When we served you as slaves, you abused us, starved us, sold us and called us lazy. You treated us inappropriately.
When we ran away, you came and captured us. Cutting off life and limb. You treated us inappropriately.
When we were emancipated, you put on sheets and raided our homes, raped us and lynched us. You treated us inappropriately.
When we separated ourselves, grew and became our own thriving communities of Tulsa, Rosewood, Mound Bayou, Colfax and Atlanta, as a nation you sanctioned the bombing of our communities, the burning of our homes and businesses, the brutalizing of our men and the blocking of us on every turn. You treated us inappropriately.
When we sat down, you told...no demanded us to stand up by dragging us off the buses, off the streets and out of our homes. You treated us inappropriately
When we marched peacefully and unarmed, you sent out the national guard, the fire hoses and the dogs. You bombed our churches and assassinated our leaders. You treated us inappropriately.
When we wore dashikis, afros and our natural hair, you fired us, derided us and called us names for not immulating your standards of beauty. You treated us inappropriately.
When we kneeled, you didn't address the issue. You simply rewrote the narrative, called us unpatriotic...and demanded we stand. You treated us inappropriately.
With each demonstration against your racism and malfeasance, you have labeled our actions, "inappropriate."
But, in all of the years of our rebelling, fighting and protesting, you have never once acknowledged or changed YOUR inappropriate behavior.
Now, here we are....again. You kill us and then think you have the right to tell us how to respond to the pain. After doing everything possible to be freed, even a trapped animal will chew off it's foot to save it's life...and not a single animal who understands will call it ," inappropriate."
So in final desperation, we protest, loot and burn down the village to be freed from your racist abuse. And, your response is to call out the military...not to protect us or our communities...but to protect your racism from our "in appropriateness" in responding to it.
Please know this:
Until you appropriately surrender and give up your racism and racist behaviors, we will continue to protest... being appropriately....inappropriate.
Monday, June 8, 2020
UPDATE
Chronicles of a Murder
We know
what you did that summer …
ON June 4, 2020, one day before the 2 year anniversary of
Jodeci’s death, the prosecutor released her autopsy, which has major problems. To mark
the anniversary friends and family marched and raised their voices for justice.
The family met with Wheeling West Virginia Chief of Police, R. Shawn
Schwertfeger and Ohio County Prosecutor, Shawn Turak. We expressed our concerns and dismay about the
investigation in no uncertain term. We
also discussed the “Chronicles of a Murder” in some details, and I provided
them with a link to the story. Whether they take the time to read it can’t say.
A year ago, after we were satisfied that the investigation was a
farce, we asked for the case to be closed.At
the meeting the request was granted.Closing
the case allows us to get access to 911 records, police reports, etc.We can now take our evidence to those three law
enforcement entities that informed us in the past that they could not do
anything until the case was closed.The
delay in closing the case put us a year behind, but we are ready for the long
haul. Those who murdered our Jodeci should know this...Don’t think you got away.You killed someone from the wrong family. We know what you did that summer….
The family appreciate each and every one of you who came out to
show your love. It means so much to us. You didn’t have to. For Deiona and Russell, too many days has been
overwhelmingly, overwhelming in the
wake of Jodeci’s death trying to make sense of the incomprehensible – that
someone knowingly, willingly and intentionally killed their daughter.
Thank you for supporting us in our fight.
We hope to you call on you again.
The Fort Henry Mall of the 1970s – Doomed from the Start?
It was created in 1957 by the members of Wheeling City
Council, and it was known as the Urban Renewal Authority. It was funded
by the federal government via the Department of Housing and Urban
Development, and the adopted projects cleared more than 300 residential
and commercial structures from the Friendly City’s landscape in less
than 20 years.
The URA would submit plans to HUD officials once a specific project
for a small area was selected, and once the funds were granted, the
defined steps would be completed in stages. The first Wheeling-based
project took place between 1970-71 in the Center Wheeling section and
involved a two-block area along Main and Chapline streets and from 24th to 26th Street.
The U.S. Post Office, constructed complete with the city’s primary
distribution center, was relocated to the area along Chapline Street,
and an light-industrial shipping dock, large enough to accommodate more
than 15 semi-tractor trailers at once, was built along Main Street.
This
area of Center Wheeling was cleared of 195 homes to make way for the
relocation of the U.S. Post Office and an industrial shipping facility. (Google Maps)
The project erased 195 residential properties in Center Wheeling.
