Videos
by
John C Abercrombie
The following are some videos from presentations at the Spartanburg Library and cover 3 of the posts on my blog site.
Clara Brown – An amazing person and a pioneer of the State of Colorado. She walked to Colorado from St. Louis because the stagecoach would not sell a ticket to a Black woman. At the age of 60, she booked on a wagon train as cook and walked every step of the way. While there are rumors that Black people don’t have human emotions like grief, making the separation of families for slave owners, she looked for a daughter that had sold away until she located her. Clara Brown’s age at meeting her daughter? 80. So great were her contributions to the early days of the Denver and Colorado, the Mayor of Denver and the Governor of Colorado attended her funeral.
Wendell Scott – The only Black driver in the NASCAR hall of fame. I have met Scott during my younger days but have been personally inspired by a man of modest means who competed at the highest levels in a sport that requires not only skill, but big money backers. Scott devised a plan centered on his mechanical competence that was his equity into the sport. Update: there is a move to recognize accomplishments that were not recognized during his career. His son Frank is carrying on preserving and recognizing the career of his father.
Viola Desmond – A Canadian citizen featured on their $10.00 bill starting in 2018. She suffered indignity by being arrested for sitting on the main floor of a movie theater despite the fact that there was no law against it and insisted on paying for the ticket. This is a case of twisting a law to cover racism. Desmond was charged with failure to pay the difference on the ticket she was given as opposed to the ticket she attempted to purchase. The amount? $0.01. That’s right, 1 cent, thrown in jail and denied access to a lawyer, she was fined $20.00 and an additional $6.00 to the owner of the theater for turning her in. Canada recognized the wrong, featured her on the bill and gave her a free pardon, admitting that she never should have been arrested in the first place.
The videos were produced by Cindy Ball a very talented woman. Many thanks!