under the sun
THE BRUNSWKICfeRACON
THURSDAY. MAY 16. 1991
X,
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BRYANT SERVED 38 YEARS
Cedar Grove Chapter Honors Beloved 'Mr. NAACP
BY TKRRY POPE
As president of the Cedar Grove Chapter of the
National Association for the Advancement of
Colored People (NAACP) for the past 38 years,
Jesse A. Bryant has been called a lot of things.
He doesn't mind being called Mr. NAACP, an affec
tionate nickname that also appears on his auto tag.
Because of failing health, Bryant gave up the presi
dency in January. His friends and family held an appre
ciation service recently to honor him for his many years
of helping blacks in Brunswick County.
In 1952, Bryant became head of the local chapter at
a time when it was unpopular to be labeled a black
leader. Racial segregation caused bitter struggles in the
South. Blacks and whites did not drink from the same
public water fountains, share the same bus scats, dine at
the same restaurants or use the same public rcstrooms.
"I will never be able to fill his shoes," said the Rev.
M.C. Herring, pastor of Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist
Church. Herring succeeded Bryant as chapter president.
Bryant's resume is dotted with victories. Battles to
open racially closed doors were often won.
It was his complaint filed with the U.S. Attorney
General's office that opened the doors to blacks at the
Longwood Grill about 25 years ago. Restaurants should
serve customers without regard to race, creed or skin
color, he argued. It was one of numerous local con
frontations that followed the famous sit-in at a
Greensboro lunch counter, where black students from
N.C. A&T State University were arrested for refusing
to leave an all-white establishment.
"He also brought a major industry to its knees," said
Velma Williams, referring to a 1975 court decision that
awarded 30 blacks in Brunswick County over $30,000
from Brunswick Electric Membership Corp.
It was Bryant's lawsuit that ordered a review of hir
ing practices at the federally-funded cooperative. He ar
gued that blacks were not being hired in proportion to
white employees. The complaint opened jobs for lines
men, truck drivers, secretaries, tellers and seats on the
board of directors.
"Often, he left behind his family io help someone
else," said Herring.
For more than 40 years, he has been married to the
former Eva Mae Fullwood. They have four children, Lt.
Col. James K. Bryant, Staff Sgt. Rosa Lee Bryant, Capt.
Mildred Roster and Ceresta Bryant.
"He is an avid reader and he reads good stuff," said
his son, James. "He has read every piece of civil rights
legislation. He can even tell you what the results would
have been had the arguments on either side been differ
in ? ; n
STA Ff PHOTO BY TERRY POP*
LONGTIME PRESIDENT of the Cedar Gruve Branch of the NAACP, Jesse Bryant (right) receives a
plaque from the Rev. M.C. Herring, who succeeded him as chapter president.
cnt. There have been few times in my life when I've
seen him thai he had not just finished reading or was
getting ready to read."
His favorite writers are Booker T. Washington,
George Washington Carver and Frederick Douglass.
Family members gave him a framed portrait of
Douglass at the appreciation service.
Despite joining a church late in life, Bryant has al
ways read The Bible. Often, he would return home on
Sundays to tell the family that the pastor left out a word
when reciting Scripture. He entered the first grade at
Cedar Grove Elementary School having already learned
to read, but only made it to the third grade.
Times were not always easy then or later, but
Bryant was a strong provider for his family, said James.
"We did not wear Rccboks or Nikes, but we still
wore good shoes," said James. 'There was no doubt
over when it was time to go to bed either."
Bryant attended marches, meetings, conferences,
wrote letters and made phone calls during those 38
years. He had served in the U.S. Army and was on the
crew that helped build Sunny Point Military Ocean
Terminal near Southport. But seeing racial injustice
around him, he couldn't rest. "Freedom is no* free," he
would tell blacks.
"I know him as a person that has stood up for equali
ty of all people," said James. "He is a great contributor to
the NAACP. In fact, that has been his life. He lived it."
Bryant has faced disappointment, humiliation and
ridicule, said Joe Butler, education chairperson for the
Cedar Grove NAACP.
Education for blacks has always taken a backseat,
said Butler, but warriors like Bryant have helped to
place educational goals within the reach of young
blacks today.
"He has given more than he will ever receive on
this earth," said Butler, "but God will reward him in
heaven."
Delilah Blanks, assistant professor of social work at
UNC- Wilmington, said she is a product of and benefi
ciary of Bryant's struggle to improve educational op
portunities for blacks. She is a member of the Bladen
County Board of Commissioners and has a doctorate in
public health from UNC-Chapel Hill.
"It goes without question that Jesse Bryant is a lead
er, an organizer, a supporter, a civil rights activist and a
person extraodinaire," said Ms. Blanks. "He refused to
be trampled on, but stood up and took action for what is
fair, right and equal for all citizens."
In her mind, Ms. Blanks said, her mentor will take a
seat in the imaginary Social Justice Hall of Fame, dis
tinguishing himself as a "great spiritual architect, a
builder and an educator."
"He has become an institution in this community,"
she said. "The principles for which he stood for were in
the face of stress and hatred. His work will never be
forgotten."
Often, even blacks left his side.
"He's had a hard time in these years that he's been
at bat," said Ms. Blanks, "but he refused to give up. He
batted away after so-called black leaders refused to sup
port him."
His legacy, his life work, now depends on another
generation of blacks, she told listeners. "The challenge
is upon us."
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