Ellington

Due to the similar nature (M.O.) of the crime that Seale and his cronies are accused of committing (picking up young black men, torturing and killing them), my brother met a similar fate. (He possibly refused a ride and was run down and then shot as he was waiting for a bus in Provident, Tenn.) He was found by a cab driver with a wound through the head on New Providence Boulevard, with a bullet round next to his head.

He was a beautiful person—an altar boy and musician. Just like the Moore family and the other grieving family members, we can relate to the pain and suffering that these families have had to endure. My heart goes out to them. I have been watching for the last few days how hard work and luck (and God) led to the indictment of this "man" Seale. I don't know exactly how things transpired, but I am glad he's behind bars where he belongs.

After my brother's death, my family got no cooperation from the FBI or local authorities ("just another dead Negro" attitude). They probably know who was doing the racially motivated killings in that area. My father passed away with the knowledge that his son's murderer was never found. Sometimes I think he died from a broken heart. My mother (85 years old) is still living, and I have four brothers. I am the oldest, and like Mr. Moore, I have always said since I was a child that I would find his killer. Wishful thinking? I know my brother would have forgave them, but those who commit these heinous crimes should be brought to justice no matter how long it takes. I pray that maybe one day the culprit will pay for his crimes.

Even though at this time I don't know what the outcome will be concerning the Seale trial, I am hoping that justice will be served. Maybe one day "my" brother might receive the justice he was denied. — D. Hardin, Chicago

P.S.: I also cried for the first time in forty years the other day when I heard about the story. It was therapeutic, I think. I was 6 years old when my brother died. I never got a chance to mourn his loss due to my age when this occurred. I hope you and others involved continue working with the "cold cases" and due to efforts like that, many families will find justice. I pray maybe my brother one day will find justice.

There is a lot more to this story. Forty years later, the young lady (m,y brother) had visited on that fateful day revealed he had a child and even grandchildren. Life is funny sometimes. We may have lost a brother, but God gave us my brothers' son and his children. They live in Clarksville, Tenn. and regularly come to visit us in Chicago.
— Via e-mail to the JFP last week.

Previous Comments

ID

80845

Comment

I feel your pain, D. Hardin. I have a very low opinion of the FBI agents working in the South back in that era when you lost your love one. Like their white predecessors and bosses, protecting black folks from mob violence or finding the killers of innocent black folks, especially black men and boys, was a great inconvenience to them who favored the sentiments of white racists more than any moral or legal call to do the right thing. I saw a pathetic FBI agent being lauded recently in our largest newspapers. He was more the problem than the solution although he did help in a few cases.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-02-01T12:36:57-06:00

ID

80846

Comment

I meant pathetic ex-FBI agent. They're alright now. I considered joining years ago until they told me the type of cases I would be working and the area of the country, too - New York. A country Mississippi boy who doesn't like crowds would be a fish out of water in the big apple.

Author

Ray Carter

Date

2007-02-02T12:28:58-06:00