During the early-to-mid twentieth century, swimming pools and beaches were among the most segregated public spaces in the country.[3] White residents of Indianapolis advocated for segregation of public pools by spreading false rumors that African American swimmers would spread diseases to white swimmers and by perpetuating the stereotype that allowing African American men into integrated swimming areas would pose a threat to white women’s safety.[4]
Additionally, Indianapolis city leaders feared that integrated pools would lead to violence among white and African American pool-goers. This fear was not unfounded, for white residents staged many attacks on African American patrons at swimming pools. In Cincinnati, for example, white attackers installed nails at the bottom of swimming pools to prevent African American patrons from swimming. White assailants in St. Augustine, Florida poured bleach and acid into pools occupied by African American swimmers. These incidents of racial violence were met with major protests in cities including Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Louisville. Although the violent outbreaks at swimming pools were incited by white pool-goers, African Americans were often blamed for the disorder. The fear of such unrest caused park owners to either ban admittance to African Americans or admit African Americans at their discretion, based on the “safety risks” the patrons presented.[5]
It was not until 1964 that the Civil Rights Act desegregated public swimming pools and parks. Although the law called for integration of swimming pools, some municipalities created clubs with membership fees to prevent African American patrons from entering. Others simply closed the city pools and filled them with concrete. During the 1960s and 1970s, many White families left Indianapolis in favor of neighborhoods outside the city. The rise of these affluent neighborhoods saw a dramatic increase in the number of gated communities, homeowners’ associations, and informally segregated private pools. As private swimming pools became more popular, cities began to decrease their funding to public recreational facilities, further preventing African American patrons from enjoying these amenities.[6]
Longacre Swimming Pool and Park, once a glaring example of Indianapolis’ segregated swimming pool policy, is now Longacre Mobile Home Park. Rufus Dodrill Jr., the second owner of the park, began developing the mobile home park in the 1960s with the hope that residents would frequent the pool and park amenities. As more Hoosiers invested in air conditioning and home pools and attendance dwindled, however, the cost of maintaining the facility became too heavy a burden.[7] Dodrill sold the facility in 1972, and the enormous pool was plowed a few years later.[8] All that remains of the impressive recreation park now are Longacre Mobile Home Park and the park’s original lake.[9]
]]>Longacre Swimming Pool was once a popular spot for summer recreation in Indianapolis. Established by attorney Edwin Thompson in 1927, the pool was located on the southside of the city and was urban stop 6 on Madison Avenue. Longacre Swimming Pool was the centerpiece of Longacre Park, a massive recreational area that boasted baseball diamonds, basketball courts, tennis courts, picnic areas, a golf fairway, croquet, pony rides, a sand beach, paddle boats, a dance hall, and a playground.[1] The park’s impressive swimming pool was 400 feet long and 185 feet wide and was naturally supplied by Lick Creek.[2] Although Longacre Swimming Pool and Park are remembered fondly by many residents of Indianapolis as places for summertime fun, the history of the facility is plagued by discrimination. Like most public pools and recreational facilities in Indianapolis at the time, Longacre Swimming Pool enforced segregation and barred African American families from enjoying its many amenities.
During the early-to-mid twentieth century, swimming pools and beaches were among the most segregated public spaces in the country.[3] White residents of Indianapolis advocated for segregation of public pools by spreading false rumors that African American swimmers would spread diseases to white swimmers and by perpetuating the stereotype that allowing African American men into integrated swimming areas would pose a threat to white women’s safety.[4]
Additionally, Indianapolis city leaders feared that integrated pools would lead to violence among white and African American pool-goers. This fear was not unfounded, for white residents staged many attacks on African American patrons at swimming pools. In Cincinnati, for example, white attackers installed nails at the bottom of swimming pools to prevent African American patrons from swimming. White assailants in St. Augustine, Florida poured bleach and acid into pools occupied by African American swimmers. These incidents of racial violence were met with major protests in cities including Baltimore, Washington D.C. and Louisville. Although the violent outbreaks at swimming pools were incited by white pool-goers, African Americans were often blamed for the disorder. The fear of such unrest caused park owners to either ban admittance to African Americans or admit African Americans at their discretion, based on the “safety risks” the patrons presented.[5]
It was not until 1964 that the Civil Rights Act desegregated public swimming pools and parks. Although the law called for integration of swimming pools, some municipalities created clubs with membership fees to prevent African American patrons from entering. Others simply closed the city pools and filled them with concrete. During the 1960s and 1970s, many White families left Indianapolis in favor of neighborhoods outside the city. The rise of these affluent neighborhoods saw a dramatic increase in the number of gated communities, homeowners’ associations, and informally segregated private pools. As private swimming pools became more popular, cities began to decrease their funding to public recreational facilities, further preventing African American patrons from enjoying these amenities.[6]
Longacre Swimming Pool and Park, once a glaring example of Indianapolis’ segregated swimming pool policy, is now Longacre Mobile Home Park. Rufus Dodrill Jr., the second owner of the park, began developing the mobile home park in the 1960s with the hope that residents would frequent the pool and park amenities. As more Hoosiers invested in air conditioning and home pools and attendance dwindled, however, the cost of maintaining the facility became too heavy a burden.[7] Dodrill sold the facility in 1972, and the enormous pool was plowed a few years later.[8] All that remains of the impressive recreation park now are Longacre Mobile Home Park and the park’s original lake.[9]