The URA’s second adopted project once again attacked a residential
neighborhood in Center Wheeling. A total of 42 homes were purchased and
demolished, and constructed on the land was an medical education and
administration building as well as a structure to house a comprehensive
mental health facility.
“And then they progressively got more ambitious,” said Wayne Barte, a
former city manager of Wheeling who began his municipal government
career in 1972 as an assistant in the city’s development office. “The
next project was called the ‘Neighborhood Development Project,’ and it
involved making land available for the construction of homes at that
time. It was east of Chapline Street in the East Wheeling area around
the top of 13th Street.
“That program involved grants and 3 percent loans, and architectural
advice,” he continued. “That project was met by moderate success just
like the others.”
The door knockers delivering eminent-domain messages were quite
common in the Wheeling area between the mid-1950s through the 1970s, and
along with the erasing of the Center Wheeling neighborhoods, the Elm
Grove, East Wheeling, and South Wheeling areas lost hundreds of homes.
“Those projects were taking place during the same time we saw the
interstates take many homes, and so did the construction of W.Va. Route 2
in several areas,” Barte said. “So all of these projects, put together,
probably had something to do with the population decline in the city of
Wheeling.
“While a lot of those people didn’t necessarily move away from the
area, many of them moved out of Wheeling, and we saw communities like
Bethlehem, Mozart, and Mount Olivet start to development with a lot of
residential homes. Many of those folks moved up on those hillsides,” he
continued. “When I was growing up in Bethlehem, I remember Mount Olivet
being nothing but farm after farm, but now you see a lot of homes in
that area, and all the demolitions that have taken place is the reason
why.”
L.S.
Good, which was once located in this open space just north of the 12th
and Market intersection, was one of the identified “anchors” for the
downtown mall concept.
Homes vs. Bulldozers
There is no telling what history and architecture were erased, but
the good news is that Sean Duffy and staff members at the Ohio County
Library have been collecting and archiving much history about Wheeling’s
storied past. Many of those tales can be discovered by visiting Archiving Wheeling.
“I doubt government would be able to do what they orchestrated back
then these days because it would not be acceptable, and it wouldn’t be
tolerated today,” Barte said. “We have seen the reactions to similar
projects in Center Wheeling for the Lowe’s development and in East
Wheeling for the all-purpose ballfield. People have very strong feelings
now about home ownership, property rights, and history, so anything
like an Urban Renewal Authority and projects like these would be pretty
hard to deal with now.
“Think about if someone came to you at your house today and said they
were going to take your house and give you fair market value, whatever
that might have been, and that they were going to pay some of your
relocation costs. Think about how you would react to that today,” he
continued. “These days when something similar takes place, we’re talking
about vacant, abandoned properties like many of them were in East
Wheeling, but then it involved knocking on doors and telling people to
get out of their homes.”
Downtown
Wheeling’s Market Plaza was an area that would have seen much change if
the Fort Henry Mall development would have taken place.
Although it does not seem too long ago, a different attitude about
history was employed by both private residents and civic leaders in
middle years of the 20th Century. Any building considered
“historical” couldn’t possibly be present in Wheeling, many at the time
believed, despite the city’s recorded history concerning the
Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and the creation of the state of West
Virginia in 1863.
Here in Wheeling, old was just old back then, and that is likely why
Independence Hall was once a dilapidated building that housed an
insurance agency and a tropical-theme bar until former W.Va. Gov. Arch
Moore identified it as historical in 1980.
“The character and the architecture of a home and of neighborhoods
were not things that we took into an account back then, and it was the
same way nationally,” Barte recalled. “There were a few places where
preservation was important, like Washington, D.C. , Williamsburg, and
Philadelphia, but when it came to projects like these the people picked
out areas that were just considered old and not historic. There was a
difference in the interpretation at that time.
“Now we work hard to preserve structures because of the architecture
character, and the ones that fit with the character of the overall
community,” he said. “But here, it was the Friends of Wheeling who were
the first ones I recall identifying those types of structures. But I can
tell you that Wheeling was not different from most cities around the
country and Urban Renewal was really a federal effort to boost economies
across the United States.”
The mall project would have placed a roof over much of the downtown district.
A New Fort Henry?
