THE CULTURE IN OUR NATION

By Marian Olivia Heath Griffin

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• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Jun 6, 2023
• ISBN: 9781669879862

Marian Olivia Heath Griffin

Marian Olivia Heath Griffin lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with her husband of fifty-eight years. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor and College Administrator (retired) for thirty-six years, the last seven years as Director of International Student Affairs. After she retired from Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, she decided to utilize her degree in Mass Communication and Photography to tell her people’s stories and history. Griffin graduated from Delaware State University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Sociology and Psychology, a Master’s Degree program in Atlanta University School of Social Work, a Master’s Degree program at Gammon Theological Seminary of the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta. She received her Master’s Degree from the New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in Psychological Counseling and Social Work. She received a Master’s Degree in Educational Supervision and Mass Communication and Photography from Southern University. She did further study at Louisiana State University and Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois. She studied Genealogy at the East Baton Rouge Parish Library in Baton Rouge. She has traveled over the fifty states of the U.S. and six of the seven continents. She has written eighteen books in two years, published them with XLIBRIS and compiled and published two photo books with MYCANVAS BY ALEXANDER. She is proud of her three children: Rev. Bertrand, II (Rev. Kotosha Seals Griffin), Karen G. Phenix, (Keith Phenix) and Dr. Michael (Tracie Haydel Griffin). She adores her eight grandchildren: Nia, Kiara, Christian-Paris, Michael, II. Amelia-Grai, Victoria, Olivia and Sophia – all Griffins and one god-child, Whitney White, one great grandchild – Keomi Phenix, one great- godchild, Amelia Pleasant and her brother, Warren, six great- nieces, Whitney Foucheaux, Amoree Sanders, and Danee Heath, Tikia and Lentia Brown, and great nephews: Bobbie, Jr., Enrique and Alberto Garcia, Tyler Heath, Lauren and Kee Kee Dennis, Arshawon Brown (recently deceased), Willie, Jermaine. Brown, Michael Martin and sons, and Devonte Walker.

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CONTENTS

PREFACE

PART 1

BEGINNINGS OF MY HEROES

Chapter 1 SADIE FOUNTAIN HARPER AND HERBERT SIDNEY HARPER

Chapter 2 HATTIE DRUCILLA WISE HEATH AND WILLIAM WILL HEATH, JR.

Chapter 3 DR. BOOKER T. WASHINGTON

Chapter 4 PAUL LAWRENCE DUNBAR

Chapter 5 MARIAN ANDERSON

Chapter 6 DR. CHARLES RICHARD DREW

PART 2

CHOICES FOR LIFE

Chapter 7 MY CHOICES

Chapter 8 ACCEPTING A MENTOR

Chapter 9 WHISPERS OF FAITH

Chapter 10 CONTINUATION OF EDUCATION

PART 3

GRATITUDE AND ACHKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Chapter 11 ACHKNOWLEDGEMENT AND GRADITUDE

