Civil Rights’ roots in Madison County

The great abolitionist Frederick Douglass held an early rally for civil rights in Brookfield in October 1856.

This historical trail leading circuitously to the most famous non-sneeze in Civil Rights history begins in part here in the high land valley of pre- Civil War Brookfield. A community that time almost forgot but thankfully didn’t.

In early October 1856, the most famous African-American of his age was invited to speak at the Brookfield Agricultural Society’s annual fair that was being held that year in “Uncle Oliver’s Meadow.” On this beautiful autumn day one of the largest crowds ever, estimated nearly 10,000 to 12,000, made for one day Brookfield a small size city. Accommodations for such a huge throng were entirely insufficient. One witness reported, “door yards, fence corners and standing trees within a radius of a mile or upwards were freely used as hitching places for teams, visitors making the intervening on foot to the fairgrounds.”

By 1856, America was rapidly becoming unglued: ripped apart by white hot political issues including the Abolition Movement, the question of slavery in the new territories, etc. Political parties were splintering and reforming into new entities mostly along sectional geographic lines. America was in chaos and the presidential election was the next month.

His name was Frederick Douglass (1817-1895). He was the Martin Luther King Jr. of his day. Douglass has been described as the “Father of the Civil Rights Movement.” His autobiography published in 1845 described his life under slavery and this book was a major contribution to the anti-slavery movement. During the I850s, Douglass was an eloquent, much in demand speaker, writer and organizer for not only abolition of slavery but also he championed the Women’s Rights movement. After the Civil War he was a powerful voice for the Black equality and self-improvement movement.

A wooden platform was built by fair officials for the speaker’s use. His speech to the huge crowd was described as “eloquent,” a “marvel of good sense.” According to the local newspaper, this “educated colored man” spoke on emancipation and was “enthusiastically received by most of a large crowd but with great disgust by others.” With the bloody Civil War that soon followed came the real possibility for ending slavery once and for all.

Two young girls never forgot the tall, distinguished, well dressed black man who had helped them pump well water in Dr. Saunders’ front yard. The girls were small and didn’t have quite the strength. This man came and helped. Forgetting to thank the man, the girls skipped off to see the fair’s sights and sounds. In doing so they read about a famous man who was to speak that day. Curious at the appointed time, they got as close to the speaker’s platform as the huge, milling crowd would allow. The speaker was introduced by a fair official. The man was the celebrated Frederick Douglass, who had helped the girls get a drink of well water.

( The home that Frederick Douglass stayed in the evening of his speech still stands majestically just down from the historic Baptist Church. Douglass was invited to come to Brookfield by Calvin Whitford, a successful local businessman, and a prominent voice in the infant New York State Repub- lican Party, a party that supported abolitionism and the prohibiting of slavery in the new territories.

The leadership baton carried so effectively by Frederick Douglass was eventually passed to the most famous Black leader of our generation, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Her name was Izola Ware Curry. A black woman lost in the pages of history, yet she almost played a decisive role in the history of the Civil Rights movement.

It happened on the afternoon of Sept. 20, 1958 at Blumstein’s Department Store on New York City’s 125th Street in Harlem. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was 29 years old and he was sitting at a desk autographing his first book, “The Montgomery Story.”

Izola Curry, a 42-yearold black lady from Georgia, was determined to cheat history that day. She was convinced she was on a mission fromGod. Mentally deranged, she had spent six years preparing. She had complained to the FBI that Rev. King’s led NAACP was part of a Communist conspiracy that among others was preventing her from getting a job.

On the Sept. 20 afternoon, she walked confidently through the crowd of King well-wishers. Well dressed and composed, wearing sequined, cat’s eye glasses, she asked, “Are you Martin Luther King?” Barely looking up he said “yes.”

Izola Curry reached into her hand bag and drew out a razor sharp letter opener and plunged it into King’s chest, right up to the hilt. “I’ve been after him for six years,” she screamed. “I’m glad I done it.”

King didn’t call out. He simply sat back in his chair, a glazed look in his eyes. Had he made any sud-

den move he would have died—the tip of the blade just touched the aorta artery right next to his heart. One more millimeter and his chest would have filled with blood, killing him in minutes.

If King had sneezed, as he often said in later years, the Civil Rights movement might have suffered a mortal blow. As it was, he didn’t sneeze, and the great events that followed helped to define King’s greatness—even in his martyrdom.

Izola Curry’s walk- on part in history didn’t come out as planned. If it had, the consequences for America and the world can only be guessed. Izola Curry died on March 7, 2015 at age 98, 47 years after Dr. King’s assassination.

We have come far, but Dr. King’s dream still continues. Martin Luther King Jr. forgave Izola Curry.