The same mindset was present, according to the Urban Renewal Annual
Report from 1970, when the Central Business District Project was the
next difference-making, wrecking-ball-related, “revitalization” project
that involved a downtown mall concept complete with a civic center near
Wheeling Tunnel and not along the Ohio River at 14th and Water streets.
“The anchor, in the beginning, was the construction of a civic
center, and initially the location for the civic center is where the
Montani Tower now is located,” Barte reported. “But the projections for
the civic center came in way over budget, and they knew then that they
would have to select a different site for that facility.
“The project then grew into what we know now as the Fort Henry Mall
project, and the goal was to have 550,000 square feet of retail space by
the year 1980, and the goal was from 1970 to 1990 to increase that
amount of space to 770,500 square feet, and then to 1.6 million,” he
recalled. “It was a multi-level concept that would have pedestrian
walkways and a civic center that would have 6,500 seats. It would also
have included a parking facility large enough for 2,500 cars.
“The original project was initially scheduled to begin in 1972 with
the civic center and the parking structure, but they would have had to
declare the downtown a blighted area, and that probably was the
beginning of the downward spiral of the project. When you had, at that
time, a busy downtown with a lot of businesses that were successful and
you had to declare that 90 percent of it was a slum-and-blighted area,
it was not the best public relations move.”
The
Horne’s Building, recently purchased by the Regional Economic
Development Authority, would have survived demolition under the Urban
Renewal Authority’s plan.
The publicized intent, though, was to further strengthen Wheeling as
the commercial center of northern West Virginia, eastern Ohio, and
western Pennsylvania by revitalizing a prime portion of the city to
realize the downtown’s full potential. Along with the civic center and
an expansion of retail space, there would have been a pair of high-rise
apartment towers, a Fort Henry Museum, a riverfront restaurant and other
new eateries, a harbor facility for pleasure craft, and a parking
garage that could have fit as many as 2,500 cars when all was said,
taken, and done.
The plan also called for additional square footage with a goal of
reach as many as 1.6 million square feet through property acquisitions
that were scheduled to continue through 1990, and that was supposed to
increase the amount of employment opportunities in Wheeling and the
surrounding areas. The mall was to slope from Chapline Street to the
riverfront, providing natural street access on several levels.
The civic center was initially planned for an area between Chapline and Market streets and between 10th
Street and the entrance to Wheeling Tunnel. Main Street was to continue
to be open to one-way south traffic, and Market Street would have
remained one-way to the north, but traffic patterns on Chapline and 11th streets would have been altered to make way for the Fort Henry Mall.
Oh yes, and there would be one giant roof over it all.
Construction
of the Fort Henry Mall would have taken nearly a decade according to
the original plan released by the Urban Renewal Authority.
“Yes, for the lack of a better term, the Fort Henry Mall project
involved covering over the downtown with a roof, and while the existing
buildings would have remained, there would have been some new buildings,
too,” Barte said. “The designs for the exterior were what were
considered then as ‘modern’ and we’ve seen the same concept with the
Wesbanco’s headquarters and the Boury Center (now Century Plaza)
buildings. That was modern then.
There would have been enclosed pedestrian walkways that would have
linked all of the stores between Main and Chapline streets, and some
areas would have been open-air. The shopper, according the project plan,
still would have the opportunity to shop in air-conditioned areas
during the summer and heated areas during the winter months. The
complete mall complex would have encompassed the blocks between 10th and 12th streets and from Chapline to Water streets and would have been constructed in several areas over a five-to-seven year period.
Until the people were heard, that is.
It was the voters of Wheeling – not officials of the city of Wheeling – that stood against the Urban Renewal Authority.
Under a Monster’s Attack
The first stage was initially scheduled to begin in 1972 and was to
include the construction of the civic center, structures for a new
department store and specialty shops, a pedestrian plaza, and a 400-car
parking garage. The second stage was set to begin in 1975 and would have
been dominated by the building of an apartment and office tower, and
the third stage, between Main and Market streets, was set to start in
late -1976 and would have provided an expansion of available retail
space.
And then the fourth and final stage in the development of the Fort
Henry Mall, scheduled for a two-year phase (1978-1980), would have
included a new marina, a riverfront restaurant, the museum near the
original site of Fort Henry (constructed in 1777), and a plethora of
pedestrian areas.
