Editor, The Commercial: The legacy and history of Black people will die when we fail to pass it on. The transferring of our history is for those who live today, but this hasn’t always been the case. I am stretching my brain trying to remember all of the great Black clergies who served Pine Bluff. I ponder this question. Why did some Blacks keep their history hidden? Could passing down our history back then bring the fury of the whip?
Our history as Black people reveals the horrible acts of beatings, raping of women and tying the feet of a runaway slave to two horses pointed in different directions. When the feet were secured both horses were struck pulling asunder that slave. This occurred in view of crowds of Black men, women, and children to teach them not to run away.
Blacks who dared to read received severe punishment or were sold off to another plantation. These things etched in the minds of slaves kept fear in their hearts and the history sealed in their minds.
I vividly recall in the ’90s while researching the history of Elm Grove Baptist Church, my wife and I were sitting in a swing on the front porch of a good friend of my mother. She was almost 100 years old at the time. I asked her about her childhood and growing up. She looked at me and gave a firm reply, “I don’t talk about that.” It was almost as if someone might be listening or it raised too many bad memories.
Back in the day, so much history was not recorded, by putting pen to paper, which wasn’t allowed in many quarters, I suspect, leaving only word of mouth to capture our history. Today our fear does not come from repercussions of the master, rather the attacks of those who say you are bragging about your accomplishments.
Independent reporting for Pine Bluff & Jefferson County since 1879.
Revealing your history as a Black person is akin to using correct English or making all A’s in school. As a result, the attacks are, “you are talking like a white person and a nerd” for getting good grades and speaking correctly. I believe this was the norm when it came to telling Black church history.
Consider this: How many Black congregations have written detailed history about the establishment of their churches? Who were the history-makers attending the church? What role did the church play in the early days of segregation to advance education or civil rights? It is reasonable to believe one could not speak information aloud during the Jim Crow era, which left too many Black churches without a written history. That’s like a ship without a sail.
Dr. Bettye J. Williams has compiled a lot of interesting information about Black churches in Pine Bluff/Jefferson County, and one may want to contact her about your membership church.
The African American community in Pine Bluff/Jefferson County, like other communities around the United States, has been shaped and influenced by many factors, i.e., social, political, economic and religious.
Among these formative factors, however, the greatest of these is their religious beliefs. None has impacted the African American community more than the African American’s adherence to the beliefs and practices of their Christian faith.
This is the faith and vigor which sustained and motivated Black people to persevere in the face of so many overwhelming odds. African American pastors in Pine Bluff were not focused on the work at hand. Pastors could fill churches at 4 a.m. with Easter Sunrise Services. They never held three-day revivals, always supported the work of their districts, among other things.
Their lives were as preachers, spiritual teachers, businessmen, educators, published authors, building and rebuilding churches, working in home and foreign missions. Developing residential housing and a modern-day funeral home are among many other things that are not listed. During Black History Month they deserve recognition (Proverbs 3:27).
These men, without a doubt, have powered through difficulty and adverse conditions in their lifetimes. The success they achieved came as a result of their hard work and faith in Christ. They served as strong beacons of faith and inspiration in the Pine Bluff and Jefferson County communities.
I had the opportunity to meet many of them. They are: Dr. Lacy Kirk Solomon, Rev. John Henry Nolen, Dr. Theophilus D. Alexander, Saint DeWitt Hill Jr., Dr. John Watson Sr., Rev. J.Y. Williams Sr., Rev. W.L. Brown, Rev. Silas Easterling, Rev. David D. Walker, Rev. Curlee Thomas, Dr. Robert Dickerson Sr., Rev. William Fane, Rev. S.W. Weaver, Rev. H. Curtis Curry, Rev. George Wade, Rev. James Wilkerson, Rev. T. J. Taylor, Rev. P.M. Russell, Rev. G. L. Ford, Rev. J.L. Lawson, Rev. Archie Dolls, Rev. Joe Stocker, Rev. Isaac Tate, Rev. Albert King, Rev. Harry S. Mays, Rev. G.W. Westbrook, and Rev. Walter C. May Sr.
Men of God and many more have lit many fires deep within the souls of African Americans in Pine Bluff, around the state, and in other countries, as they retold the Good News of Jesus Christ the Redeemer, and the story of God’s servants.
Rev. Jesse C. Turner, faith chairman, Faith and Justice Advisory Committee, and executive director, Pine Bluff Interested Citizens for Voter Registration Inc.