PART 4

A JOURNEY

Chapter 12 MY JOURNEY

Chapter 13 OUR HANDS ARE HIS HANDS

Chapter 14 INTERVIEW

Chapter 15 QUIETNESS

Chapter 16 DIRECTIONS

Chapter 17 HARASSMENT

Chapter 18 CARDINAL EVENTS IN BLACK AMERICANS LIVES

Chapter 19 MONTGOMERY MARCHES FOR VOTING RIGHTS ACT

Chapter 20 BACKED AGAINST A WALL

Chapter 21 SCARY EVENTS

Chapter 22 CLARA’S AMBIVALENCE

Chapter 23 BROKENNESS IN THE WORLD

Chapter 24 FIX ME, JESUS

Chapter 25 REMEMBRANCE

Chapter 26 RETURNED HOSPITAL INSURANCE MONEY

Chapter 27 FIELD PLACEMENT ASSIGNMENT

Chapter 28 STICKS AND STONES MAY BREAK MY BONES

Chapter 29 TWO MALE GRIFFIN STUDENTS

Chapter 30 MY SPIRIT WAS ALMOST BROKEN

Chapter 31 THE BABY GRAND PIANO

Chapter 32 TWO FAMOUS HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS

Chapter 33 A CORD OF THREE STRANDS IS NOT QUICKLY BROKEN

Chapter 34 SINGING IN THE CHOIR

Chapter 35 GIVE ME STRENGTH

Chapter 36 THE ARCHAEOLOGY CLASS

Chapter 37 ONE MORE RIVER TO CROSS

Chapter 38 GRADUATION DAY

PHOTO SECTION

CONCLUSION

EPILOGUE

BIBLIOGRAPHY

RESOURCES OF FIRSTS AFRICAN AMERICANS

REFERENCE BOOKS

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

PREFACE

THE CULTURE IN OUR NATION

We were all created in God’s image. Scripture tells us that God created mankind in His own image; there is an inherent worth in each of us. (Genesis 1: 27, NIV).

For God, there is not an issue of how we look, what we have achieved or accomplished or what others may think of us. We are all loved by God, and on earth there are all of us who are precious to Him. We may wonder, what is the clue to living? What does the Lord require of us? We must want to appease Him. What will win his favor? Why are we still here?

He has shown us what is good. He expects us to pursue justice and walk humbly with Him. His concept of pointing to history is to inform us of the present time, asking us to pause and reflect, and pointing to the defining act of deliverance as "overwhelming evidence of his loyalty and protection. He grasps history, stretches it through time, and intends for his concepts to inform and shape our current perceptions.

I have an alarm clock in my head that goes off before my actual alarm clock rings. I wake up and cannot go back to sleep. If I stay awake too long, my mind races, my thoughts slip out of control and fears and anxieties set in. In the darkness, I am beset by so many things, especially negative thoughts and regrets and emotions.

Fortunately, the Holy Spirit is near me, encouraging me to turn my attention to good thoughts – thoughts of God.

How can God love us all unconditionally when we are all so different? Only He can do it. Sometimes we cannot recognize falsehood from the truth. We as a nation have the opportunity to show members of our God- given family that we are fair-minded citizens in a historical perspective to which dissent is tolerated as a measure of strength, not weakness.

God is constantly saying, See how I love you; and if you are still living on earth, I am not through with you yet. I still have work for you to do.

If I only repeat words of thankfulness and praise, the Holy Spirit lifts me out of despair and leads me to a line of thoughts and Scriptures that I need to think. I may arise to read Scripture and write down thoughts and turn them over to God. As a result, I find relief and a sense of peace.

"How I Got Over, How I Got Over! My Soul Looks Back and Wonders, How I Got Over. That was my mother, Lettie Heath’s favorite song by Mahalia Jackson. She had the record and played it and sang it every day at her store/restaurant in the early 1950’s. I was a small child, but I remember.

My mother told me that Mahalia Jackson did a concert in Rhode Island in the early 1950’s and it was pouring down raining on a stella crowd. She hit the stage and said, I am here and it is pouring down raining. But if you want to stay here with me in the rain, I am just getting warmed up!

The crowd roared and it stopped raining, immediately.

Mahalia sang to her people, DIDN’T IT RAIN CHILDREN, DIDN’T IT RAIN. THANK GOD, ALMIGHTY. DIDN’T IT RAIN.

The crowd roared on their feet. Her second song was:

HOW I GOT OVER, HOW I GOT OVER.

MY SOUL LOOKS BACK AND WONDERS,

HOW I GOT OVER.

How do you get over? Oftentimes you hit a bump in the road. When you are ready to pick yourself up and brush yourself off, CHECK OUT GOD. He will help you turn that stumbling block into a stepping stone. Then your life becomes a win-win situation. Life gives us many choices. The choices we make about what to think and what to do shape our self-image, our personality, our view of the world, and our way of dealing with life’s difficulties and situations.

