Remarkably the message was from the youngest member of the family who had to be 5 or 6 when it all happened.
David Stewart had popped in to say that not only did he remember the events of that day, but that he had written he about what he saw and experienced that day and he asked if I would want to read it and have my family read it.
David Stewart had popped in to say that not only did he remember the events of that day, but that he had written he about what he saw and experienced that day and he asked if I would want to read it and have my family read it.
Of course I would read it, I needed to read it. It was informative, therapeutic and confirmed just how horrific it was. I got to see it through the eyes of a bystander.
What was wonderful about that for me is that, when something that horrific happens you can sometimes second guess your memories and the how it actually went down. Did it really happen the way I remember? Am I putting a spin on it? Am I being over-dramatic?
Well here is David's writing through his 5 year old eyes and experience...
What was wonderful about that for me is that, when something that horrific happens you can sometimes second guess your memories and the how it actually went down. Did it really happen the way I remember? Am I putting a spin on it? Am I being over-dramatic?
Well here is David's writing through his 5 year old eyes and experience...
(This is our old house on New Street in Champaign, Il.)
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11 comments:
David ,do not know where to start on what you wrote. I know there were times as children when the Lowrys and the Sankeys did not get along, but you painted this picture of the Lowrys as some gang of wild animals. There are two sides to every story. You have told one side only ,the day of the fight, There were times I remember the Sankey boys starting fights with the Lowrys. I know that whatever caused this fight to start up no one will ever know because it was so long ago. I just barely remember it and I am at least 6 or 7 years older than you. I do not appreciate you putting it all over facebook. That was a different time in life when people didnt know any better. You really dont know the whole story. nobody was innocent in this fight including the Sankeys. I think it is sad that this happened, but we were young and naive and didnt know any better. Im sorry that you thought so little of us, you were there as you said writing the cards and name calling..riding the bikes, but you did not know any better, so how can you judge anyone else when you did it also. I am sorry if I sound mad I am not I am just upset how you belittled my family and made us out to be these evil people! Like I said I am sorry it ever happened ,
David ,do not know where to start on what you wrote. I know there were times as children when the Lowrys and the Sankeys did not get along, but you painted this picture of the Lowrys as some gang of wild animals. There are two sides to every story. You have told one side only ,the day of the fight, There were times I remember the Sankey boys starting fights with the Lowrys. I know that whatever caused this fight to start up no one will ever know because it was so long ago. I just barely remember it and I am at least 6 or 7 years older than you. I do not appreciate you putting it all over facebook. That was a different time in life when people didnt know any better. You really dont know the whole story. nobody was innocent in this fight including the Sankeys. I think it is sad that this happened, but we were young and naive and didnt know any better. Im sorry that you thought so little of us, you were there as you said writing the cards and name calling..riding the bikes, but you did not know any better, so how can you judge anyone else when you did it also. I am sorry if I sound mad I am not I am just upset how you belittled my family and made us out to be these evil people! Like I said I am sorry it ever happened ,
This was not at all a case of children not getting along. We never started anything with the Lowry's. We were completely new to the neighborhood. We barely knew who the Lowry's were. It was a hate crime perpetrated on our family by the Lowry family. David's account of what started it is totally accurate. We were being called racist names by the Lowry girls from in front of our house for no reason except that we were a black family in white neighborhood. I was 13 or 14 years old. I remember it totally and I will never forget it. We may have been children, but it does not change the facts of what happened. No one in our family ever went to the Lowry's to start anything even after the fight. That's not the kind of people we are. The Lowry family did the same thing to another black family living in the neighborhood; the Jaspers. I will try to find them so they can tell their story too. It's one thing if you say we did something wrong years ago. We were different people and young. Forgive us. It's another when you do something despicable and then deny it and try to blame it on the victims. That is like committing the crime all over again. Shame on you.
I'm guessing the Lowry family got these horrible, hateful, racist ideas from their parents. My mom was the kind of person who got out of her car at school to break up fights between black kids and white kids by lecturing them about Martin Luther King. We were all mortified at the time, as any young person is when their mom does just about anything in front of their peers. But I am so glad that I was raised that way; believing in the value of people, regardless of their skin color, as were the Stewarts. I have been friends with the Sankey and Stewart families for years. I have absolute confidence in their version of this horrible story.
Thank you, Melanie.
There were only 5 of us, 3 boys and 2 girls. There had to be well over 10 more like 15 people attacking us that day. Whether physically attacking or verbally attacking. It was frightening. We were new to the neighborhood and barely knew our next door neighbors. It was a clear attack on the 5 of us. My two older brothers were 12 and 13 years old, I was 11 and the 2 younger siblings were 9 and 7. Clearly and imbalance of power against us. The bulk of the fight was my 2 older brothers trying to protect the rest of us. I had to go and call my parents from work to help us. There was nothing fair about this attack. It's not like we were all playing together then later had a disagreement. You can't rationalize this one as some kids having a disagreement. It was a vicious attack and frightening. Thank God my brothers were able to keep us from getting hurt. There's a lot more I can say and will say later but David's recollection is not by any means something dreamed up, I was most accurate.