But that is when business owners and prominent citizens partnered to
oppose the Fort Henry Mall, and their efforts ultimately proved most
successful. The group distributed propaganda which featured a sketch of a
King Kong-like character with a two-pawed strangle-hold on the Friendly
City’s downtown district.
“The businesses that were open within the designated area would have
remained because why would anyone want to get rid of a successful
business? Think about it. Why would you bring in a business like Kay
Jewelers when you already had jewelry stores that had served people in
this city for years? That part made sense,” Barte said. “But, as far as
the other businesses that might have come into town, well, I wasn’t a
part of those conversations. Those decisions were up to the people at
the Urban Renewal Authority and the experienced developer they never
really got to hire.”
Several business owners in downtown Wheeling opposed the Fort Henry Mall project.
That’s when the beast of opposition appeared in 1972. The “Save
Wheeling Committee” launched an aggressive campaign after court orders
mandated a public referendum on the project’s continuance and the
existence of Wheeling’s Urban Renewal Authority.
“Those business owners had a vested interest in the central business
district and they didn’t believe the Fort Henry Mall plan was the best
way to proceed,” Barte said. “They went through different legal
maneuvers and they were successful in getting the issue on the ballot on
Aug. 22, 1973, as a referendum issue. And they won overwhelmingly.
“The vote was 8,421 to 4,021, and that’s a butt-whooping no matter
how you want to look at it. Those voting results are what instructed
city council to repeal the 1957 ordinance that created the Urban Renewal
Authority, and all the city was permitted to do was finish up on the
projects that were already in motion, and that was it. The legal case
continued to federal court, but it changed nothing. We just had to close
it up, and that’s where I became involved.”
Barte climbed the municipal ladder to assistant city manager in 1976,
and then was hired as Wheeling’s city manager in 1979. He stayed in the
position until taking a position with TCI, Inc. He recalls, though,
that before the decisive vote there were floating rumors about a
different mall project near St. Clairsville. And he recognizes the same
confusion still exists today as far as why the project died and whether
or not the Ohio Valley Mall in Belmont County was the result.
Since
the public voted in August 1973, the majority of the buildings within
the 1100 block of downtown Wheeling have been demolished.
“But, see, the Ohio Valley Mall was truly a completely different
project, and the Caffaro Company had nothing to do with the Fort Henry
Mall concept,” Barte said. “The Ohio Valley Mall project was going to
happen regardless of the Fort Henry Mall project.
“The people who were members of the ‘Save Wheeling Committee’
represented very successful businesses and long-term businesses, and
they were a force to be reckoned with,” he continued. “And then,
ironically, many of those business owners ended up moving their stores
to the Ohio Valley Mall because, at that time, it was the best business
decision to make. They all wanted to preserve their market share in the
downtown and at the mall.”
One retailer who remains in business is Howard Posin, owner of
Howard’s Diamond Center at The Highlands. Posin remained in business in
Wheeling’s downtown district until 2010, and is now located near Marquee
Cinemas and West Liberty University’s facility. Posin sold his building
in downtown Wheeling to the city in 2014 for $58,000.
“All Urban Renewal wanted to do at that time was buy the properties
and tear everything down,” he recalled. “And I thought then that the
developer that was involved was pretty shaky, so I joined the opposition
against the mall plan. Plus, we found out that J.C. Penney and Sears
both agreed to relocate to the Ohio Valley Mall once it was going to
open.
“There was a time when you could get anything you needed in downtown
Wheeling, and we were just trying to maintain that as long as we could,
but if we were still in downtown today, it would be a sorry affair,” he
continued. “Retail these days takes place at the Ohio Valley Mall, at
the (Ohio Valley) Plaza on the other side of the interstate, and here at
The Highlands. It’s a trend that started more than 40 years ago, and it
continues today, but the mall plan for downtown Wheeling would have
certainly failed because at the time of the vote no real deals were in
place. We opposed what we had to oppose.”
The Urban Renewal Authority promoted the Fort Henry Mall project to be the savior for downtown Wheeling.
What’s the Draw?
These days downtown Wheeling businesses are barred from purchasing advertisements on signage managed by the state’s “Attraction” sign program
because of traffic patterns, and the majority of economic development
that has taken place in Ohio County over the past 15 years has occurred
at The Highlands near Dallas Pike.
Would the Fort Henry Mall have made a difference, in the 1970s and even today?
