Forum
On List Of Black Leaders
Can you name twenty one black Ameri- ternal order organizer among blacks; 8.
cans who have had a greater positive influence Samuel D. Cornish and John Rasswurm, anti
and effect on <
Black America
Thhaunrgpod Mare MINORITY REPORT
shall? I know 1 ?
cannot. I know
also that the only By JAMES E. ALSBROOK, Ph.D.
black American >
whose positive' " ^
i n t I u e n c c
exceeded that 'of Thurgood Marshall is Dr.
Martin L. King Jr. ?
The issue of how influential various blaclj,
leaders have been is presented in a new book
that has not yet reached most of the book
stores. This book is titled "The Black 100: A
Ranking of the Most* Influential Afro- Ameri
cans Past and Present." The author is Colum
bus Salley, Ed. D., a Chicago-born, 49-year
old black educator who also wrote "The 1(X):
A Ranking of the Most Influential Persons in
History," "Your God Is Too WhiTeT'^aTVd
"Racism in America."
Salley's ranking are sure-fire fodder for
hot conversations among Blacks at dinner par
ties, various meeting and in casual conversa
tions. Some of those ranked above Marshall,
who is 22nd on Salley's list, are significant
persons who achieved fame but did not set in
motion a whole chain reaction of new laws and
concepts that call for equal educational oppor
tunity, equal employment opportunity, equal
housing opportunity, equal public accommoda
tions and the numerous changes that have been
made since the 1950s in the South, the border
states and in some big northern cities.
Ranked above Marshall in Salley's book
are:
I. Dr. Martin L. King, civil rights leader
and theologian; 2. Frederick Douglass, anti
slavery orator and advocate-protester; 3.
Booker T. Washington, educator, opinion
leader, sociologist, historian, editor, teacher
and writer; 5. Charles H. Houston, lawyer,
civil rights advocate \sho taught I hurgood
^p5larshall, NAACP attorney in many pre- 1954
court victories. 6. Richard Allen and "Absalom
Jones, "founders of the first black support
organization" and early church leaders
""^(A.M.li. founders): 7. Prince Hall, "children's
advocate." anti-slavery protest leader, and fra
J
writers and founders of the first Black
newspaper; 9. David Walker, author and aboli
tionist; 10. Nat Turner, slave revolt leader an
hero. 1 1. James Forten, merchant who devised
better methods of making and handling sails
for ships, employed 40 to 50 men and made a
, fortune while protesting slavery; 12. Harriet
Tubman "conductor" of the historically
farrious "Underground Railroad;" 13. Martin
Delaney, black activist and political leader; 14.
Henry H. Garnet, theologian-abolitionist; 15.
Sojourner Truth, the women's suffragist leader
and anti-slavery advocate. 16. Benjamin Ban-""
neker, the "activist-inventor" and "probably
the best-known Negro in early United States,
history," astronomer, mathematician, and"""
assistant surveyor of Washington, D.C., 17.
Crispus Attucks, Revolutionary War ?<&?wln
and First killed in Boston Massacre; 18. Paul
Lawrence Dunbar, novelist and poet who used
"Negro dialect" and reinforced stereotypes but
toon approval ofwhite people; 19. Phyllis
Wheatley, Revolutionary war time poet and
writer who corresponded with George Wash
ington and othfer leaders; 20. P.B.S. Pinchback,
Reconstruction U.S. senator from Mississippi;
21. Marcus Garvey, black nationalist leader
and head of the "back-to-Africa movement
seventy-some years ago.
Thurgood Marshall is ranked No. 22 on
the Salley list in his new book. The list is inter
esting and contains names of persons validly
important in black history. But I do not think
each of the above persons had an impact
greater than that of Thurgood Marshall.
Marshall's legal talent tied with the emo
tional fervor and outrage provoked by Dr.
King's marches, speeches and sufferings
brought on a multitude of chain reactions, sec
ond only tt) the freeing of the slaves after the
Civil War. The Civil Rights laws of the sixties
and thereafter flow from legal precedents
gained by Marshall.
The Living Legacy Of Marshall
Supreme Court justice. NAACP leader, words, there are more reasons today which
freedom-fighting lawyer, social visionary, and demand a revitalization of the "Movement"
strategic genius on civil rights. yet in lite, that Marshall dedicated his life and energy
'fluirgood Marshall was even more than all of toward. Again, the question is will we rise Jo
these accurate descriptions. He 1 1 v eel his entire1 the occasion and continue to "fight the good
life as a commit
ted servant to the
cause of ei|iial
justice and human
dignity f ? >r all
Keep in mind
that during the
ll)40's and the
1950's it was not
CIVIL RIGHTS JOURNAL
By BENJAMIN F. CHAVIS, JR.
only unpopular
hut extremely
dangerous for an African Ameriean to give
consistent public voice in opposition to Ameri
can racism anil exploitation. As millions of
persons paid tributes to Marshall after his
death, we believe if is fitting to remind espe
cially our youth that the spirit and legacy of
this great man must live on in how well and
excellent we all continue the struggle for equal
and empowerment.
