After Charleston and Ferguson: Where Do We Go from Here?

By Micheal J. Darby

Despite the great strides made for social justice during the civil rights movement in the 1960s some of the most jarring national events of the early twenty-first century have been symptomatic of a deep-seated racial strife in America. The killing of nine African American church members in Charleston, South Carolina and the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson Missouri, and the killing of unarmed black males in Chicago and other cities, along with the slaying of law enforcement officers in Dallas and Baton Rouge seem to suggest that major institutions such as the family, the church, the media, the criminal justice system and the public schools need to constantly address the problem of racism until there are positive ongoing changes.

After Charleston and Ferguson -Where Do We Go from Here? Presents over twenty reasons why racial strife exists; along with a host of strategies to overcome racial and cultural challenges in a post-Charleston and Ferguson era. A detailed civil rights and a black history timeline is discussed as information for those who desire to learn about Americas racial and cultural past.

The author also makes a passionate appeal for an Annual Brotherhood and Race Conciliation holiday where workers are given a day off to honor the importance of love and brotherhood among those of different races, colors and creeds; it is believed that more credence will be given to a National Brotherhood holiday where no persons name is mentioned in connection with the day.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Archway Publishing
• Release date: Sep 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781480834767

Micheal J. Darby

Author/Compiler Micheal J. Darby holds a BS degree in Psychology from Gardner Webb College, a Master of Divinity degree from Southeastern Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, North Carolina and a Master of Arts in Religious Education from Southwestern Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, Texas. The author is married and is the father of three adult children. He has served as a Pastor and as a Seminary Instructor of Christian Education and served as a State Convention denominational worker and he is a United States Army Veteran.

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Copyright © 2016 Micheal J. Darby.

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ISBN: 978-1-4808-3475-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4808-3476-7 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2016948655

Archway Publishing rev. date: 9/19/2016

Contents

Introduction

The importance of law enforcement

Black men and the legal system

The refusal to indict the police officers triggered major LA riots

The criminal justice system has not always been friendly to people of color

Facts that point to unfairness in the criminal justice system

Ferguson and the Dred Scott Decision

The Scottsboro boys

The Wilmington Ten injustice

Does law enforcement target black males?

The martyrdom of Trayvon Martin

The death of Ferguson’s Michael Brown

Unarmed Eric Garner killed by what appeared to be a chokehold

Congressional demonstration in support of Brown and Garner

Confronting the race problem in America

Slavery and Racism is based on the accumulation of wealth

Egyptian slavery

Hebrew slaves

Slavery in the ancient Greek Empire

Roman Empire

The effects of slavery and racism on the black family in America

Racism thrives on misinformation

Attitudes about inferiority and superiority are deeply rooted

Prayer can be an equalizer for those who have no political power

Where do we go in the family, the church, the political system, the media, and the public schools in a post-Charleston and Ferguson era?

Some educational facts about blacks and whites in a post-Charleston and Ferguson era

Black leaders who made a difference because they had a seat at the table

Revisiting the civil rights timeline in a post-Charleston and Ferguson era

United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division March 4, 2015, Ferguson, Missouri, Report

What does Brunswick County, NC, politics suggest about race relations in America?

Is Brunswick County, NC, politics a microcosm of politics in America?

Why people of color need affirmative action and civil rights laws

National Football League and affirmative action

Why we have black entertainment awards

Reasons why racial and cultural strife exists

Dr. King’s dream is alive but not yet a reality

What would grandpa James say about the Charleston Church shooting in a post-Charleston and Ferguson era?

The Charleston response to a horrible shooting

It is time to research and study why there are so many angry males

Advice my grandfather would offer to a post-Charleston and Ferguson era

Final reflections on the Black Lives Matter movement and why it is important to avoid a victim mentality

A salute to Chris Singleton, Jennifer Pinckney, recognition of the shooting victims and a shout- out to the city of Charleston

Thanks to Carmelo, Michael, Charles and other athletes who are taking a stand during this post-Charleston and Ferguson era

Thoughts and Reflections; a call for a National holiday on race conciliation

Responding to the shootings in Chicago; a call for non-lethal arrest options and the importance of appropriately responding to an arresting officer

Thoughts on NFL football player Colin Kaepernick kneeling during the playing of the National Anthem

The call for prayer, reflections on 500 Chicago Homicides, Doug Baldwin, Russell Wilson and other Seattle Seahawks football player’s plea for unity among the races

Notes

Bibliography

Introduction

There is no better person to introduce this book than my grandfather, James Walker Darby, the son of a slave who was born in 1882 and died in 1976 at age of ninety-four. His father John Darby was born in 1845 and he died in 1929.