Would the downtown’s 1100 block still consist the buildings where
L.S. Good, National Record Mart, G.C. Murphy’s, Jupiter, Rite Aid, River
City Dance Works, and Feet First were located?
Or would it have turned out like a similar project in a very
similar-to-Wheeling city in western Ohio – Middletown – located north of
Cincinnati?
For Wheeling City Manager Wayne Barte with U.S. Congressman Robert Mollohan. (Photo supplied by Wayne Barte)
The “City Centre Mall” was constructed within Middletown’s downtown
district in the early 1970s, and was demolished by the 1990s. Barte, as a
representative for the cable company, traveled there and noted the
failure. Middletown was a steel town, too, and the middle-class
demographics were very close to those in Wheeling at the time.
“No one was fooling anyone,” Barte said. “You could go to a mall that
was really a mall and everyone knew those complexes were much different
than a downtown with a roof over it. Eventually, in Middletown, they
tore it all down because the concept just didn’t work.”
But in Wheeling?
“Sitting here in 2016, I have to wonder if it would have been
successful because the complex would have had to go up against a brand
new mall that opened in 1977,” Barte said. “Knowing that, I really would
have to say that no, the Fort Henry Mall would not have been
successful. It was a doomed effort, really, if you think about it. It
just was doomed from the beginning.”
The late Arch Riley, the
author of the Wheeling charter revision, would, I think, be shocked at the
apparent
hijacking of the legislative duties by two salaried employees of the
City. I refer to the recent front page story
about the City Manager and
the Chief of Police "instigating" a public hearing on Feb. 21st about
declaring American Legion Post 89 a "public nuisance".
To an old man reading
about these events some 50 miles to the south, it seems like the Chief Manager
and the Chief of Police are taking their cues from the Queen of Hearts in
"Alice in Wonderland", i.e. to find someone guilty and then hold the
trial afterwards. The same story said that the State had investigated the
Legion Post and cleared it of the accusations brought by the Chief and the
Manager. Are they taking a second crack at the apple?
Forty years ago when I
ran the federal legal aid program in Wheeling, Charles Steele, the then City
Manager, tried to shut down Post 89. The famed Justice Holmes of the U.S.
Supreme Court said "we should not ignore as judges what we know as
men" and the Chief and Manager have ripped a page from Richard Nixon's
"law and order" playbook: BLACK PEOPLE EQUAL CRIME and we need to do
away with they place where they congregate. As far as I can determine,
there hasn't been a single crime reported INSIDE AMERICAN LEGION POST 89.
That is what would make it a public nuisance, not what goes on outside.
If the Chief and Manager are concerned about what goes on outside, let
them do what Sheriff Robert Lightner did Marshall County in the day: GIVE
THE PLACE ''CURB SERVICE''. That will handle the problem if there is one.
Even if the allegations
are true, closing the only American Legion Post in West Virginia (and certainly
one of the few in the U.S.A.) run by an African-American (and, presumably, a
veteran) is a slap in the face of all those "colored" people who
fought for their country and were greeted by Jim Crow when they got home.
I was going to quote the
great slogan from the 60's and 70's dealing with the racism inherent in urban
renewal, but I test marketed it with two of my Wheeling friends, Terry Gosa and
George Lee, who have retired, respectively, to Columbia, S.C., and Dacula, Ga.,
and they told me that I should leave racism to the racists. However, if
anyone if interested, I included the phrase in my letter to the Mayor and
Council asking to speak at the meeting on Feb. 21st about this usurpation of
legislative power by paid City employees. I authorize Mayor
Elliott to tell anyone who asks.
I recently watched
the eulogy that you gave about Ms. Coretta Scott King. During your speech, you
struck accord that opened my heart to the core of my family's history, and I
think it's worth telling. During your speech you gave historical facts about
Ms. King's contribution to the social, cultural, and spiritual aspects of life
in the U.S.A. Every time you mentioned Coretta Scott King it was always inspirational,
to say the least. Actually, your saying that she was a very strong black woman
in her own right was what prompted me to write to you to tell you about some of
the profoundly strong black women in my family that have been so important to me,
to my brothers, and to our community a as whole.
My grandmother, Lucille
Lee, was the spirit of the whole family. She and her husband Goon (that's what everyone
called him), were truly the foundation on which our family was built.