Down in the deep South of the United
States, as well as in other regions, there arc
many persons who still remember that the very
name of Thurgood Marshall when spoken
would invoke the notion of him being a mod
crn "Moses." He was in fact a prophet who did
not just make a forecast about the future but
who seized the present moment for prophetic
legal action making a critical difference in the
nation social order.
In a sense. I offers profound chal
lenges to all of those who have inherited the
societal contributions of Marshall and other
freedom fighters. The question is will we let
the memory of Justice Marshall disappear or
fade away in the midst of new challenges sur
rounding the same old problems of racial dis
crimination and bigotry
There could not be a better method of
honoring the memory of Thurgood Marshall
than picking up the baton of the ongoing Civil
Rights Movement and making more progress
for the cause of freedom and justice. In Too
many communities today there is the profound
reality of hopelessness anil-despair because of
the increasing racial and economic inequities
throughout all aspects of society. In other
fight "
As always, there are those who would
attempt to mis-state the true legacy of Mar
shall. Revisionists by definition never stop
attempting to tell another people's story their
own reformulated way and thus distort the .
facts. One writer in a major national daily
newspaper attempted to pairK Marshall as an
elitist who often criticized his contemporaries
like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
But the truth is Thurgood Marshall was a team
player who knew the importance of the unity
of the "Movement." Yes, different leaders
have different assets and gifts. The key is to
work together and to promote unity and the
common good of justice and equitable eco
nomic empowerment.
The struggle that Thurgood Marshall led *
lives on and the issues of racial inequities
today are more profound than was the case
thirty years ago. Covert racism is more diffi
cult to combat. Institutionalized racial discrim
ination sometimes will make the victims think
that they are themselves the only reason why
they are victimized. But we should not permit
the 1990's to continue to be the decade of
"blaming the victim for their victimization."
The living legacy of Thurgood Marshall
demands that the Civil Rights Movement
return to an activist, proactive posture. There
arc literally millions of sisters and brothers
who today should be rank and file members of
a revitalized "freedom movement."
Thank God for the life of Thurgood Mar
shall and may we keep his legacy strong,
viable and victorious.
YOUR PARENTS
CAME THROUGH,
SAM! I'M NOW
IN The social
SECuRfTY LOOP'
COOL, HUH?
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MITU MY 0A3YSITTIN6
BUP&ES H?AR. The NEWS '
NO ONE'S 601 NO 10
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CORN BU I
WHAT'S UP
PUPS7
BOOPSIB
SAIPI
MIGHT
PINO YOU
YEAH, I'M OUT'
IN THE OPEN NOW!
ON -BOOK'
BY THE
LISTEN UP, LAPIBS '
6UE5S WHO NOW
HAS HIS VERY OWN
SOCJAL SECURITY
NUMBER' \sat
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IT INVOLVES I'M ON PUTY.
MARIJUANA.- i CWLPLOSE
my social
SECURITY. .
VOU'RE LOOKING
F0RS0MEGRAG6?
I THOUGHT YOU
QUfTA WHILE
BACK, CORNELL ,
IT'S NOT
FORME-,
MAN,.,
\
I BAKE IT INTO BROUJNIES
for severely ill AicsmiEms.
THE MARIJUANA HUPS BLOCK THE
$!PE EFFECTS OF CHEMOTHERAPY.
EVERY UJEEK I MAKE A BiG
batch with perry crocker
BROWNIE MIX, BUT LAST WEEK
MY SUPPLIER OOTBUSTEP. I
THOUGHT MAYBE YOU Mt6HT
KMOCUSOMEONB
UM... (aJELL, ZONK, TRY
ISTSSee. TO STAY
HOUJABOLTT UJfTHME.
DUNCAN MINES* THIS IS
0RP1USBURY7 IMPORTANT.
HOW'S YOUR,
asimmoN
SYSTEM WORK,
CORNELL ?
pretty
SIMPLE,
REALLY.,.
MRP'S GOTTEN AROUND, SO
PEOPLE JUST CALL ME WHEN
THEY STAPH THEIR. CHEMO
THERAPY..,
EVER* FRIDAY NIGHT, I MAKE A
FRESH BATCH OF BROUJNIES, CUT
THEM UP, WRAP THEM ANP
DELIVER THEM TOAtPS
PATIENTS IN THEIR.
OWN HOMES. _
PONT
YOU
WORRY
ABOUT
AIDS
OOOTIES7
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DO YOU DO?
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ROUNDS, PROPPING OFF
MARIJUANA BROWNIES,
USUAUY STAYING TO TALK..
I'LL FIX TEA
FOR THE GU/S,
MAYBE SHARE
A BROWNIE
WAIT A MIN
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EAT THE
BROWNIES,
TOO ?
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SIONALLY.
TO BE
SOCIABLE.
AREYOU CRAZY?
AND YOU PO
THIS EVERY
ujeeK?
OUHATS THE NO, NO. THE
BIG DEAL, Z? CHOLESTEROL \
A LITTLE THIS ISNT THE
GRASS "60s ANYMORE,
NEVER... CORNELL'. ^
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