Happy Fourth of July, America!

Have a blessed and safe holiday!

Who was Sarah Mae Flemming?

Too many of Columbia’s pivotal moments and landmark decisions have been forgotten. Even more stories have never been heard. A complete rendering of South Carolina's Civil Rights Movement and its dramatic impact on the quest for democracy and social justice does not exist.

In Columbia, South Carolina's capital city, courageous student activists, attorneys, and civil rights organizations waged a tenacious campaign to transform our community. Facing stiff opposition, these freedom fighters took action and forever changed a city, state, and nation.

Keep in mind that there are good and mislead people in all races.  We do not fault the whole because of a part.  Remember the rain falls on everyone, even if you have an umbrella, and the sun shines on us all.  Do your best not to carry ill-feelings towards one another.

An unknown heroine, lost in obscurity, like so many others, was returned to the forefront recently. Sarah Mae Flemming Brown (June 28, 1933-June 16, 1993), an African American woman was expelled from a bus in Columbia, South Carolina, seventeen months before Rosa Parks refused to surrender her seat on an Alabama bus in 1955. Flemming's lawsuit against the bus company played an important role later in the Parks case. But it never received the press that it deserved.

On June 22, 1954, Flemming boarded a bus to go to work. She took the only empty seat, which she believed began the rows in which black riders were allowed to sit. The bus driver, challenged and humiliated her. The kind and caring house worker signaled to get off at the next stop. The bus driver blocked her attempt to exit through the front of the bus and punched her in the stomach as he ordered her out the rear door. Considering how packed the back of the bus was, the easiest exit was through the front door. But, I suppose the bus driver felt that most domestics are to enter and leave through the back doors on buses like they did in the homes they took care of, including the children. It was unfortunate that medical records associated with this assault were not found.

Local civil rights activists heard of ordeal and enlisted attorney Phillip Wittenberg, a white attorney in Columbia, to represent her. Flemming v. South Carolina Electric and Gas (SCE and G) was filed on July 21, 1954 in U.S. District Court. The allegation was that Flemming's Fourteenth Amendment right to equal protection had been violated. On February 16, 1955, Federal District Judge George Bell Timmerman, Sr. dismissed the case. 

His son, George Bell Timmerman, Jr., became the 105th governor of South Carolina from 1955 to 1959. He governed the Statehouse in a time of profound and painful social change after the Supreme Court's ruling in 1954 declaring segregated public schools unconstitutional. Mr. Timmerman fought the changes brought by the decision as a defender of what he called "the integrity of the races" and "our customs and institutions."  He took office as the state's last segregationist Governor, urging Congress to limit the authority of the United States Supreme Court. He regarded Northern insistence on racial integration as hypocritical. He continued his father’s practices of maintaining segregation through any means necessary.  He wanted to keep African-Americans separated and no where close to being equal.

Ms. Flemming appealed to the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals and her case was argued on June 21, 1955. The Fourth Circuit reversed Judge Timmerman on July 14, 1955 and "remanded the case for further proceedings."

SCE and G appealed the decision of the Appeals Court. On April 23, 1956, the United States Supreme Court dismissed SCE and G’s appeal, and on June 13, 1956, Judge Timmerman dismissed the case once again. Due to imtimidations, threats, and cross-burnings, Mr. Wittenberg decided not to handle a second appeal and turned the case over to Thurgood Marshall and Robert Carter of the NAACP.  He later moved out of Columbia.  For the third trial, Lincoln Jenkins, Jr. and Matthew J. Perry represented Ms. Flemming and the jury quickly found in the bus company's favor, SCE and G. By that time, the Montgomery bus boycott and the decision in Browder v. Gayle had been rendered, so a third appeal was not filed. Let’s note that this case was heard before a three-judge panel in Montgomery Alabama, not before one judge. That court ruled on June 13, 1956, that bus segregation was unconstitutional under the Fourteenth Amendment protections for equal treatment

During her legal case, Sarah Mae Flemming married John Brown of Gaston County, North Carolina. The couple had three children. Sarah Mae Flemming Brown died of a heart attack brought on by diabetes on June 16, 1993, just before her 60th birthday. She was buried in the Goodwill Baptist Church cemetery in Eastover, South Carolina.

