She slapped me on the head and said, "You should be ashamed of yourself, disturbing these good white folks." Jerome Smith of New Orleans is 78 now. Speaking of CORE, the late Rudy Lombard stated, “They had ‘a certain confidence,’ . Smith is the definition of a true warrior and his legacy continues to inspire people everywhere. Most times I would try to deal with the moment with a kind of emotional detachment you find in some of Gandhi's teaching, because you cannot surrender. Longtime Cook County prosecutor Brian T. Sexton, now running for a seat on the bench, was chided by a U.S. District judge in 2016 for falsely testifying in a federal Note (Content) Jerome Smith begins the interview by talking about his upbringing in New Orleans, including his involvement in small Civil rights protests from the 1940s insisting that his mother be treated with respect in stores. In fact, Smith had been beaten at least 12 times by mobs or police during the struggle. and "Kill ‘em!" Part of their fear was based on guilt, knowing what their people had done to us. The Fahey/Klein Gallery is pleased to present Freedom Now, an exhibition of American Civil Rights photographs by celebrated documentary photographer Steve Schapiro. It was always after, when you'd think about what you'd done, what you'd been through, and tremble. Kennedy called on Baldwin to gather civil rights leaders to discuss rising racial tensions: Clockwise from top left: James Baldwin, Lena Horne, Lorraine Hansberry, and Jerome Smith. Martin Luther King Jr.: Remembering the Dream. You must be logged in to leave a comment. . You will be asked to register or log in. In the meantime, please feel free AARP members receive exclusive member benefits & affect social change. In the back of the truck was stuff to feed his pigs. Thereafter, Smith challenged Federal desegregation laws across the South as a member of the Freedom Riders. STEVE SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. An elderly black lady came from the back of the car. 04 Jun — 05 Sep 20 With ... Jerome Smith at Church, 1965 Gelatin silver print. In the next 24 hours, you will receive an email to confirm your subscription to receive emails Berry brought him along, and his story was not … Please enable Javascript in your browser and try Jerome Smith recalls the childhood event that later led him to join the civil rights movement. John Lewis, Clarksdale Miss, 1963 Excerpted from My Soul Looks Back in Wonder: Voices of the Civil Rights Experience (AARP/Sterling Publishing, 2004). Arthur Schlesinger, in his book on RFK, recalls that CORE described Smith as a young man beaten more than any other CORE worker at the time.. Jerome Smith stood up to RFK. Then she cried, and said a prayer. I was being overwhelmed by some folks and my friend George Raymond intervened; he pretty much saved my life. www.aarp.org/volunteer. They cannot do the things you do." We made our way from the station into the streets, and just then an old man came through with a dirty old truck. As he writes in his book, Of Kennedys and Kings, President Eisenhower resisted enacting every recommendation that the commission suggested.(p. | NOCCJ, 650 Poydras Street; Suite 2303, New Orleans, LA, 70130, United States. Our people always put themselves up for struggle. Civil rights activist Jerome Smith, a longtime friend of Dr. Rudy Lombard, reflects on an experience he had with Lombard in Mississippi during the 1960s. She taught us all to stand up for our dignity. We're not stopping. Interviewer . My mother was the well from which I drew much of my strength. Editor’s note: This is the second in a series focusing on some of the country’s iconic graduates of HBCUs and their accomplishments. by Jerome Smith, Republished May 3, 2011 | Comments: 0. Please return to AARP.org to learn more about other benefits. It was no surprise to anyone that Smith had no kind words for Bobby or his brother: We were in pretty bad shape, so he said, "You need to go to the hospital. The meeting took place at an apartment owned by the Kennedy family at 24 Central Park South in New York City. SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. because they came out of a culture that was so rich. Jerome Smith—activist for the civil rights group CORE, rode on the Freedom Rides; There were four white persons there. Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, a life-long resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, is considered a stalwart of the Civil Rights Movement locally and nationally. The Raisin in the Sun playwright had come along with actor Harry Belafonte, author James Baldwin, and other luminaries at the invitation of Robert F. Kennedy and Baldwin. My mother used to say: "You're black, but you don't have to be dirty. NEW ORLEANS -- During the height of the Civil Rights Movement, few people were more active than New Orleanian Jerome Smith. Either Clarence Jones or Jerome Smith makes the suggestion that JFK should personally escort a black student to the University of Alabama with him as a show of support to the civil rights struggle, making it clear that whoever spat on the child was desecrating the nation. In May 1963, in a Kennedy family living room on Central Park South, Lorraine Hansberry tried to defend civil rights activists’ safety. They were beating us with brass knuckles and fists