We have a source of comfort that controls our thoughts and actions. I always feel a tremendous period of gratitude when I know God has answered my prayers. My faith grows each day and helps me overcome my fears and calm my spirit.

When I was a child, I enjoyed doing puzzles and table games with my siblings and friends. This helped me to relieve stress and anger. I also enjoyed playing the piano for myself and others.

One puzzle my friends and I played in school was Sort the Pennies. Here is one I remember: There are three cups and 10 pennies on a table. Put the pennies in the cups in such a way that the following conditions are met:

1)There are no empty cups.

2)There must be seven pennies in one cup and three pennies in another. Is this possible?

After sorting the pennies, you put seven pennies in one cup. Put one penny in another, and two pennies in the last cup. Insert the cup with one penny into the cup with two pennies. Now that cup has three pennies. The other cup has seven pennies and there is no empty cup, so all conditions are met.

Often times, we learn too much that is trivial and not enough that is important. But even the trivial things as a child and an adult, assists in our maturing. The whole process is constructed around fiction. If we think about our daily lives and our relationships with friends and neighbors, we aspire to warmth, affection, forgiveness and humility, things that make us feel secure and joyous. Here are the requirements, the expectations of God for us, his people. What God expects us to do is how we relate to Him and to each other. We do well to hear him:

He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God. (Micah 6: 8, NIV).

Life is a gift, a treasure not to be destroyed. What does God expect of you? Why are you here? God expects that our lives be lived as human beings looking up and looking out.

We are often reminded that when we think there is nothing more we can do for God’s kingdom, He tells us, You can pray, because prayer is not the last resort, it is the starting point.

PART 1

BEGINNINGS OF MY HEROES

CHAPTER 1

SADIE FOUNTAIN HARPER AND HERBERT SIDNEY HARPER

I had a great mother, Lettie Harper Heath, who taught me the first steps in life. Mother was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on December 6, 1908 to Sadie Fountain Harper and Herbert Sidney Harper. Her parents made certain that she had a good education and a great self-esteem. That is how my formal education started, through her and from her concept of a good education.

During my formative years, my mother instilled in me to learn God’s will and let it be an example to me all my days. She was a woman of faith and love and inspired me to pray and seek God’s will.

Mother was constantly telling her children who their family members were: the Fountain family name was always mentioned with pride by my mother. By the time I was seven, I had learned the names Fountain, Cannon, Neal, Brown, Wise and Heath in the pool of my ancestors. I became interested in my ancestors at that time.

Before my Grandmother Sadie had a stroke and became bed-ridden, she ruminated about her generational great-grandfather, Nicholas De La Fountaine who was born in France and died in Maryland, USA.

Our mother’s family was what is called a mixed-race family – the Fountain-Harper family, as a result of mingling of slaves and slave masters. The Fountain side consisted of three generations of Nicholas De La Fountaines, and two William De La Fountaines, who came to American from Normandy, France. The first to enter the New World Order was Nicholas, the first, born in 1691 and his two sons Nicholas, II, born around 1719 and Wellington, born around 1723. Nicholas, II married Mary and had two sons. The first one born was named Nicholas, III.

Mother’s mother was Sadie Mae Fountain who was the fifth generation of De La Fountains. She was born around 1888 in Seaford, Delaware. She was the second child, born to John Henry Fountain and Amanda Collins Fountain. John Henry was the slave child of Mary Elizabeth Fountain and Charles Smith; Mary was born to William Da La Fountaine, II who was white. When Mary Elizabeth Fountaine was a small child, she received her freedom from her grandfather. Later when Mary Elizabeth Fountain married Charles Smith and had a family, her whole family received their freedom. Her ancestral great grandfathers and uncles owned hundreds of slaves, but as an example of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Heming who were related to them, the slaves sired by the Fountain gentlemen were treated with kindness, respect and were given their freedom. They were not treated as property.

