tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22223580.post3468423456676462258..comments2023-10-25T02:06:38.148-07:00Comments on Texas Death Penalty: THE MLK HOLIDAY: A DIFFICULT DAY FOR CIVIL RIGHTS?Hooman Hedayatihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13174966445842575829noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22223580.post-62731618214825911122008-01-21T02:53:00.000-08:002008-01-21T02:53:00.000-08:00We were sent this short note by one of the victims...We were sent this short note by one of the victims of Reprisal Discrimination we’re working with, and felt it worth sharing on this particular date. The writer is a 46 year old male, raised in Atlanta, and is from a multi-racial family. His family was meager financially, broken like many and he struggled through school. He enlisted the Navy, and thrived in a service that rewarded dedication and hard work. He eventually was promoted to Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8 the second highest enlisted pay grade) and received a direct commission appointment to Ensign. In 2005 he retired a Lieutenant Commander and resides with his family in North Carolina. These are his words:<BR/><BR/>“Today reminds me of a life event that I only later in life came to understand the importance of. When I about 5 years old, I attended summer bible school at our church outside Atlanta “Skyland United Methodist Church.” The bible school theme that summer had something to do with cultures around the world. Much of what happened that summer at bible school is fuzzy at best some 40 years later as I look back, but one field trip stands out in my mind. We loaded up in the church’s bus and were driven to down-town Atlanta. We were taken past many landmarks including the Ebenezer Baptist Church and later ended up outside a building that was not too far off the street, I remember being described as a home Martin Luther King, Jr. had lived in. What made this visit so neat as I look back on it was the fact that at one point a lady exited the home, walked down the steps and our bible school teacher announced that we were being honored with the presence of Mrs. King (Mrs. Coretta Scott King). Mrs. King was kind enough to great us all, she made some brief comments about her husband that at five years old, I wasn’t nearly smart enough to remember the importance of.<BR/>It gets better, many years later after graduating from High School, I worked in a Funeral Home in Atlanta (H.M. Patterson & Son’s) on Spring Street. Still not the smartest kid on the block even having made it through High School, I didn’t initially pick-up on the significance of being asked to run errands to a church in town and even being told by my boss “whatever Daddy King wants, Daddy King get’s.” That statement didn’t sink into my thick head and I certainly didn’t connect the dots. Yes, I was an idiot until the day it all came together and I asked one my bosses why we did so much for this Daddy King guy. My boss looked at me like the idiot that I was, then put me in a car and drove me to the Ebenezer Baptist Church and then to the King Center. I’m much smarter now, and count myself among the few people I have ever met, who have been privileged to meet both Daddy King and Coretta Scott King.”Thomas Jacksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02231076783891134793noreply@blogger.com