I told the kids plenty of stories about the Knights of the Roundtable, and how we use to imagine ourselves as Sir Lancelot and/or Sir Ivanhoe..."forever fighting to protect the realm."

(This particular photo was taken in 1989 at "the Magic Kingdom")

However that was many moons ago; the children are grown now, .. with Castles of their own to protest.

Patty, Brad, & Court at the conclusion of the Disney Princess 1/2 Marathon 2010 .

 

Training as a way of life.

Listening, across generations, is a critical component to effective communication. One of the most valuable lessons that I have learned thus far, in talking with Deshawn, is never to assume that I know what he's going to say before he says it.

At any given point in time, there is at least "five generational voices" on stage; whether or not we hear them, depends upon our ability to interpret their words within the context of time and space.

Bradford John 1978 

The "boy" is a grown man now:

One of his favorite idiomatic expressions is, "if you don't know you better go ask somebody!"

Leading by Example 

I can recall working in the cotton fields and hearing my father, grandfather, and uncles singing an old numerican spiritual that included the words:

 "...no more crying over me, cause before I'd be a slave, I'll be buried in my grave; and go home to my lord and be free..."

Now don't ask me why they were singing that, because I don't remember.

 All I really remember is not wanting to be a slave.

...savior, savior can you hear my humble cry?

 While on others thou art calling, do not pass me by...  

Name:      Walker Jones

Timeline:         1913_1986

Religious Affiliation: White Oak Baptist

Parents: Douglas & Josephine Jones

Spouse:  Ivory Lee

The Deacon Jones that I knew carried a Bible in one hand and a big ole hankerchief in the other.

 I never knew whether hiz was an act of devotion or contrition:

As a child I can recall sitting in the pews at White Oak watching him pray until sweat poured down his brow, and the armpits of his shirt were noticeably damp.

 Ocassionally when he paused, the Elders would say "well", as if they understood.

When I returned in 79' hiz prayers were a bit shorter, but just as fervent. As I shook his hand, after service, he smiled as if he knew that I knew who he was.

  I had been staring at this Gibson Crockett cartoon for nearly a decade before I realized that it wasn't Nixon, but Johnson who controlled the "silent majority".

In the "emotionalism" of the 60s we had overlooked the man in charge; the straw that stirred the political pot.

His decision to not seek re-election in February of 68' had created somewhat of a "mental block"; causing us to disassociate the subsequent chain of events with his presidency.

Aside from appearing in the Washington Post, the cartoon appeared in one of my under-grad texts:

The Negro in 20th Century America_ by John Hope Franklin and Isidore Starr, published by Vintage Books(1967).

Now satirist are suppose to be funny; but their cartoons often took on sinister overtones, particularly when presented in the classroom setting:

This one got my attention quick; recognizing that many a truths are spoken in jest.  

Within the Numerican Nation, the Church was considered sanctuary; beyond Master Jack's grasp. 

 

...Two courts were formed for the trial of the conspirators,... Of about 150 cases brought before the first court for trial, 34 were condemned to death and 37 to transportation beyond the limits of the State. Among those who received the death sentence were Denmark Vesey,...Peter Poyas,...and Gullah Jack...

 In the 2nd court one (1) was sentenced to death, 7 to transportation, and the remaining accused were dismissed.

The trials lasted from the 17th of June to the 8th of August, 1822. And of the negroes convicted, 35 received the death sentence, and 34 were banished from the State.

Of those hanged,... three were Governor Bennett's slaves...Vesey and Poyas met their death with firmness, refusing to make any statement whatsoever.

                                                  (Volume I, page 557)

What makes Denmark Vesey a hero is the fact that he was a "Free" man who dared speak of freedom, irrespective of color, during a period of institutionalized slavery.

How wide spread his message was, we do not know: Not much beyond the Charleston Harbor area would be an educated guess.

The State Legislature approved the manumission of one Peter Desverneys for  disclosing the Denmark Vesey Conspiracy (1 man freed, 35 hanged).

Further evidence that the conspiracy, to the extent that there was one, was not very wide.

The nature of slavery was such that a slave would sell-out his own mother, if it meant freedom. The fact that only one individual was set free, further speaks to a limited conspiracy; if any.

Compare/Contrast this to the "conclusions" of John Napp & Wayne King in their book United States History, published in 1998 by American Guidance Services,                Inc. and used in traditional Middle School classrooms:

...Having heard of a possible revolt by the slaves of that city, the authorities prepared for trouble. A group of 9,000 people led by freed slave Denmark Vesey had planned to attack several South Carolina cities...

_Charleston was known as Charles Town, and/or Charlestown, during the Colonial Era (the major slave trading port of the Carolinas).

_Beginning about 1783 the old name (Charles Town) disappears from the geographical nomenclature of South Carolina, and shortly thereafter Columbia was designated as the state capitol.

_Charleston was/is located in the "low country", while Columbia is "up-country".

_The "Denmark Vesey Conspiracy" occurred just south of the city:

   Denmark Vesey, Gullah Jack, Peter Poyas, Monday Gell, and 30 others were hanged, 1822, for conspiring against "massur jac"...ie. they wanted to walk free.

The captioned photo was taken at the Charleston harbor during a visit in the Summer of 2001:

We were in town for a wrestling camp hosted by the Citadel. Rather than drive the 140 miles (each way) from Kershaw, we stayed at local hotels, and toured Charleston during our spare time.

      Rock Spring Church anchored the religious community of my youth.

It was here that Mother sang Precious Lord, and here that "the numen pranced about their grave:"

It was here that we took refuge from the Night-Riders; it was here that we prayed for devine intervention.

It is here that many of our people now rest. And if you look within a 25 mile radius, you'll find the rest of them: within religious communities marked by White Oak, Ebenezzer, Macedonia, Cedar Creek, A.M.E.; geo-political boundaries such as Kershaw, Lancaster,.. areas known as Liberty Hill, Red Hill, Flat Rock, etc.

That's the primary reason why I revealed the names as they existed at the turn of the 20th Century ( to facilitate your search) :