Bobby Seale & Rev C.T. Vivian Keynote Speakers At National Civil Rights Museum Grand Re-Opening At the reopening of the National Civil Rights Museum (NCRM) in Memphis Tennessee on Friday, April 4th, 2014, the April Fourth Foundation hosted a banquet. Two veterans of the civil rights struggle gave living witness to the history the Museum celebrates: Chairman Bobby Seale, national organizer and co founder of the Black Panther Party and Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian, Civil Rights activist, author, creator of Upward Bound, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Bobby Seale spoke of hearing Dr Martin Luther King (MLK) at the Oakland auditorium in 1965. MLK talked about a boycott of the bread companies which refused to hire black workers: Kilpatrick’s and Wonder Bread. “We’re going to make wonder Bread wonder where the money went! “ MLK had exclaimed. Bobby was motivated by that speech to go forward and develop a youth jobs program in Richmond, California. .From those experiences and the examples of MLK, Malcolm X and others, Bobby went on to co found the Black Panther Party. “People think we were a macho organization. Carrying guns, law books, and tape recorders was a tactic in our overall strategy – to achieve equal justice for everyone. Our programs – such as the free breakfast program, the program that screened for sickle cell anemia or the ambulance program in Winston Salem, North Carolina. Were the real heart of our organization.” Bobby pointed out that these programs – not the guns - most threatened the then status quo. “Hoover declared the free breakfast program the greatest threat to the security of the United States – a breakfast program for children!” When Martin Luther King was assassinated, Bobby successfully led a group of Black Panthers to Richmond, California to keep the city from rioting. Bobby went through Richmond streets with a bullhorn, exhorting residents to keep the peace. Through his riveting stories, re enactments of confrontations between Huey Newton and the police, and his humor, Bobby showed how the Black Panthers represented – as Tavis Smiley had pointed out that afternoon at a panel discussion – not a distortion, but a natural outgrowth of the civil rights movement. Bobby’s speech was greeted with a standing ovation. Ninety-year-old Reverend Dr. C.T. Vivian followed Bobby. His dynamic presence also brought the audience to its feet many times. Earlier in the evening the April Fourth Foundation showed film clips from the early 1960’s. In one, a younger Reverend Vivian confronted the white sheriff from Selma, Jim Clark, calling on him to live up to the tenets in the constitution and his professed Christian faith. Vivian told Clark, “You’re as racist as Hitler. “ The sheriff lost his temper and began hitting the Reverend. During an interview later, Jim Clark smiled as he told reporters, “I don’t remember hitting him but I ended up with a fractured left hand. “ Vivian’s response: “the movement meant that we’re willing to be beaten for democracy. “ In 1971 Reverend Vivian led the integration of a beach in St Augustine. Florida. A black man, surrounded by Federal troops sent to protect him, attempted to enter the ocean. As he attempted to swim, the troopers walked into the water up to their knees in what was later termed a “wade in. “The Klan had gathered with equipment to try and break through the trooper’s protection. Reverend Vivian led the way as the swimmer and his supporters were chased by angry crowds of white southerners. A stark picture emerged – of a time when racists believed even the ocean could be segregated. Forty plus years later, the CT Vivian has not lost his energy, humor, or his fiery spirit. He described how in the late 50’s “I was part of winning small struggles. Then comes Martin Luther King and 30,000 people walk out of their churches with a willingness to die if necessary.” He told his audience of all ages that “The idea of violence is over – war is over – violence creates more problems than it solves. “ He pointed out the irony that “The Right in this country is so concerned that Obama is not violent enough.” He reiterated that “ it is no longer a matter of what happens to black people – we can no longer make it as black and white – but as people who respect each other. “ He explained the meaning of the “I am a Man “slogan. “My wife loved that slogan – she said that’s it – “I am a man – i.e. I am a person. “ He said that his late wife “raised six children and was as much a part of the struggle as I was. Without her, I couldn’t do what I did. “He dedicated his “I Am a Man “award to her. These speakers embodied the history behind the creation of the April Fourth’s Foundation. Throughout the evening, young people spoke of giving up their summers to travel to new places and learn the meaning of activism. The songs and the speeches brought the audience to its feet with thunderous applause. People laughed and cried in celebration of those they knew, loved, and remembered, those who had made every kind of sacrifice in the movement toward equal rights in this country. As Reverend Vivian reminded us, “No way you can love without acting it out. It is in action that we find out who we are. “ == Post written by Susan Sherrell == All Power To All The People! Bobby Seale bobbyseale/ =====
Posted on: Mon, 21 Apr 2014 20:25:58 +0000
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