Welcome back to robinlofton.com.  Actually, I should welcome to the new rememberinghistory.com podcast. This month, April 2015, I launched the new and improved website and podcast called rememberinghistory.com where we are still remembering history and we’re still making history, too!  Yes, it’s a new and improved website and community where you can still find the Wiki History podcasts, my bodacious blog and a great community of fun and friendly people who love history!  You will also find some new things at rememberinghistory.com. I have opened a store called Books & Stuff where you can find, well, books. But you can also find DVDs, videos, and lots of other “stuff” to enhance your history experience. 

While I’m glad that you are listening to my podcasts, I think that it’s also important to read, read and read some more.  I remember that John Adams (2nd president of the United States) said when after finishing his studies at Harvard and before writing the Massachusetts constitution was asking himself, “How can I judge? How can any man judge unless his mind has been opened and enlarged by reading?!”  That’s why I have opened a books and stuff store.  And I’ve made it easy because I have also added my personal reading recommendations for the month and for just general knowledge and interest. Everything that I recommend in the store, I have personally read and highly recommend. So, what if you’re not the reading type? That’s okay too. Some people are more visual. Some people are more audio-oriented. Everyone is learns differently.  (John Adams and his contemporaries didn’t have that option!) But we do so I also recommend DVDs and audiobooks. Again, each one has been personally vetted by me—I have read, watched or listened to all of them.  I would also like your opinions about these supplementary items and I definitely want your recommendations too. So, that is one of the new things that you will find at rememberinghistory.com.

There will be another new addition to the website too, which will launch on June 1st.  I will give you more information and ways to win prizes and other freebies as the date gets closer but for now…just know that something big is coming soon. Stay tuned.  Finally, before getting to our first Wiki History Podcast about Less Famous Heroes, I just want to remind you that you can still go to robinlofton.com but you will be redirected automatically to rememberinghistory.com.

 Please remember to sign up so that you can receive the podcasts, blogs, news and updates directly to you by email.  (Don’t worry, you won’t get an avalanche of email messages but you will stay informed and updated about the goings on at rememberinghistory.com.

Enough said about that.

In the Spring, I like to take a moment to remember the people who have fought and died in the struggle for civil rights, the fight for human rights.  Yes, I know that Spring is upon us, the days are longer, the birds are singing again and the flower buds are just returning. It is a time for renewal. But for me it is also a time for remembrance.  Why? Two reasons. In the midst of all the wonderful feelings of happiness, joy and freedom, it just feels right to me to remember those people who fought for us to have the right to enjoy those freedoms.  The second reason is that April 4th is the day that Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated.  April 4, 1968 to be exact.  He was certainly a fallen—and definitely not forgotten—hero.

Dr. King needs no introduction. But he definitely deserves our remembrance this month. He was a (or the) leader in the civil rights movement.  Many people do not realize, though, that he was also a philosopher and prolific writer.  His speeches are legendary but his books take the issues to a new level of deep.  One of his best, Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?  should be on everyone’s short list to read. Written in 1967, Dr. King discusses, in this book, the advances made in civil rights in the 1950s and 60s. But then he continues on to question what African Americans can and should do with these hard-won freedoms. He concludes that Blacks and whites—or actually, everyone—should unite to fight poverty and demand equality of opportunity. This is a powerful book, and very ahead of its time.   

 For a shorter and very moving summary of his philosophy, read Dr. King’s Letter from a Birmingham jail (written on April 16, 1963).  It is a condensed version of his philosophy and thoughts about discrimination, equality and how people will have to unite for the common good.  I saw another side to Dr. King as well in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail. He sounded angry and frustrated about the difficulties that he was facing in the cause of equality, especially from his clergy brethren.  You will see a very human side to Dr. King, which is compelling and provides a fuller picture of this brilliant man.

Dr. King was the recipient of the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1964. Yes, he was a leader of the African American community but his vision and work led him to become a world leader.  Dr. King was killed on April 4, 1968.  He will always be remembered and honored for his dedication and service.  And now is a great time to remember other people who though not so prominent or famous as Dr. King made important and courageous contributions in the field of human rights too.  Some made big contributions. Others made strong individual stands. All were important and deserve to be remembered. That’s what I’m doing today.

