Al-Hajar al-Aswad
I was raised with consciousness, pride and constant reminders of self worth. As a child, my father who was an ex-black panther and a Fruit of Islam (F.O.I.), a male member of the Nation of Islam, had his interests peaked by the rigors of militancy and spirit of change of the 60’s, and would fill my head of stories of great heritage and accomplishment. My father is a mild mannered conscious person but exhibited some rebellion towards the vain aspects of his upper middle class upbringing. He was college educated and was from three generations of college educated parents and grandparents. He lived in a home in an affluent area where his family was the first black family to move into the neighborhood. His father, started out as a fighter. He was the Atlantic City High School Intramural Heavyweight boxing champion in 1935. Maceo Turner graduated from Virginia State College with honors and then went to Howard University Law School (Heisler). My father was the first born son of Maceo Turner, a legal adviser to legends like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Sammy Davis Junior. Maceo’s family tree can be traced all the way back from Greenville to the Gula, Gula Islands, positioned off the coast of South Carolina, although he was raised in Atlantic City, N.J. My father’s brother and sister have had their DNA tested and found that the women in our family can be traced back to the Masai Cameroon Tribe and the men could only be traced back to Caucasian Heritage, namely Poland, Germany and Spain. Undoubtedly the results of years of slave master rape. I was also taught that he was a descendant of Nat Turner, a claim that I have not been able to substantiate to date, but that perception or reality would explain some of my gumption and ways. He is also said to be cousin to Josh White a Black folk singer from Greenville, famous for introducing Black folk singing to whites in the 30s, 40s and 50s. Josh played for President Roosevelt and was eventually blacklisted when his views were perceived as becoming more radical in the 60’s by speaking out against social inequities and racism including lynching (Famous for song Strange Fruit also sung by Billie Holiday). He was a boy when his father was beat, institutionalized, and killed by white men, after a bill became overdue. (Wald)
Maceo Turner was also President of the Atlantic City Bar Association. He was a captain in the Third Army Chemical Corps in the European theatre obtaining a silver star while serving in General S. Patton’s army. He received this award for “gallantry in action in Germany between February 22, 1945 and February 23, 1945. Learning that his company was pinned down by enemy fire, Captain Turner, determined to join his men, advanced under intense hostile bombardment, crawled through mud and water and lay exhausted for seven hours in an exposed position until he was discovered and evacuated to medical aid station. On the following day, Captain Turner returned to duty to direct his unit in smoke screening operations on the Saars River near Ayl. Despite his weakened condition, he bravely embarked in a small motor boat and under withering fire, moved up and down the river dropping smoke pots to obscure the crossing of tanks and infantrymen.” (Cullen)
When he became an attorney, he ran his own private practice, of which I am told he rarely lost a case. He also was qualified to appear in front of the U.S. Supreme Court in 1956 (Davis). Among other cases, he used this position to assist the Mississippi Freedom Fighters. He had powerful and famous associations with people like U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshal, and after his death received a telegraph from the court justice and colleague. He was the first black to serve as a municipal judge, turning down a permanent judge position himself because it did not pay as much as his practice (Harper). Socially he was an Omega Psi Phi and a Prince Hall Freemason of 33rd Degree. My grandfather is said to have committed suicide a month after Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in 1968. He was 52. He was found by the maid with a gun shot wound to the head (Heisler). The suicide not which was not found immediately, was “written in pencil on back of a mimeographed copy of a eulogy read by longtime area radio host Pinky Kravitz on the day Martin Luther King Assassinated.” (Harper) A man lies dead… A man of the people… A man of peace…. He fought for equality, He fought for humanity.” (Steiner) Some 700 people came through the memorial services. The honorary pallbearers included the mayor, city commissioner, the city judiciary, Kiwanis club, Prince Hall Lodge No. 27 F NAACP and Omega Psi Phi (Hester). After his death the Omegas created a annual memorial award in his name. At the YMCA Award ceremony where the first award was given, the Capt. Robert Lamb of the Atlantic City Police Department and head of the relations division called Maceo Turner “a battle causality.” (Hoffman) He went onto say” this man worked harder than most to bridge the gaps of the community.” The irony is that grandfather served as a police officer himself (Pittsburgh Courier).
It was this statement that really got my juices going in terms of my legacy. I believe his true suicide note was an article published in the Atlantic City Press in 1968 called “White People Don’t Know Our Problems” written by Reed A. Pastor after a conversation and interview with Maceo Turner. The article blasts the White business and political power structure for not assisting with the economic development of the Negro community. It outlines that in the 1960’s in Atlantic City that” one out of six Negroes live in substandard houses, 15 per cent of the population is made up of youngsters between the ages of 16 and 21 and yet we represent over 50 per cent of the unemployed, and we still do not have comparable education in the Negro community and we have 50 per cent of the income of the white families. “(Turner) His plan called for sincerity and invited the White power structure to spend and entire week visiting substandard housing, schools and work environments. He also called for election of black officials to represent the 35-40 % of the city Blacks. Stating that “there are things which transcend politics and business, I think the politicians and the businessmen owe it to Atlantic City and the general welfare of our community to see that there is a Negro on the city commission.” After Maceo’s death a Black newspaper tried to offer negative theories on why he died and the Black community was aghast. 150 members of the Northside community organized to protest and burned the publication, ironically named the Crusader. The boycott subsequently shut down the paper (Boucher).