Unfortunately I never had a chance to meet him as he passed away when I was
only two years old. They had 19kids, which twelve of them are women. My
grandmother was a strong black woman in her own right as well if only the
number of children she raised is any indication. My grandparents raised their
kids in a small four-bedroom house on 12thstreet in Wheeling, West Virginia. As
you well know, just providing the food, the clothing and everything else that
comes with having a large family on a small budget is terribly difficult. I
think what my grandmother passed down to my mom and her sisters was how to be
strong and do whatever it takes to raise your family and how to go beyond the
call of duty, as she did day in and day out.
My mother-in-law, Neilda
Pitts, is included in this as well. She was raised as an only child by a sweet
lady we call Mama Bert. She is also a strong black woman who raised eleven kids
of her own with the help of her husband, Augustus Pitts. They have eight boys
and three girls.
My mother, Roberta, who has been so supportive to me throughout my
life, was married to a loving man by the name of Norman G. Hunter. They had
three sons’ named David, Jose, and Troy.
My father, who retired from coal mining after 20 plus years of service,
was also a mechanic by trade. If you ever needed something fixed everyone in
the community knew they could call upon him. He passed away in 1992after a long
bout with Alzheimer's disease and he suffered a brain aneurysm as well. During
his illness, instead of putting him in a nursing home my mother turned our dining
room into a make shift triage and had a nurse come to the house for several hours
each day. She devoted all of her time and energy into taking care of him and
making him as comfortable as possible, leaving no time for herself. After a long
and valiant battle with his illness she passed away where he wanted to, and that
was at home.
After his passing my mother moved into a one-bedroom apartment. She immersed
herself into her work providing daycare around the clock. This didn't allow her
any time to date or remarry after many years went by, and although we gave her
our blessings, she refused to date and instead chose to remain faithful to her
husband.
This is what I mean
by being a strong black woman. Instead of focusing on herself, she focused on
others by taking up the parenting role all over again and raising her eldest
grandchild Brandie. She is now playing the parenting role once again by raising
her grandson Tramone and granddaughter Brittney - and she is doing this all out
of her one bed room apartment. While providing daycare is her main source of
income, it is easy to see that she gets much more out of it than the money she
makes, which isn't much. She could make more if she had a bigger place, and
would like to, but she remains content with what she has and I admire her for
that. I do hope she knows how much I truly appreciate her for everything she
has done, not just for my brothers and me, but for her grandchildren as well.
Even though she knows I love her, and I may not say it as much as I should, I
don't think she'll ever know how much she truly means to me and how much I hope
and pray that God blesses her with all her heart desires. She has been the
inspiration and the light in my life, in so many lives, and the Lord knows she
deserves it.
There are so many strong black women in my life that are so deserving of
recognition, but the following are some of the other women that really stood
out to me and made a huge difference in so many lives. They are my aunts: Constance
Bell, Paula Lee, Ella Lee, Rosetta Bush,-Pamela Lee and Betty Ann Jenkins.-There
are the reasons why I think these individuals really deserve some recognition,
but mostly it's because of all the sacrifices they have made for their
families. They all, somehow in their own right, helped shape the lives of
others -meaning they played a very big role in raising their grandchildren and
so many others that are not even related to them. These strong black women have
taken on the role of parenting all over again. In a sense they put their golden
years on hold for our kids. The dedication and the burden of helping us raise
our kids is something they have taken in stride. They have sacrificed their
freedom and so much more in order to do it, but they do it without complaint.
Whether it's because we lack in certain areas, because we were locked up, or
because we were just too lazy to get a job instead spending our time out on the
streets - we have failed in so many ways as parents and they have always been
there, without judgment, to pick up the slack. Maybe it's because they just
don't want to see us fail or see the kids suffer because of it.
But, whatever the
reason, their efforts have been heroic – and that's an understatement. In
short, they have put their lives on hold and have taken up the role of raising
kids all over again and neither I, nor anyone, could ever thank them or praise them
enough.
This is what I mean when I say l have some very strong black women in
my family. These women that I speak of haven't been on a vacation in who knows
how long. They haven't even been able to go out and shop for themselves because
they're always staking care of other people's kids. They're not able to do the
things other women do, like go out to lunch, get their hair or nails done, or
even get together socially. What they deserve is to go out and treat themselves
like queens for a day. These women, I can honestly say, give so much of their
time and money to others and yet they ask for nothing in return. This is
another reason why I say they are truly strong black women.