and sticks. Jerome Smith is director of the Treme Community Center in New Orleans. The collective thing was much more powerful than Dr. [Martin Luther] King, much more powerful than whatever my humble contributions were. AP. The first reaction was polite and tepid. Never stop taking that sign down." The Commission was the state’s official counter Civil Rights agency, which ran from 1956 to 1973, and kept an extensive archive of its surveillance of Civil Rights workers. . We're going back.". An activist remembers her lunch counter sit-ins. You have to keep moving forward. When he did it, no one had reacted. He enabled me to remove myself from a danger zone while he absorbed the beating. He picked up me and another fellow, Thomas Valentine, hid us in the animal feed, and drove us to an old juke joint back into the woods outside McComb near "Nigger Town," as they used to call it. You can also manage your communication preferences by updating your account at anytime. Many of the unknown paid a tremendous price. Campbell-Rock Contributing Writer. Arthur Schlesinger, in his book on RFK, recalls that CORE described Smith as a young man beaten more than any other CORE worker at the time.. Jerome Smith stood up to RFK. Jerome Smith at Church, 1965. Civil rights leaders Jerome Smith and Rudy Lombard created the program in 1968, and Smith still runs it today. Smith’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement dates back to the late 1950’s when he joined the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (“CORE”) as a 19-year old student at Southern University of New Orleans. On May 24, 1963, Smith met with Attorney General Robert Kennedy and a host of celebrities and civil rights leaders in New York City to discuss the state of civil rights in the United States. I was sort of unconscious going in and out, but I remember him saying, "Can you see the truck? $300-$5,500 benefit on home purchases and sales, Members save 10% off the best available rate. One set of injuries, the most serious, from brass-knuckled blows to his and other Freedom Riders’ heads by a mob in McComb, Mississippi on November 29, 1961, left Smith with lifelong headaches. Burke Marshall [the assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division] found out we was there. receive communications related to AARP volunteering. Jerome "Big Duck" Smith, Civil Rights Activist, Community Organizer,Asante Honoree, Freedom Rider, Educator, Tamborine & Fans Founder He continues to teach classes modeled on those of the Freedom Schools during the 1964 Freedom Summer. By C.C. I was not taught to fear whites. How young people took over the civil rights movement. Jerome Smith, a young black civil rights worker who had been beaten and jailed in Mississippi, was one of Baldwin’s assembled group. According to Clarence Benjamin Jones, an advisor to Martin Luther King Jr. and participant in the eventual meeting, in May 1963, Attorney General Robert Kennedy asked novelist James Baldwin to organize a "quiet, off-the-record, unpublicized get-together of prominent Negroes" to discuss the state of race relations. She worked as a domestic but also cultivated her natural talents — photographer, furniture maker, seamstress. One day, while following Jerome Smith, a participant in the Freedom Rides that raised awareness of interstate bus segregation, ... Schapiro kept following the civil rights movement, too. They didn't think he would do anything. Jerome Smith was a young civil rights activist and Freedom Rider in 1963. She pleaded with the people on the bus: "I'm gonna bring this little bad-behind boy back home; let me take care of him. Visit today. When I was 9 or 10 — this would have been in the late 1940s — I got on a bus and took down the "Colored" screen and sat down in the white section. 21) As we have also seen, both Eisenhower and Nixon failed to back the Brown v Board decision of 1954. ", I said: "You deal with this just like you would if President Kennedy was down here. The provider’s terms, conditions and policies apply. “Children in the Center recite lyrics of “Strange Fruit”, the names of the four young girls killed in the Birmingham, Alabama Church-fire of 1963, the Neville Brothers’ ‘Sister Rosa’, and chants of Mardi Gras Indians who will ‘not bow down.’”. He is still six feet, four inches tall, though slightly stooped and tilted due to beatings that he took as a nonviolent demonstrator for Civil Rights. Request print details. It was no surprise to anyone that Smith had no kind words for Bobby or his brother: to search for ways to make a difference in your community at Jerome Smith, Freedom Rider associated with the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) Rip Torn, a young white actor; Jerome Smith was a young black civil rights worker who had been beaten and jailed in Mississippi. Images of Change: photos of the civil rights movement. Javascript must be enabled to use this site. From boycotting stores that refused to hire or serve Blacks to sit-ins along Canal Street, CORE’s substantial contributions were integral to the Civil Rights Movement from 1960 onward. See also: 10 Freedom Riders: Then and Now. Personal Loans from Marcus by Goldman Sachs®. Smith, Jerome. I'm sorry this happened.". In Talk That Music Talk , an essential volume about the city’s brass band community, Bruce “Sunpie” Barnes