Maceo Turner was married to my grandmother, whose maiden name was Florence Cheatum.A astonishingly beautiful and extremely elegant woman who who was obviously the product of genius herself. Florence graduated from the West Virginia State, Sum Cum Laude, with a degree in Chemistry. After college, she went on to work for the federal government testing the velocity in bullets. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Eastern Star Masonic Order, President of Jack and Jill Club and the Links Inc. She had four other children in addition to my father. The Cheatum family was originally railroaded out of Birmingham, Alabama because some family members were light enough to pass for white but they chose to associate with Blacks. Other Blacks that were light enough to pass thought them a liability through association. So the Cheatum’s escaped to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and my father’s family eventually settled in Atlantic City, N.J. Dr. Pat Cheetum, my cousin, ironically published an in-depth book about the Cheatum’s family history February of 2006.
My father and mother met in New York and resided there after getting married. We were raised in Brooklyn and were exposed to a number of different cultures. We had the Jewish corner store owners; Spanish and Jamaican style music; I remember the West Indian Parade and Macy’s Day Parade. We always participated in our streets block party where we met with Asian and Hispanic neighbors. And we frequently visited a Native American Museum in Prospect Park, located just a block away from our brownstone apartment on Pacific Street.
My mother was a MGT, the female member of the Nation of Islam during the early years, and later joined the leadership of Imam W.D. Mohammed when Elijah Mohammed passed. She was orphaned as a baby. Her father was suppose to be a Professor from a college in Macon, Georgia and her mother was suppose to be a student who after becoming pregnant came to the North to deliver her child and then put her up for adoption and returned to school. She was a creative spirit. She was raised by her adopted father, Sam Dennis. He was a musician and singer for a while and then did odd hustle jobs after a failed career in the music business. She went to secretary school before marrying my dad.
It was my father that told me that we were descendants of Nat Turner. I never bothered to question this until I was much older during college. The Nat Turner revolt was only a few miles away from me in South Hampton, Virginia. I don’t have relatives can be traced back to Virginia so I never thought this to be serious. However having the concept introduced to me as a child gave me a sense of pride and worth that I can not describe. In addition, an unusual twist of fate allowed me to communicate with a Southern New Hampshire University student while developing this paper. It turns out that Deborah Miller was planning her family reunion and told me that she is actually a documented Turner from South Hampton Virginia from the Nat Turner family, so we are doing some research and swapping DNA tests to prove our relations. But in the meantime my real worth comes from having a strong mother image.
My mom is my hero. She had seven children. And when she and my father divorced when I was seven, she loaded us into a UHaul truck and traveled to Boston from New York, in search of greener pastures and a new beginning. She died when I was in college so I did not spend much of my adult life with her. But she left a rich legacy. Her legacy included a library of radio and television shows where she tackled issues of community economic development, politics and organizing. She created a children’s tape series that resembled Barney but was called “Skip a Fairytale” developed for inner-city preschoolers about manners, morality and work ethic. She worked with scores of local politicians on a variety of community issues that dealt with socio-economic inequities. And it was she that encouraged me to go to school to study Community Economic Development. She wrote two books. One of those books I am currently working to publish called “Now I lay me down to sleep, ” she wrote this on her death bed. She was one of the most remarkable women I ever met and I am still learning about her, desifering the deep encryption that she embedded within my spirit, uncovering her legacy and discovering my future.
Bibliography
Boucher. John L. (1968, May). Parade, Rally, Protest Article Critical of Turner. The Press of Atlantic City, page 17
Cullen. Robert. E. (1945, April) General Orders Number 59, Section I
Davis, O.T. (1965, April) Turner Won Silver Star; Lawyer Heads NAACP. The Press of Atlantic City. Resort Profile.
Harper. Derek. (2006, March) Relative finds info on early A.C. civil rights leader. Atlantic County Community Extra, The Press of Atlantic City, page 11
Heisler. Mark. E. (1968, May) Maceo Turner, Attorney Here, Found Dead of Gunshot Wound. The Press of Atlantic City, page 12
Hester. Thomas J. (1968, May). Maceo Tuner Eulogized; 500 Attend Final Rites. The Press of Atlantic City
Heisler. Mark. (1957, March). Top Award In Accident Verdict Typically Of Maceo Turner Cases. The Press of Atlantic City. Resort Profile.
Hoffman. Harry. (1968, June). Usry Gets Memorial Award. The Press of Atlantic City.
Unknown. (1955, July) Portrait of Success: Maceo H. Turner, New Jersey Attorney, Aspires Only “to Protect the Precepts of the Liberty of the People.” The Pittsburgh Courier, page 13
Steiner. Herbert. S. (1968, April) “ April 4th, 1968” Broadcast Pinky Kravitz
Turner. Maceo. H. (1968, January). White People Don’t Know Our Problems The Press of Atlantic City. Page 15
Unknown. (1951, July) Turner Is Sworn As N.J. Attorney. The Press of Atlantic City.
Unknown. (1968, May) Maceo Turner, 52Found Dead at Home The Press of Atlantic City, page 11
Ward. Elijah (April 2006) Josh White: Society Blues http://www.elijahwald.com/josh.html
