written by Marcus Carter
For those tired of the regular Black History stories and documentaries mentioned and featured during the month of February, the lecture “Blinded in Batesburg” provided a uniquely different tale, a captivating story that does not end but continues to inspire.
The lecture given by Mr. Andy Duncan, Associate Professor of English at Frostburg State University, “Blinded in Batesburg” was captivating, relevant, and alive. Mr. Duncan’s lecture was ground breaking in the way in which it explored black history, a way that has seldomly been achieved - a correct way.
The “Blinded in Batesburg” lecture was given in the Lane Center on February 13, 2012, to a cozy crowd of about 35 to 40 people with most of the audience being faculty from Frostburg State University. The lecture was about a personal connection to a setting, in which an event took place in obscurity and yet the event’s importance was esteemed to be on par with the sit-ins of Greensboro, North Carolina. The lecture contained a story of a 27 year old, black war veteran, Isaac Woodard, who upon returning from World War II was beaten so brutally in the small town of Batesburg, South Carolina that his corneas ruptured. The abuse of Mr. Woodard came from the police chief, Linwood Shull. The malicious deeds of the officer were compounded by the failure to attain a seemingly obvious conviction for Shull’s trial. During the trial, the prosecutor trying the case was willfully incompetent, the jury was biased, and the pivotal testimony from the attending doctor William Wyman King may have been tailored version of the truth. Shull was found innocent of all charges. Here Woodard’s story ended, Mr. Duncan, attested that “the story does not end well.” Yet I disagree.
The story of Woodard did not end at the court trial of Shull, at the death of Woodard, or the death of Shull. A new chapter begins here, with the connection to Mr. Duncan’s life where he realized that the idols he grew up with were flawed. Mr. Duncan had personal connections to Mr. Shull and Dr. King. Duncan’s upbringing taught him to esteem these men and he knew them well. Both men were prominent fixtures of the community. They attended the same church where King was the head usher. If Woodard’s story ended in justice, the lecture would not have been so poignant. The fact is that stories do not end because history is continuous.
In contrast, black history ends, which is why month is conducted so terribly wrong. Black history month has become an avenue to gain history from an African American perspective. February is treated as a concession, it is a segregated month, in which blacks get a moment to vent about the previous tragedies in America. Ben LeBrun, a junior history major at Frostburg State University and a native of Baltimore, recounted how he was introduced to black history like the invasion, Shock and awe, “middle school was the first time I heard of black history; teachers sprung black history on the class for a couple of weeks and then it was over.” The comments on reddit.com black history feed tell of similarly forced “awkward” celebrations of black history month. Comedian and news correspondent for the Daily Show, Larry Wilmore, poked fun at American’s ironic relationship with the celebratory month, where he pointed that black history has become a month of “trivia” and he jokingly wished that blacks had “rather got casinos.”
Black history month is a cog in the American racial aversion plan. Americans are so sensitive to race, when race is broached in public debate; people react in disgust, saying don’t throw out the race card. The fact, is as Dr. Amy Branam, Assistant Professor of English, says, racism is “not just a strategy of cunning, it is a real life experience.”
We forget that. We forget that racists are not people with chew in the back pockets, wearing moss covered jackets, caps, driving trucks and are avid hunters. Racists were those who committed injustice and they are people, who have family which love them.
Others in the audience had similar sentiments; Bernard Wynder, Assistant Vice President of Student Services, had this to say, “I thought that it was absolutely wonderful … this is what I have been waiting for all my life.” What Mr. Wynder was waiting for was for someone to acknowledge the existence and the deeds that blacks had faced and to acknowledge that while certain members of society held prestigious positions such as “Shull and King [who] were pillars of community but they were not very good people.” During, his interview, he brought up Brownsville, an African American community which is where Frostburg State University now sits, yet many in Frostburg have never heard of such a place.
This was why Mr. Duncan’s lecture should not be ignored, because Shull and King do not fit the stereotypes for who racists should be. Isaac Woodard’s story was not some excerpt told in a history book; here was a personal story, from long before Duncan was born, that ended in redemption, knowledge, and personal growth. During this lecture, there was no black voice and none was needed. Isaac Woodard story is not black history; it is a personal history, a collective history, American history.
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