writes that Smith “created a curriculum for understanding how music, street culture, and social justice are connected in New Orleans, and then taught it by example.” Jerome “Big Duck” Smith, a life-long resident of New Orleans, Louisiana, is considered a stalwart of the Civil Rights Movement locally and nationally. I guess they did not have the same kind of social toughness. Where is 18-year-old Freedom Rider Charles Person today? AARP Rewards combines online learning, fitness challenges and a supportive community. We got off the bus and went into a store. You're black, and the children of the people that I work for are not smarter than you. Throughout his travels, Smith participated in numerous protests that resulted in battle wounds. Once you confirm that subscription, you will regularly You're black, but you don't have to be dumb. ", He was the only person who could get through because he was like the white folks' "uncle." She hugged me and said: "Never stop doing what you're doing. Harris Wofford was an assistant to the Civil Rights Commission set up by the Johnson/Eisenhower bill of 1957. Smith’s involvement in the Civil Rights Movement dates back to the late 1950’s when he joined the New Orleans chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality (“CORE”) as a 19-year old student at Southern University of New Orleans. Jerome Smith was a young civil rights activist and Freedom Rider in 1963. Using the organizing techniques he learned in the Civil Rights Movement, he co-founded Tambourine and Fan, a youth organization that created events that brought young people together to create cultural experiences that enriched the life of the city. related to AARP volunteering. The gathering, in the Kennedy family's spacious Central Park South apartment, began civilly enough before Jerome Smith, a young Freedom Rider who had been arrested and hospitalized for the beatings he sustained, lit into the attorney general about the plight of African Americans. Jerome Smith (left) was one of 15 Freedom Riders on a Greyhound bus from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, 1961. 16 x 20 Inches, Silver Gelatin Photograph, Edition of 25. Jerome Smith is a life-long resident of New Orleans and a cultural investor in his community. https://lawyers.law.cornell.edu/lawyer/gerald-jerome-smith-sr-220927 In 1961, Smith took part in two Freedom Rides intent on desegregating local bus stations — the first from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, and the second from New Orleans to McComb, Miss., on Nov. 29. All were arrested. When we entered the McComb bus station, all these white folks came pouring into the station shouting, "Niggers!" It was all about our collective strength. Comments: 0. Jerome Smith (left) was one of 15 Freedom Riders on a Greyhound bus from Montgomery, Ala., to Jackson, Miss., on May 24, 1961. In 1968, Smith founded Tambourine and Fan to instill important culture, history, and tradition in New Orleans youth. The scene is similar to the work Jerome Smith would have witnessed during his organizing work in Mississippi. Baldwin had invited the actor Rip Torn, and Kennedy was accompanied by two assistants, Burke Marshall and Ed Guthman. This week, New Orleans native Jerome Smith talks about riding segregated street cars and the decision that made him commit to a life of political activism in the name of civil rights. You'll start receiving the latest news, benefits, events, and programs related to AARP's mission to empower people to choose how they live as they age. SCHAPIRO: THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. Beyond the Civil Rights Movement, Smith continued to impact our city, particularly in the Treme. You are leaving AARP.org and going to the website of our trusted provider. Since it was an informal meeting, there was no stenographic record. Rogers, Kim Lacy. All the fear was never in the moment itself. That is true. During this meeting, it is said Smith emotionally told the United States’ Attorney General, “I’ve seen you guys [from the Justice Department] stand around and take notes while we’re being beaten.” Despite grave injustice and adversity of the times, Smith made a profound impact on civil rights history. They knew that everything that was unique about the city could be traced to the Black presence.”. by Jerome Smith, Republished May 3, 2011 I had seen my father, a seaman, do something similar. He was the kind of person some might call an "Uncle Tom." The things I think about when I look back are not the major events but the day-to-day dangers. But when I did it, white people on the bus became very hostile. It was 56 years ago that Jerome Smith, then 10 years old, ... a New Orleans organization that teaches young people about civil rights, leadership and political engagement. Jerome Smith has mentored multitudes of individuals across the city for decades and continues to do so. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that empowers people to choose how they live as they age. He called and said he wanted us to stop protesting. I could walk in their neighborhood, but they were afraid to walk in mine. To face those monsters every day with no cameras rolling, plain ordinary people had to extend their hand and help you get your job done. again.
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