On a side note, these
women are also all excellent cooks in their own right. Each of them are famous
for one recipe or another. The community we live in is not very big, so every time
there is a function going on, yeah you guessed it, they call on these ladies to
cook something. They cook for parties, church functions, weddings, funerals,
ball games, you name it and they do it. And they do it out of the kindness of
their hearts. They also pay for it out of their own pockets and, rarely if
ever, get reimbursed. I've thought about
it for a long time and realize that our family is entirely too big and too
talented to have never owned a business.We are one of the oldest families in our community too. You know, I've
been thinking that every great city should have a soul food restaurant. While
my family has the mow-how, we simply don't have the means to open one up. I'm
hoping that one day, the Lord will bless my family with the means to make this dream
a reality because if anyone deserves it, it's these strong black women. I would
like to see these women put everyone's problems aside and finally take time
for themselves. Maybe they could plan a nice vacation together or just catch up
on old times. But I'm afraid, knowing these women like I do, they never will.
In addition to my mother, grandmother, and aunts, I have also mentioned
my beautiful, kindhearted, and talented mother-in-law and her name is Neilda
Pitts. She is very dedicated to her family and her church. She has also taken
on the role of extended parenting. I believe she was 61 years old when she took
on the raising of her four grandchildren. She did this because one of her
daughters got into some trouble. So instead of the state taking custody of
them, she did. Not only did she raise them, but she also helped shape the lives
of other kids as well as their parents. She put her and her husband's
retirement on hold to help save others and what a miracle she has been. It is
also worth mentioning that she has been a woman of God for the past forty plus
years and, boy, can she sing! To hear this woman sing you would think she would
have a few CD's out, but she says she is too busy (raising other people's
children) to ever record a song. This women's voice is so strong that she
doesn't even need music. Her voice is truly on par with, if not better than,
some of the greats like Yolanda Adams and Shirley Caesar, and I'm not joking.
Remember the show where you had the boy sing one song of Mariah Carey's songs?
Well, she's that good. Oh man, how I wish you could hear her. After that show,
I guess Mariah took him back to her studio and helped him write a song.
Everyone in your audience fell in love with him and she ended up signing him to
a contract. Something like that would be overwhelming to Neilda. Anyway, I could use hundreds of sheets of
paper telling you more about these wonderful, wonderful women but I think you
get my point. Each and every one of these women is a hero, unsung heroes, plain
and simple. Their lives have exemplified the meaning of altruism and their
quiet self-sacrifice has not gone unnoticed. I only wish there was more I could
do to honor these women, these strong black women, to let the world know how
very important they are and how very proud, we all are, of them.
In closing, Oprah, I just
want to let you know that you have been such a great role model and have had
such a positive influence on so many people around the world. In addition to
Coretta Scott King, just thinking of you and your story, your overcoming extreme
adversity to achieve the successes that you have was ultimately the inspiration
for me to take a closer look at those around me. I remember the story of an
African diamond miner who, after years of unsuccessfully searching for diamonds
far and wide, finally gave up and sold his little farm and moved away. Little
did he know that, a few days later, the young man who bought the farm was
standing in the stream that ran along the back of the old house and while
looking down into the water, a shining object caught his eye. The young man simply bent over and picked up
one of the largest raw diamond ever discovered on the African continent and, it
turns out, that little farm became the most productive diamond mine in history.
If that old man had simply looked for his treasures in his own back yard, all
of his dreams would have been fulfilled. But we often find ourselves looking
elsewhere for something that is right in front of us, and unfortunately, never
find it. Oprah, you have been the inspiration that has caused me to search in
my own back yard and what I have found, leaves me speechless.
Oprah, thank you for all you were, all you are and all you've done.
There are really no words that could adequately convey the sincere gratitude I
have when I think of how your example has shown me, shown us all, that our
dreams can become realities - no matter where we're from, what we've done, or
who we are. You've shown us all that anything is possible, and for that, L we,
the world, will be forever in your debt. Most of all, however, I know in my
heart that if it were not for people like you and Coretta Scott King, I would
have never taken a closer look at those around me and may have never really
considered the many strong black women in my own life, in my own back yard.
This would have been most tragic, because like the old farmer, I may have never
noticed so many, many true diamonds in the rough.