Sadie and her older brother, Charles Wesley Fountain, left home as teenagers. They were the two oldest children born to Amanda Collins Fountain and John Henry Fountain and they wanted to be independent. In that day and age, it was normal to leave home as a teenager. They went to Wilmington, Delaware for a few months and lived in a boarding house with another family. Months later, they moved to Philadelphia and found jobs.

Sadie had met Herbert Sidney Harper before she left home. He was a fine -looking young gentleman born around 1877. He was much older than Sadie. After the sister and brother, Sadie and Charles moved to Philadelphia, Charles was courting a young lady from New Jersey. Suffice it to say, Herbert continued to court Sadie by visiting her occasionally. From some of the things that Grandmom Sadie told me, she was born around 1889 instead of 1888. (Much history and documentation of African Americans is void due to their inability to read and write and understand numbers).

After a brief courtship, Sadie and Herbert were married on April 6, 1904 in Philadelphia. They wanted to get married, build their own home and live a normal family life. They wanted to have several children and send them to the finer schools. They also dreamed of starting their own business.

They built a store and home. Sadie and Herbert saved whatever monies they made and starting building a store and a little apartment over the store. They made their home and business in Philadelphia as a bold move away from the Fountain Homestead in Middleford, Delaware. They were frugal and industrious. They desired to own their own property, and learn a new way of life other than plowing in the fields. They wanted to educate their children in fine school. On their way to accomplishing their goals, they felt hopeful and happy.

They set good examples in their community which encouraged others to do better in their lives.

They had their first child, Lettie Harper (our mother) in that little storefront apartment four years later. Lettie was born on December 6, 1908. (Mother always talked about Pearl Harbor Day because it was the day after her birthday on December 7, 1941).

Over ten years later, they had their second child, a baby boy named Clarence Burton Harper, who was born on February 2, 1919. They were experiencing their success with two children, a home, and a business. They were leaders in their church and community and had many friends.

LETTIE SIDNEY HARPER

Mother was Lettie Sidney Harper. Her life started as an only child for twelve years until she received a baby brother by her parents in 1919.

She always wished for a large family when she got married because she grew up as an only child until she was almost twelve-years- old. At about eleven-years old, a second child was born to Sadie and Herbert Harper, a baby boy, Clarence Burton Harper, whom the mother, father and sister, Lettie adored. The two children were born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The family lived happily in the hope and joy of their efforts. Our grandparents were experiencing their dream.

Our beautiful grandmother, Sadie was loved by all her friends and neighbors in Philadelphia. She was very important to the family and the community. She was always serious and wise, and would sit quietly and thoughtfully by the window in the evening. She taught her children through oral tradition and continued to teach her grandchildren through oral history.

Our maternal grandfather and grandmother did not write about their lives. They just lived their lives in good spirits.

In Philadelphia, our grandparents built a store on the ground floor and an apartment was built over the store.

Grandmom Sadie ran the store while Grandpop Herbert worked on the rail road. He would come and go from home back to work every day.

Grandmom Sadie and Lettie were very light complexioned with long curly black hair and median- brown eyes. Sadie was very tall. She was about five feet, ten inches tall and towered over her husband.

She was quietly domineering, resourceful and dedicated to her children and husband. She was the second-oldest child born to Amanda Mandy and John Henry Fountain.

Grandpop Herbert was brown skinned and the youngest son of Delcy Edwards Harper and Stephen Harper. There were five other children born to Delcy and Stephen Harper - Edna, Nancy, Joseph Burton, Robert, and John C. Harper. The parents and all the Harper children were born in North Carolina (Source: Ancestry Tree).

Grandmom Sadie had several customers who came into the store regularly and all was well. One day Grandpop Herbert came home early and met some of the customers.

Just as the Harper family was on the threshold of achieving their dreams, events changed.

As the world swirled around them, tragedy struck which altered their lives forever.

