[Durham INC] Commemorating Durham Civil Rights Martyr Booker T. Spicely

[John Schelp]

 Dear members of Durham's InterNeighborhood Council, 
We are writing to seek your support for the placement of a historic marker to commemorate the life and martyrdom of Booker T. Spicely, an African American soldier who was fatally shot by a white bus driver in Durham after he objected to Jim Crow segregation during WWII.
On Saturday evening, July 8, 1944, Pfc. Spicely was headed back to Camp Butner.  He in uniform and unarmed.  Along with another Black serviceman, a Black woman, and her five-year-old son, Spicely boarded a Durham city bus owned and operated by the Duke Power Company.  The four African Americans sat in the next-to-last row. 

At a subsequent stop, the white driver directed Spicely and the other African Americans to move to the last row so that a group of white soldiers could take their seats.  Spicely protested, saying, “I thought I was fighting this war for democracy.”  Although Spicely ultimately changed seats, when he got off the bus at the corner of what is now Berkeley Street and Club Boulevard, the driver shot him twice in the chest with a nickel-plated .38
Spicely was transported first to Watts Hospital, which refused to treat him because he was Black.  By the time he reached Duke Hospital, it was too late to save him. The Durham Black community and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund assisted in the prosecution but the driver was acquitted of all charges.  An all-white jury deliberated for only 28 minutes.
We are a group of citizens working on submitting an application for a state historic marker to recognize this event -- and are asking you towrite a short email of support to NC’s Marker Advisory Committee. 

-This event has ongoing significance: Many of the issues in the case, the shooting of an unarmed African American by a white person deputized to enforce the law, and the failure of the system ensure a diverse jury and hold the killer accountable, sadly still resonate today.
Why support a marker? Feel free to include some of these ideas (or add your own):
-Spicely was a Civil Rights Martyr: When he challenged Jim Crow segregation, he was part of the national Double V Campaign to end oppression abroad and at home.
-This event had national impact: Future Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court Thurgood Marshall was involved in the case, as was the NAACP’s first general counsel Charles Hamilton Houston.
-A maker will promote a deeper understanding of state history: It is critical all citizens of North Carolina learn an accurate, balanced account of our shared history. 
Please send a word document or PDF, or just paste your text into an email and send to John Schelp (bwatu at yahoo.com) by September 30, 2022.  The salutation can be “Dear NC Marker Advisory Committee Members.”  We will then include all submissions with our application for a historic marker.
With much appreciation,
Mandy Carter, Eddie Davis, Gretchen M. Engel, Walter Jackson, Joseph F. Jordan, Irving Joyner, Philip J. Penn, John Schelp, Tim Tyson, James E. Williams Jr.
PSINC neighborhood groups played a significant role in helping secure the Royal Ice Cream Sit-In marker, after the state historic committee first said they didn't see much interest in the Durham community. Messages from across the Bull City then turned the tide.            
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://lists.deltaforce.net/pipermail/inc-list/attachments/20220823/795e3ab5/attachment-0001.htm>