In 2005, a documentary titled Before Rosa: The Unsung Contribution Of Sarah Mae Flemming aired on PBS stations across the United States.

Mrs. Flemming vowed to never ride on SCE and G buses after the lawsuit and she never did. We should find ways to respect our unsung heroes and heroines but do so that they will never be forgotten.  Here's another link from civil rights activists in 2005 acknowledging Ms. Flemming to Congress James Clyburn.

Twisted - A Part Of Things

So many twists and turns we take in this journey called life.

We are bound together in this short time through

experiences, loves, and betrayals brought on by deceptions.

The words we say don’t always match

the actions that we mean.

These living cells that made us are temporary

and our abused pasts

don’t always release the anger and bitterness.

The opportunity crossing paths are God-given

and should be cherished.

When we part,

let’s accept that at one time in our lives,

we were bound together for that specific moment.

We only withstood the trials, tests, and storms

because our ties were three-cord strong.

But always in the end,

it is life that will separate us.

Even then don’t let go of the pleasant memories.

A Part of Things ©

The Learning Circle

Brother G. Peralta shared some wisdom and charts with me and I want to pass it on!  For each defining-moment event that happens in our lives, whether good or bad, we need to look it as our learning circles.  Over time, these moments should resemble an open slinky.  There are many coils in the slinky but they are all attached and still able to attain unique shapes.  Certainly, our character defines the type of person we are.

Observe the moment, reflect on it, discuss it with confidants, ask God what was His will and what should you do to bring out His glory.  Plan what you need to do to resolve, rectify, or recuperate, hold yourself accountable, seek affirmation from your confidants, and act.  Do not observe and act, over reaction could cause bigger issues.  Split the circle in half, repent if necessary after observing, reflecting, and discussing.  On the opposite side, believe from your question, plans, accountability acceptance, and act accordingly.

Thanks, Brother G!  The learning circle works for all defining moments if used correctly.  I know that I will use it.  Understand that Brother G, is using Jesus Christ as his spiritual guide.  Many of us are doing the same.

I Wouldn’t Know You – James Fortune/FIYA ft. Nakitta Clegg-Foxx

Save Yourself For Me – Hiroshima

The Lord Is My Shepherd!

Blessings to Rev. Ben for getting me to question my relationship with God. Most of us like to think we are developing some type of relationship with God by trying to get to know Him. In order to do that, we must read and study the Word of God. There are passages that we see so many times that we don’t go any deeper than we have to.

Take Psalms 23 for example. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.

We hear this Psalm all of the time. It’s short, it’s peaceful, and it is simple. So simple, that we take it for granted. Was that what David intended when he wrote it? I don’t know where he wrote and he went through enough struggles that he did think it was necessary to write. But one has to admit that the psalm is short and sweet.  Think about God's goodness and mercy.  Where would we be without them?  Where would we be without His love?

Don’t forget that David was a shepherd in his youth and he did defend his flock against its enemies. See where I’m going? He killed a lion, a bear, and Goliath! All were in the “in the shadow of death” where he walked and feared “no evil.” Why, because in the presence of his enemies, God anointed his head with oil. So much that his cup ran over. David remembered that the Chief Shepherd is with at all times and will supply all of David’s needs. Being near peaceful waters and resting in soft green pastures are what we all look for. David was a man after God’s heart and he wanted goodness and mercy to be with him all of his life. He expected it! David knew God like you know your best friend. You know what they like and don’t like. You know them sometimes better than yourself. But do we start off to know God that well? Do we try?

When our storms come as did David’s, do we forget about the Shepherd and look to our own way of surviving. And when we don’t get a hand getting out of that storm, we start reaching somewhere else. If we really had faith enough to trust God, we would know that God will bring us out of the storm! It’s just so hard to let go of old habits.  God wants us to trust Him.  He is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow.  He is consistent.