Grandmom Sadie’s favorite female customer came back to the store and declared that Grandmom had married a Negro, (a black man). A week later, Grandmom Sadie came downstairs to her store and smelled a strong odor in her grocery store. She realized that it was smoke and a fire had started just as she was entering her business. The store was on fire. She ran back upstairs, grabbed her ten - month -old baby son, Clarence and screamed to her daughter, Run, Lettie, Run.

Twelve -years -old Lettie ran downstairs realizing that something serious was happening. She ran out of the store. Many folks were gathering outside the grocery store that they were all familiar with. They saw the smoke billowing and clouding the sky. The family watched their home and store burn to the ground and smelled a gaseous odor as their store and home burned. Their neighbors watched with them before help came from the Philadelphia Fire Department to extinguish the blazing fire.

This was a life changing moment for the Fountain/ Harper family. For the rest of their lives, they sought hope, freedom, and justice for all. When the fire burned their house down, the Harper family escaped only with their lives. Their Maker came beside them and was simply present with them.

And now, Lord, what do I wait for and expect? My hopes and expectations are in you. (Psalm 39:7).

Hear my prayer, O Lord, listen to my cry for help. Be not deaf to my weeping, for I dwell with You as an alien, a stranger as all my fathers were. (Psalm 39: 12).

Joyce Meyers denotes in her book, GET YOUR HOPES UP, People may believe in God but a man or woman of faith does more than trust that God is alive; they also believe that He is good. And He rewards those who seek Him. They wait for and expect the goodness of God, not because they deserve it, but because God promises to give it.

She goes on to teach, "No matter the person and no matter the situation, I have discovered there is one thing we all desperately need - Hope. Hope is the happy and confident anticipation of good.

It is a powerful and universal inspiration, a rising tide that lifts all boats. Whether we are limping into port, stuck at the dock, or sailing boldly out to sea in our boats, HOPE buoys our spirits and dares us to believe. Things just might work out after all. It is the sometimes unexplainable, but always undeniable feeling that today we should not give up." (p. 3-4).

Grandpop Herbert returned home from work that fateful day, from working on the railroad, to witness the remains of his labor, the home and business that he built. There was no home or business to return to. He gathered his family and carried them to Seaford, Delaware, where his wife, Sadie was born around 1888. They began their life anew in the rural area of Middleford, Delaware.

I read in PHILADELPHIA DIVIDED, by James Wolfinger that the Great Migration of World War I and the 1920’s brought one million African Americans to the North. Some one hundred and forty thousand Blacks settled in Philadelphia alone between 1910 and 1930. Once in the city, blacks found little options for housing and jobs. Strife and racial conflicts occurred frequently. Irish settlers were in the housing areas first, then Jews and Italians were competing for better living conditions. (p. 13).

Even though Grandmom Sadie and her family were in Philadelphia before many of the whites, the Fountain/Harper family was subjected to some of the hardships that were being perpetrated upon other black migrants. Many blacks were being burned out by white hate groups such as the Klan.

Grandmom Sadie did not tell me that they were run out of Philadelphia by having their home and store burned by an arsonist, but it was not impossible. I think the family did not even know how the fire was started.

Grandmom Sadie returned home to Delaware, sad and desponded. Not only had they lost everything in the store and apartment fire, but her father, John Henry Fountain, had to return home from the Philadelphia Camp for the Blind to Middleford and her mother, Amanda Fountain was seriously ill. Grandmom Sadie was needed to help care for her mother and her father. She was the oldest daughter and knew how to run a household. She had lost her dream of being on her own and leading her own life. Moreover, she had to work hard to make ends meet and help her parents.

Suffice it to say, Herbert had to make some major adjustments. He had not lived in someone else’s home before. At this time, he had to move to his in-laws’ home and try to be content. He was a very independent man and dedicated to his family.

Herbert was born in North Carolina around 1877 and was use to hard work on a farm. When they returned to Delaware, Sadie’s parents, Amanda Collins Fountain and John Henry Fountain were at the Fountain Homestead to greet them. John Henry Fountain was blind after