To Melanie:
Thank you for your support, It means a lot.
I am so very sorry for your pain.
Sweetheart, you were just a little baby girl during the time of the unfortunate tragedy to my son, Reginald. Time does not always "heal all wounds," but we are a forgiving family. It is not unusual for us as Black people to be mistreated; no, we don't ever get used to it, we because we are humans & feel what all humans feel; pain, hot, cold, happy, sad and more. However, we live in the "here and now;" and we will always miss Reggie will always be in pain; there is a hole in our hearts. We can understand how you feel; not wanting to realize that your family could be responsible for "an Unthinkable perpetration. Remember we had just moved into the neighborhood, did not know any of you; we didn't have time to be good, bad or indifferent. My words to you; GOD bless you and your family; may all learn from this sad situation. Sad that our justice system failed us; GOD is large & in charge & HE does not forget. We wish good health and happiness to you and yours. Mother of Reggie
I am so very sorry for your pain.
Sweetheart, you were just a little baby girl during the time of the unfortunate tragedy to my son, Reginald. Time does not always "heal all wounds," but we are a forgiving family. It is not unusual for us as Black people to be mistreated; no, we don't ever get used to it, we because we are humans & feel what all humans feel; pain, hot, cold, happy, sad and more. However, we live in the "here and now;" and we will always miss Reggie will always be in pain; there is a hole in our hearts. We can understand how you feel; not wanting to realize that your family could be responsible for "an Unthinkable perpetration. Remember we had just moved into the neighborhood, did not know any of you; we didn't have time to be good, bad or indifferent. My words to you; GOD bless you and your family; may all learn from this sad situation. Sad that our justice system failed us; GOD is large & in charge & HE does not forget. We wish good health and happiness to you and yours. Mother of Reggie
Linda, I saw on a previous post of Valorie’s that she was soliciting memories of her brother, Reggie. After contacting her, I shared my writing with her because it had specific memories of him and growing up where we did. I actually wrote this several years ago. The memories of Reggie included this account of the day the Sankey family was attacked. For me to represent what happened, I had to describe the people involved in the incident. I can understand how naming your family as the perpetrators of this crime is embarrassing and I apologize for not letting you know beforehand that this was to be published. It is certainly fair to bring up that everyone there that day is more than the role they played in this incidence. The attackers were, in other contexts, kind, fun and funny young people that were good friends of my brothers and sisters. I could never count the number of positive experiences I had growing up with the people from your family and I could name many, many admirable qualities you all possess. I appreciate that you regret that it ever happened and I thank you for acknowledging that it did, in fact, happen.
True, everyone there was a minor and prone to the mistakes many make as kids. Melanie writes that racism is generational, and while I don’t dispute that, I think the calculus on the transmission of intolerance is a little more complicated. With large families, our parents wanted us out of the house as much as possible, and so we kids spent hours upon hours socializing ourselves and reinforcing some of the best and worst qualities inherent to our generation. Younger kids are socialized by older kids who were socialized by the kids who grew up a few years ahead of them, and on back through history. Racism is one of these qualities I was focusing on to try to explain what happened that day. It was a racism that went unchecked by adults and law enforcement, and so to blame this only on immaturity is to excuse the police and the parents from their responsibility to administer fairness and justice, to investigate and to make restitution. None of that happened, and so the message was sent that what happened to the Sankeys was no big deal. The fact is that a family of children was terrorized in their home by a much larger group of teenagers. The real shame is that it has taken until now to bring it up.
I wrote what I wrote trying to understand where my own racial biases come from. While my mom tried to raise me with tolerance and while I had black and white friends, why is it that stereotypes and irrational fears still slipped into my mind? I tried to show in my recounting that I picked up insidious aspects of racism by growing up in Champaign. We young people had these reinforced by the circumstances of the times: we Catholics went to a largely segregated Catholic school that gave us limited contact with diverse groups. We lived in a largely segregated town that told us, in very real terms, that blacks and whites should not mix: and this was the legacy of white adults who lived in Champaign before we were born. And we lived in the post Civil Rights Era which forced us to deal with issues that our forebears wouldn’t even acknowledge as worthy of consideration, but it was a world where old ways of thinking persisted and trumped new ways. And I have to say, in too many ways we are still stuck in this past.
With the immediacy of social media, I should have anticipated who and how fast this post would go out to. I was not aware that Valorie’s blog was linked to the Memories of Champaign page, but as it is, this would be appropriate. It is an ugly memory, but it is a memory that helps to truthfully describe what life was like in the early 70’s. If we are not willing to look at the past square in the face, how on earth are we to confront racial injustices that persist today?
God bless you, I have learned a lot since reading this story. I am so so sorry for the way we treated your family. I am ashamed for my part , I know i can't take the past back, I wish I could, I hope you can forgive me.
Very thoughtful post, David.
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