America was dealing with the residual effects of the Civil War when Grandpa James was born. This was during a time when people bathed in lakes and streams and washed in giant tin tubs. The southern infrastructure was devastated. Outhouses were restrooms. People drank from lakes and shallow wells. There were no airplanes, televisions or radios. Telephones were invented in 1876 and light bulbs in 1879, but neither were in wide use.

Grandpa James was fourteen when the Supreme Court ratified the 1896 Plessy verses Ferguson decision, which sanctioned separate but equal facilities. He said that America was like a flower field prior to the Ferguson decision. There were lots of interracial marriages and relationships. Numerous mulatto children were born to black and white parents. Mixed-race couples were seen riding in horse-drawn carriages. The 1920 US Census classified my family as mulatto. Lots of people believe that the rapid advance of interracial relationships was the primary reason the Supreme Court validated the Plessy verses Ferguson decision.

Prior to the Ferguson decision, lots of former slaves had begun to advance socially and financially. Some twenty-one blacks served in the US House of Representatives from 1879 to 1901. Black schools and colleges were established with the help of the Freedmen’s Bureau. Some people in the South felt that the recently freed blacks were progressing too fast.

The 1896 Plessy verses Ferguson Supreme Court decision slowed the progress of freed blacks in the South. After 1901, no other blacks from the South served in either the House or the Senate until 1973, when Barbara Jordan was elected from Texas and Andrew Young was elected from Georgia to serve in the US House of Representatives.

Legalized discrimination in the South eventually led to a mass migration of blacks to the North and other areas. My grandfather witnessed a political shift in the south due to Jim Crow laws that classified blacks as second-class citizen.

The 1954 Brown verses the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, Supreme Court decision marked the beginning of the end of segregation in public schools and public facilities, which had been sanctioned by the 1896 Plessy verses Ferguson decision. The official end of segregation did not occur until the passage of civil rights legislation during the1960s.

Grandpa James was affected by harsh Jim Crow laws (laws that discriminated against people of color). He often told me to be careful when dealing with whites. He made those comments because he grew up during a time when black men were lynched for no reason other than the fact that they were black.

Growing up with a man who lived during the time when segregation began and ended had a profound impact on my life. The wisdom and knowledge that he possessed cannot be overstated because he experienced the direct effects of Jim Crow laws, which denied his constitutional rights as an American citizen. Seeing signs that read colored over public restroom doors and public water fountains let my grandfather know that he was viewed as a second-class citizen.

During the early 1960s, there were cities in the South that allowed blacks to buy food from public restaurants, but they had to enter the back entrance of the restaurant to receive their food in brown paper bags because they were banned from sitting inside restaurants.

Grandpa James was a quiet, unassuming Christian man who relied on praying to God when he confronted various problems and obstacles. He prayed to God to lower the fevers of his children and to relieve pain and cure sickness.

A compassionate fiscal conservative is how I would define Grandpa James; he believed in hard work and pulling his own weight. He was not opposed to helping those who truly needed help. If he were alive today, he would believe in women’s rights, but he would be opposed to abortions. He would believe in justice, but he would be opposed to the death penalty because he did not believe in taking human life when there were other alternatives.

Grandpa James had old-fashioned conservative values. He believed that marriage is a union between a man and a woman which is sanctioned by God. He did not believe in premarital sex or extra-marital affairs. In his eyes, there were no big or small sins; lying, cheating, and stealing were as bad as any other moral failures.

He would not respect every lifestyle or every behavior or action, but he would show love toward a person whether he agreed with them or not. He would lay his life on the line to protect the most vulnerable from all harm and danger. He would say, Baby, I love you but I do not agree with all of your choices and decisions. If you are wrong I am going to tell you because true love disciplines those who are loved.

