|
|
|
 |
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
Posted on 07/11/2003 10:20:27 AM PDT by stainlessbanner
LORMAN, Miss. -- Alcorn State University, green and serene on a summer day, is a long way from the beaches of Mississippi, but it has become the home away from home for Jason Whitfield.
Here, said the 22-year-old Gulfport native, he can be himself, the person he was before the afternoon of July 10, 2002. That was the first day of what became a 77-day protest against the Confederate Battle Flag's inclusion in a display of eight flags at the BiloxGulfport city limits on U.S. 90.
Thursday marked the one year anniversary of the day he made his stand.
Today, the Battle Flag flies, thanks to voter approval during a referendum in the flag display's home county. And Whitfield has returned to Alcorn, a little more than 200 miles from Gulfport, to complete his college education.
"I'm digesting the protest now," said Whitfield, who resumed his studies two weeks ago. "I knew I was supposed to be there until the flag came down. The hardest decision I made was not to go back."
Battle Flag debates have caused controversy and division throughout the Deep South in recent times. But Whitfield's tactic was one-of-a-kind: He made a camp site at the beach and kept his protest alive day and night.
Sitting under one of the oak trees that dot the center of Alcorn's campus this week, Whitfield talked about how the events of last year changed him.
Whitfield's beach demonstration ended when the winds and rain of Tropical Storm Isidore in September forced him to higher ground. Then, officials in Harrison County, Miss., decided that local voters should decide the Battle Flag's fate.
"The political thing started moving really quickly," Whitfield said. "I was no longer explaining to people how I felt. Now, I had to explain to them why politically they needed to vote against" the Battle Flag.
He said he knocked on doors, and helped register new voters, some of whom didn't particularly care for the Confederate Battle Flag but often asked, "why should I vote to change this flag?"
"It forced to me take stands that I wasn't quite ready for. I had gone from being just Jason on the beach to being this political figure. I didn't picture myself as that."
He made a number of speeches and received several awards from Gulf Coast groups recognizing him for his stance.
"I couldn't go into Wal-Mart anymore," he said. "I wasn't Jason, I was JASON."
After the vote, Whitfield said that he prayed whether to return to the beach to keep up his protest. Perhaps in answer to his prayers, he came down with the mumps the day before the Battle Flag regained its place on the beach display. He battled the mumps for the following two weeks.
"The decision not to go back was a very difficult one," he said. "I didn't want the flag to be there and I not be there to protest it. I didn't want anyone to think that I had given up."
But, he added, "I knew in my heart that that part of the protest was over and I didn't want to accept that."
He said that he quickly heard criticism: "I was told that the very people who supported my protest would be the first ones to criticize when I decided not to go back. That happened."
Since his protest ended, Whitfield done volunteer work, substitute teaching and prepared to return to school.
And he now sports cultured dreadlocks. He said he hasn't cut his hair since his protest ended.
One of Whitfield's visitors last year was Alcorn President Clinton Bristow Jr., who came to the beach with words of encouragement.
"I was supportive of him engaging in that type of persuasive protest. He was innovative, and leadership-oriented," Bristow said during a telephone interview from his office at the university this week.
He said that he was glad to see Whitfield back at school. "The bottom line is you want to expand your opportunities. You always want to get that degree. You want to move into position to be in charge," Bristow said.
Whitfield said that his experience taught him real-life lessons that couldn't be learned in a classroom.
He discovered, he said, that a black man protesting what he considers to be a wrong is supposed to protest in only one way.
"People could blurt out any hostile and disrespectful thing, but I'm was expected to sit there peacefully, respectful and humble," he said. "Had I retaliated, they would have taken action against me.
"American society and spirituality are two different things and they are not related," he said. "Something can be bla tantly, spiritually wrong and get by in American society because the majority of the people don't see anything wrong with it.
"Sometimes, the most honorable people are the most hated. And people deny that there are racial issues, but when someone calls you a nigger, they expect you to look the other way."
Whitfield is enrolled in a pair of classes to continue working toward a bachelor's degree in business economics. Here, he said, he's just one of a close-knit group of eight, which includes his 20-year-old brother and roommate, Thomas.
"I'm glad he's back," said the youngest of the two Whitfields. "Everybody's been asking, 'Where have you been?'"
Thomas Whitfield, a senior, nodded in agreement as his brother recounted the somewhat harrowing aspects of his time at the beach, some of which he witnessed. He said there were catcalls of "die, nigger, die," and visits from "2 a.m. rednecks."
Snakes turned up on the beach. The Whitfield brothers believe the snakes were placed there as a scare tactic.
Jason Whitfield said he remains surprised by the level of anger, since his protest was a peaceful one.
"America is not a rational society. Everyone has his biases and prejudices and they aren't going to let them go. You either accept it or you fight against it," he said.
He continued, "I'm going to fight and do the best I can. I will never decide that this is the way things ought to be. I know better than that."
that kinda says a lot about this article, eh?
Bread and circuses
|
|
|
|
|
FreeRepublic , LLC PO BOX 9771 FRESNO, CA 93794
|
|
It is in the breaking news sidebar! |
|
He said there were catcalls of "die, nigger, die," and visits from "2 a.m. rednecks."
Snakes turned up on the beach. The Whitfield brothers believe the snakes were placed there as a scare tactic.
I would like to know if this really happened. Then I would like to know whether the peaceful protester had the wits and $$ to have a cell phone so he could call the police to apprehend the hecklers and/or the snake-placers. Otherwise, there's no story that can be proved as other than fiction, right?! A valuable lesson, indeed, since if if this did happen as reported by the young student, and "racism" is involved as the police were called and the "red-necks" ignored, then phone records would show that, the racist wrong-doers would be prosecuted and that would be a story! If it didn't happen, then the young man has slandered unknown persons, but nevertheless could not be prosecuted for it.
We would be so much further ahead if people would just think things through, ya know? /sigh
As I recall, the snake turned out to be a very rare endangered species that is native to a small area on the Mississippi gulf coast. The handfull of 'supporters' killed it. I kept waiting to hear from enviromentals but, for naught...
He could visit Cincinnati for some tips.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.