By the way, you can find Where Do We Go From Here? Chaos or Community? and Letter from a Birmingham Jail as well as DVDs and audiobooks in the bookstore at rememberinghistory.com. You don’t have to remember the names—you will find them in the Special Section called Less Famous Heroes in the bookstore at rememberinghistory.com.

Have you heard of Corporal Roman Ducksworth, Jr.?

Corporal Ducksworth was a military officer with leave to go home to see his wife and five children. On April 9, 1962, he was taking a bus through Mississippi when a police officer, William Kelly, awoke Corporal Ducksworth by punching him in the face. The officer then ordered Corporal Ducksworth off the bus. He refused.  The officer dragged then dragged him off the bus at gunpoint and shot him through the heart. Let’s back up a moment.  Why did this happen, why was Corporal Ducksworth killed?  Different accounts but probably because he refused to move when the bus entered Mississippi, where segregation was still enforced.  The Supreme Court had already declared segregation on buses to be illegal.  And Corporal Ducksworth stood up for his right to sit in any available seat on the bus. For that stand, he was punished, killed. In standing up for his right, he also stood up for our rights.  This was a courageous move for anyone to make in Mississippi in 1962. Unfortunately, Corporal Ducksworth was killed and Officer Kelly’s actions were ruled as justifiable homicide; no federal charges were filed.

However, Corporal Ducksworth received full military honors and a 16-gun salute. For his bravery in standing up for his rights, we salute Corporal Ducksworth and honor his courage.  Thank you, Corporal Ducksworth!

Rev. George Washington Lee

We move on now to another brave man in the fight for civil rights. Rev. George Washington Lee. What a great name. In fact, many African Americans were named (or named themselves) after the founders of the United States.  People like George Washington Carver and Booker T. Washington are other examples.  Some were so named during slavery but many others received their names after slavery ended.  Back to George Washington Lee.

Reverend Lee was the first black person to register to vote in Humphreys County, Mississippi since Reconstruction. Rev. Lee often used his pulpit and his printing press to urge other Blacks to vote. White officials offered him protection on the condition he end his voter registration efforts. And Rev. Lee received many death threats for his efforts to register himself and other Blacks to vote. But he would not be deterred.

Reverend Lee was a member of the NAACP and had worked for years to pay poll taxes so that he could vote and was finally allowed to sign the register after the county sheriff feared federal prosecution.

On the night of May 7, 1955, Reverend Lee drove his car along Belzoni’s Church Street, returning from an NAACP meeting when people said “two gun blasts shattered the night stillness, and his Buick sedan swerved over the curb and rammed into a frame house.  Several witnesses saw a car drive by with white men inside but the local sheriff ruled that Rev. Lee had argued with a woman and lost control of his car. He died on his way to the Humphreys County Memorial Hospital.”

As it turned out, the FBI did investigate Rev Lee’s murder and records show the agency built a circumstantial murder case against two men, but a local prosecutor refused to take the case to a grand jury. Peck Ray and Joe David Watson Sr., the suspects, were members of the Citizens Council. Both died in the 1970s and never served any time for the killing.

Some of Lee’s friends believe the murder was part of a larger conspiracy involving influential members of the community who wanted to silence Rev. Lee for encouraging blacks to register to vote.

For his courage and determination to vote and encouraging other Blacks to vote, we honor the memory of Rev. George Washington Lee. And we thank him for his service.  (Applause)

I will end this first podcast about Less famous heroes with a discussion of Harry and Harriet Moore. They were both black educators in Florida and formed the first office of the N AACP in the southern state.  The Moores focused on the sharp disparity or difference between the salaries and benefits received by white teachers and black teachers in the public schools. In fact, they filed the first lawsuit teacher salary disparities.  They also fought against segregation particularly in education. Later, Mr. Moore began to focus on the problem of police brutality and lynching—both very controversial and dangerous subjects. Harry Moore documented and personally investigated more than a hundred cases of lynching in the state of Florida.  Because of their work against violence and discrimination, they received numerous death threats and were later fired from their jobs.