Grandpa James was a brilliant man who loved the Lord. Our family knew about his brilliance but very few people knew about him outside the community where we lived. When I was in grade school, we had no dictionaries or encyclopedias. Grandpa James served as a living dictionary and encyclopedia. He was gifted in mathematics and was a walking library when it came to the Bible and post-Civil War history. He initially worked as a farmer and a share cropper and later worked with the railroad and eventually worked as a street sweeper.

My knight in shining armor is how I would describe Grandpa James. I spent countless hours sitting on the floor gazing into his piercing grayish brown eyes as he sat in an old rocking chair that had lost its rockers. I asked questions about his childhood and the post-slavery era. There were times when my parents reminded me to go outside and play because they felt that I was missing out on my childhood.

Those who lived on the other side of the railroad tracks only knew Grandpa James as a street sweeper. One day, the Soviet Union elected Nikita Khrushchev as Prime Minister. Several news reporters tried to find someone who could spell the name Khrushchev. It was getting late and they had not found anyone who could spell the word. The reporters spotted Grandpa James, who at the time was in his late seventies; he was dressed in some blue coveralls and a brown plaid shirt, and he had a black toboggan on his head and his trademark, high-top, brown brogan shoes covered his feet.

The reporters thought they would have a little fun, thinking that Grandpa James probably would not be able to spell the name. When they asked him to spell it, he turned and said, K-h-r-u-s-h-c-h-e-v. The reporters were astonished. The next day, the newspaper headlines read Old Negro Street Sweeper Spelled the Word Khrushchev. We can learn a lot from the old Negro street sweeper who was the son of a slave and who spelled the name Khrushchev.

During the late 1960s, most public schools in the South had been integrated. My grandfather had advanced in age but he was still alert and aware of his surroundings. Integration was a new experience and there were times when my brother invited his white classmates over to the house and in turn we were invited to party in their community. Some risk was involved, but we were young and unaware of the danger.

Grandpa James was super laid back; he appeared to have ice water in his veins. When my brother invited his white classmates over to the house, my grandfather felt uneasy, especially when the young men brought their white girlfriends. He would say to me and my brother, Boys, be careful and don’t get yourself in trouble associating with whites. In many ways, he was telling the truth because it was during the late ’60s when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated. Grandpa James was reacting to his personal experiences, having grown up in a racially charged era; after all, his father was a slave. I hope that the information in this book will be a blessing to those who want to learn about America’s racial past.

This book is dedicated to my wife Verdell, whose love for black history is legendary in the small community where she lives. Verdell often tells the story of attending a church in the Garner NC area during the 1980’s. The pastor was an avid fan of black history and he inspired her and others to research and study their cultural heritage.

Over the years, Verdell collected black history articles from magazines, books, and newspaper clippings. The clippings were placed in three different scrapbooks. The contents of the books were shared with our daughter and two sons during their childhood and were given to them as a gift when they grew into adulthood.

Verdell has been on a mission and continues to be long after our two sons and daughter have successfully graduated from high school and college. Over the years, Verdell has worked as a volunteer tutor in the public school system and served on the Parent Advisory Council.

For some thirty years, Verdell has collected thousands of aluminum cans, sold them, and used the money to buy and give black history books to young people. She has been on a crusade to make a difference in the lives of young people, firmly believing that a person needs to know about their cultural heritage if they are to have a high self-esteem and be successful in life.

Verdell is a natural communicator and has used her exceptional communication skills to teach black history to everyone who will listen. For some seven years, she has served as an instructor in a summer camp that teaches Christian education, character education, and black history. She often quotes the words of Dr. Carter G. Woodson (the father of black history) If a race of people does not teach their history another race of people will steal their history and claim it as their own.¹

If you were in the presence of Verdell, you would hear her encouraging people of color to be proud of their heritage, which includes major scientific inventors, a host of art and literary giants, a plethora of medical inventions, the development of mathematics as a science, and a multitude of technological innovations.

Over the years, Verdell’s black history teachings have made a major impact on the lives of a host of young people and adults. Numerous young people have verbalized their thanks for receiving black history resources. This book is a testament to the influence that my wife has had on my life and the lives of others. Being around a person who is passionate about a subject usually leads a person to take an interest in the subject himself. Thanks to Verdell for her inspiration in the writing of this book.

The late Mr. Jessie Bryant, a well-known civil rights activist, is another inspiration behind the writing of this book. He was a long-time Brunswick County, NC, civil rights activist who faced numerous civil rights