“It is very nearly impossible…to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind.” — James Baldwin
Have you ever heard of Martin Weddington? Thanks to Ann Estis, a longtime friend and freedom fighter, I learned about Mr. Weddington, about the African American collections housed at the Minnesota Historical Society, and ended up full circle at the Attucks Brooks American Legion Post #606.
Let me go backward to go forward.
Aside from papers written by Martin Weddington, I can find no useful historical information on the American Legion Post #606. Known as the Attucks Brooks American Legion Post #606, the building that the post purchased as its home in 1961 is located at 976 Concordia Avenue in St. Paul.
The only African American Legion in St. Paul, this was once a place that thrived as a center in the Black community. In the days of the Rondo Neighborhood of St. Paul, the village thrived! We lived together and raised our families together. We attended church, mosque or temple together, and we celebrated together!
Now the Attucks Brooks American Legion Post #606 is threatened with extinction, renting a building it purchased in 1961 that was a beacon of pride for St. Paul’s Black community. And get this — it’s sharing the building with the new owners.
Once a hub of activity, a community nerve center, the post is best known today for hosting repasts after funerals and a smattering of weddings and parties. Back to the sharing of the space, the building has two levels: On the street level you find the bar, tables, chairs, and the famous Legion kitchen; on the basement level there was once a great room large enough to host large groups and private parties.
Today’s Legion patrons are restricted to the street level only — the new owners have remodeled the basement level and have made clear to staff and patrons alike that they are not to come through the door to the basement under any circumstances.
Longtime patrons and supporters are boycotting with their dollars — they are simply staying away altogether. They understand the value of economic boycott — not of the Legion, but of what they are calling modern-day segregation.
The St. Paul African American Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW) is gone too, the victim of fire. I was also challenged to find anything about the history of the only African American VFW, and I am concerned that the only history I can locate on the Attucks Brooks Post #606 is contained in one man’s observation papers — I thank heaven for Martin Weddington!
If we don’t work together to preserve our history, Black people remain the stereotypical victims of the great tragedy the ideology tells about living while Black. Our history, already the target of constant revision, will remain victim to continual “do-overs” and “pretty-ups,” reinforcing the ideologies of supremacy and inferiority.
Have you seen how there are movements in the South to rewrite slavery so it doesn’t sound as bad? It’s happening with our history here as well.
If we don’t work together to learn and tell the stories of our ancestors, to learn and teach about the heroes of our present, who will? If we don’t spread the truth, our truth, about our contributions to and our place in the world, who will?
Some of us are brainwashed to believe that our history has nothing to do with our present. I postulate that the older you get, the more is revealed of the insidious lie in that belief.
As we start to revel in our past to face present problems, we develop modern approaches to situations, recalling what our parents told us — the past. In our collective past, we have many mistruths to rectify, we have many lost stories calling for new breath, and we have a history of contributions to the world so great it’s almost impossible for the mind to conceive!
Teach our children so that they can teach their children, or you can wait for your school system to catch on to our history and our children and their children can be misinformed for two more generations. Whether you use the public library, the Internet, or you fly to New York City to luxuriate in the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, learn so you can teach, so our children know the truth.
Hear Lissa Jones’ radio show “Urban Agenda” on 89.9 KMOJ-FM Thursday nights at 6 pm, stream her live at www.kmojfm.com, or read web posts from Lissa at www.kmojfm.com. She welcomes reader responses to ljones@spokesman-record er.com.
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