On Christmas Day in 1951, a firebomb was placed directly under their bedroom in the house where they with their two daughters. The bomb exploded while they slept. Its explosion was called the “blast heard around the world” and sent the bed flying through the ceiling. Harry Moore was killed instantly. Nine days later, Harriett Moore died. Their daughters survived. Rallies were held. Letters were sent to the Governor and President Eisenhower but to no avail. No one was ever arrested or charged. They are the only known couple to be killed in the fight for civil rights.  

A recent investigation into the bombing—and by recent, I mean 2005 (more than 50 years ago their murders)—by the Florida State Attorney General discovered that the bombing had been done by four Klansmen who were known to be especially violent and used explosives in other killings. One of the klansmen actually had a diagram of the Moore’s home. Two of the klansmen died in 1956 (the year after the bombing), one klansman committed suicide and the remaining killer died in 1978. Before his death from cancer, he admitted to being at the scene of the bombing of the Moore’s home in 1951.

The Moore’s have received many posthumous awards and honors, including have a post office and state high way named after them. They were also inducted into the Florida Civil Rights Hall of Fame. Langston Hughes wrote and read a poem at their funeral. It is short so I want to take a moment to read it.

Florida means land of flowers

It was on a Christmas night.

In the state named for the flowers

Men came bearing dynamite...

It could not be in Jesus’ name

Beneath the bedroom floor

On Christmas night the killers

Hid the bomb for Harry Moore

A book was written about Harry Moore called Before His Time: The Untold Story of Harry T. Moore, America’s First Civil Rights Martyr. It was written in 1999 by investigative journalist Ben Green. You can find this book (which is also about Harriett too) in the bookstore at rememberinghistory.com.  I hope that you read it but be prepared for an emotional ride—anger, sadness, frustration or all of the above. You decide. And let me know your thoughts and feelings about the book; I look forward to your comments.

For their work in education and courage to fight segregation and violence against African Americans, we remember and honor Harry and Harriett Moore. And we thank them for their service. (Applause!)

So, this brings the first podcast about Less Famous heroes to an end.  Corporal Ducksworth. Reverend George Washington Lee. Harry and Harriett Moore. While it is important to note the violence that ended their lives, it is more important (I believe) to remember how they lived, what they fought for and their courage under fire.  And they can give us the courage to stand up for what is right and fair for all people.

In the next podcast, I will make a special focus still on Less Famous heroes. But the next podcast will focus on heroes who were white and were killed during the civil rights movement, fighting for civil rights. I think that many times we forget that many whites participated in the rallies and marches and were also opposed to segregation and the other evils of discrimination. (Their work and activities also caused them to lose friends, be rejected by family members and face violence.) So, I’m going to remember them in the next podcast.  Their stories are also interesting and inspirational and remind us to stand up not only for our own rights, but also for the rights of others.

I am reminded of one of my favorite philosophers, Edmund Burke, who said “All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” (repeat)  Well these people refused to “do nothing” even though things might have been easier and safer for them if they did. So they are an inspiration to us all and I am happy to remember and honor them in the next podcast.

I hope that you will join me for the next podcast and that you enjoyed this session.  Yes, the stories can be sad. They can be frustrating, perhaps even make you angry.  But they are a part of history—all these people made history and we are here to remember history and to make history, too!

If you want more information—and I hope that you do—please visit rememberinghistory.com and look at the blog and the bookstore where you will find the books that I mentioned at the beginning called Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community and the Letter from a Birmingham Jail. And the book about Harry Moore. You will also find other books, DVDs and resources that I personally recommend.  Also, please leave your questions, comments, stories or just whatever is on your mind. We are a welcoming community of historians and we want you to be a part of it.  So, see you next time at rememberinghistory.com (formerly robinlofton.com) where we are remembering history and we’re making history!

Bye for now!