also given special exotic spices to cook with. The spices came from the Milege plantation in South America. All this was rare—very rare indeed.

Tom and Rebecca Milege could not be stopped. They owned over one thousand acres of land and were beholden to no one. They considered their land as a community, a commune where everyone worked together to achieve one goal: a good, prosperous life. Tom Milege and his father, whom everyone called Ole Tom, respected the women on their plantation. There was no sneaking into their homes at night. The male workers were treated with respect as well. There were no boys or niggers living on the Milege plantation.

The workers were called by their birth names.

Their parents took the names from the Bible; names like Joshua, Paul, and Peter were common on the plantation. However, there were more Toms living at Milege because Tom Milege was so highly respected that most of the workers named their sons Tom out of love and respect for him.

And most of their daughters were named Rebecca for the same reason.

Tom Milege got a lot of his ideas and beliefs from his wife, Rebecca. Their bond was strong. Rebecca was a Delaware Indian who was brought up in a tribe along the Virginia border. The tribe instilled all the traditions and values that called for love and respect for animals, for the earth, and for people. She stayed with the tribe until her father, Bird Williams, took Rebecca and her two sisters, Charlotte and Virginia, further south after their mother’s death. Bird was a trapper. He could not bear to leave his children at all, especially not now. His heart was heavy for his wife, Laura.

He could be heard sobbing at all hours, and his grief was unbearable. He must hunt and trap, but he must also fill the void. He was determined not to leave his children.

The tribe’s chief, Promise World, was very resistant. Promise World felt that girls belonged with the tribe to find Indian husbands and to bear children. Bird would have none of this. Babies would come, and so would husbands, but his daughters must learn to embrace the earth.

Bird also knew that their way of life was changing. Bird felt that his daughters—Rebecca, Virginia, and Charlotte—would need to know how to survive and how to adapt to this changing world. He taught his girls everything they needed to learn about their culture and their surroundings. He taught them how to cook, hunt, and plant food.

All the things that Rebecca learned from her father, Bird, she passed on to her workers. Rebecca was their teacher. She was their mentor, and she was their inspiration.

Rebecca and Tom Milege left a legacy. All the workers on their plantation passed down the stories and traditions to their families. Willis Morris took in every word that his grandparents told him about life on the Milege plantation. He asked a lot of questions. Willis thrived on the knowledge that was handed down to him. Willis Morris married Sarah Williams, a direct descendant of Rebecca Milege.

Willis Morris was a very tall, proud man. Because Tom and Rebecca Milege were so highly respected, Willis Morris, as an extension of them, was highly respected also. Willis put all his knowledge to use. He was a bail bondsman and part owner in a circus, and most importantly, he owned a small grocery store on the south side of Sanson—the first and only black person to do so.

Willis Morris might have been proud, but Willis was not arrogant. He worked for the benefit of his wife and children, no more and no less. He instilled in his children the love of God, self, and country.

Sarah Morris taught the Delaware Indian traditions, customs, and culture to their children. All their children were taught that hard work, good manners, and education were the key to a good life.

All the Morris children—Albert, Paul, Matthew, Virginia, Luke, Marie, and Elizabeth—adored their parents and one another. They all loved to work in their father’s store, even though they did not have to.

The family loved to sing; Albert had the best voice. They loved to dance and listen to the radio. Being prosperous and independent, the Morrises were one of the first black families to have a television set. Willis and Sarah did not allow their children to brag, and the children never did. They never even thought about it.

CHAPTER 2

Dr. Gerald and Olivia Sans lived in a big white house in the affluent part of Sanson, Mississippi. Gerald Sans was a physician specializing in orthopedic medicine. It might as well be psychiatry, for all the patients that did not go to his office. He set a few bones now and then, but most people did not trust him. Dr. Gerald Sans always started his patient consultation by stating, This is not my specialty.

The statement did not invoke trust in his diagnosis. No one quite understood why he decided to settle in Sanson, Mississippi. Most folks speculated that his wife, Olivia, had a lot to do with it.

His wife, the former Olivia Pluckett, was from Sanson. She married Gerald when he graduated from medical school. Everyone thought they would settle in the next town—Ripley, Mississippi—some fifty miles away. Ripley has a big prestigious hospital, Veder Hospital, where Dr. Gerald could have practiced his specialty. But Dr. and Mrs. Gerald Sans settled in Sanson.

People said that Olivia insisted on settling in Sanson because she would get the elevation of her rank. By marrying a doctor and staying in Sanson, no matter how useful or useless his specialty was, Olivia would be someone.

Soon, Olivia Sans became bitter. Nothing was going for her as planned. She often walked through town with a frown on her face, until her identical twin boys were born. She flaunted her pregnancy, and then she flaunted her babies. She named her sons Joseph and John.

Joseph and John were so identical that even Olivia could not tell them apart. The delivery was so fast that, to this day, no one knows who the older twin is. The twins, as they are often referred to, had ruby-red hair when they were born. Their hair was in patches on their head. Their eyes were piercing blue, and they had very delicate features and red cheeks.

Another thing that stood out about the twins besides their ruby-red hair was that they were very tall at birth: twenty-seven inches. They were going to be very tall. Everyone predicted that they would be taller than their father, Dr. Gerald, who was 6'1".

When John and Joseph cried, they cried in unison. No one could tell their cries apart, not even Olivia. Olivia thought that it was wonderful having twins, but she often felt that not being able to tell them apart was scary. Will they grow out of it? she thought. Olivia Sans did nothing to help her dilemma. Olivia insisted on dressing the twins alike from head to toe.

Olivia paraded around town with the boys. When asked which boy was which, she would say, Oh, it’s easy. Joseph is on the left, and John is on the right.

But when the very next person asked the same question, she would say again, Oh, that is easy. Joseph is on the right, and John is on the left!

At least, Olivia often said to herself, I will have my doctor and my lawyer. My boys will be somebody and set this town on its ear!

CHAPTER 3

Elizabeth was born into the Morris family in 1956. She was one of seven children, the third daughter. She was a good baby, a beautiful child. She had a cute little nose and mouth and high cheekbones, like the rest of the family. Her eyes were a steely gray, which danced when Elizabeth laughed. Her eyes could never hide the happiness in her soul when she smiled. Her skin color was a pale yellow with a tinge of brown. Oh, she would get darker, but for now, her skin resembled smooth buttercream. All her features and color were characteristic of the Morris family.

Elizabeth’s mother, Sarah, and her father, Willis, were so proud of their new arrival. In fact, they were proud of all their children. They were one of the few families in Sanson, Mississippi, who could afford their large brood.

In 1965, Elizabeth was nine years old. She wore her hair in pigtails that reached her waist. When she twirled around, which she did often, her pigtails looked like two ropes blowing in the wind. Elizabeth loved this feeling.

She could often be heard saying I’m twirling, I’m twirling as she looked up at the sky with pure delight registered on her pretty face. Her favorite game was hopscotch.

Elizabeth loved wearing dresses. She loved the colors of the cloth and the frills that her mother, Sarah, put on the neckline and cuffs.

Elizabeth was very small for her age. She had very small feet, and her voice was soft but squeaky. She was ladylike and very much the little girl. Elizabeth was so small and so sweet that everyone called her Dainty. She did not remember when this started or the first person to call her Dainty, but the name had stuck.

Elizabeth answered to Dainty, and she would introduce herself to others as Dainty. Neither Elizabeth’s mother or father seemed to mind the nickname, for they both called her Dainty.

Nicknames were common in the