As a teenager, Jones was convinced that his father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, as Lynn had a large KKK membership. Believing in equal rights and in reaction to his father’s actions, Jones became a strong advocate for racial equality and civil rights. Jones attended Indiana University and Butler University, and in 1952, became a student preacher for the Somerset Methodist Church in Indianapolis.[4] In 1956, he established the Peoples Temple of the Disciples in Christ in Indianapolis, and became ordained in 1964. Due to Jones’ passion for civil rights and his support for the underdog and downtrodden since his childhood, the Peoples Temple welcomed congregants from various racial backgrounds, the majority being African American. Jones and his wife adopted children of different races and claimed to be the first white couple in Indianapolis to adopt an African American child. Jones referred to his children as his “rainbow family”, with the Joneses receiving death threats towards their African American son.[5]
The Peoples Temple directly participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Indiana, including helping to desegregate movie theatres, hospitals, restaurants, and police departments. The Temple also created a “free restaurant, and homes for the mentally ill.” In 1961, Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones as head of the Indianapolis Human Rights Commission.[6]
Jones moved his Peoples Temple to San Francisco in the 1970s. The Temple attracted members of lower and middle classes of all races to hear Jones’ message of equality and anti-discrimination. Jones continued to donate to local causes such as the NAACP, and developed connections with politicians to spread his message and gain followers. California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown was said to compare Jones to figures including “Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein, and Chairman Mao.”[7]
Jones portrayed himself as someone with extraordinary powers, such as telepathy, faith healing, and clairvoyance. In reality, he had other Temple members search through “garbage cans and medicine cabinets for private information” or pretend to be disabled to make Jones’ powers look real. Jones controlled his congregants with abuse, beatings, sleep deprivation, constant work, and humiliation[8] This abuse caused some of even Jones’ most trusted members to leave the Temple and contact the media.[9] In 1974, threatened by an imminent media investigation, he moved his entire congregation to Guyana. There, the Temple sought to create a society where they were free to do as they wished without prejudice and hatred, and control by the US government. By 1977, “Jonestown” had nearly a thousand residents.[10]
Jones continued to maintain control over Jonestown residents by physical punishment and humiliations. Communication from inside and outside Jonestown was heavily controlled and censored. Phone calls were scripted, with Jones telling his followers what to say to their relatives in the US. He convinced his followers that staying in Jonestown was for their own safety, by falsely declaring that nuclear war was impending and concentration camps were being formed in the US. Despite these “warnings”, some members did leave Jonestown. As a test of loyalty, Jones even made his followers practice “revolutionary suicide” by drinking water said to be poisoned. Meanwhile in the US, relatives of the Jonestown population contacted the authorities to start an investigation into the Peoples Temple. Former members informed the media of the abuses and mass suicide threats that occurred in Jonestown.[11]
California Representative Leo Ryan, relatives of Temple members, and American journalists arrived in Jonestown on November 1978 to investigate. Jones and the residents put on public festivities to welcome their guests, but in private, Jones complained to Ryan about the American government interfering with the Peoples Temple.[12] The next day, a reporter handed Jones a note that was given to him by a Temple member reading “Help us get out of Jonestown.” Despite his anger, Jones told Ryan and the media that anyone who wanted to leave Jonestown could do so. As several groups of people prepared to leave the settlement, Peoples Temple members opened fire, killing Ryan and three others, and injuring 11.[13] In Jonestown, Jones convinced his congregation to drink from vats of Flavor-Aid that were laced with cyanide as a “revolutionary act.” A total of 918 people died by mass suicide that day, a third of them children.
Jones himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving an incomprehensible and tragic legacy of using civil rights and religion as a cover to further his political ideology resulting in human rights abuses and mass murder.[14]
]]>James Warren Jones was born on May 13, 1931 in Crete, Indiana[1] and the family moved to Lynn, Indiana in 1934.[2] He was invited to church by his neighbors, and it was those sermons that sparked Jones’ interest in religion and leadership. He studied various leaders including Marx, Gandhi, Hitler, and Stalin, noting their strengths and weaknesses.[3]
As a teenager, Jones was convinced that his father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan, as Lynn had a large KKK membership. Believing in equal rights and in reaction to his father’s actions, Jones became a strong advocate for racial equality and civil rights. Jones attended Indiana University and Butler University, and in 1952, became a student preacher for the Somerset Methodist Church in Indianapolis.[4] In 1956, he established the Peoples Temple of the Disciples in Christ in Indianapolis, and became ordained in 1964. Due to Jones’ passion for civil rights and his support for the underdog and downtrodden since his childhood, the Peoples Temple welcomed congregants from various racial backgrounds, the majority being African American. Jones and his wife adopted children of different races and claimed to be the first white couple in Indianapolis to adopt an African American child. Jones referred to his children as his “rainbow family”, with the Joneses receiving death threats towards their African American son.[5]
The Peoples Temple directly participated in the Civil Rights Movement in Indiana, including helping to desegregate movie theatres, hospitals, restaurants, and police departments. The Temple also created a “free restaurant, and homes for the mentally ill.” In 1961, Mayor Charles Boswell appointed Jones as head of the Indianapolis Human Rights Commission.[6]
Jones moved his Peoples Temple to San Francisco in the 1970s. The Temple attracted members of lower and middle classes of all races to hear Jones’ message of equality and anti-discrimination. Jones continued to donate to local causes such as the NAACP, and developed connections with politicians to spread his message and gain followers. California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown was said to compare Jones to figures including “Martin Luther King, Angela Davis, Albert Einstein, and Chairman Mao.”[7]
Jones portrayed himself as someone with extraordinary powers, such as telepathy, faith healing, and clairvoyance. In reality, he had other Temple members search through “garbage cans and medicine cabinets for private information” or pretend to be disabled to make Jones’ powers look real. Jones controlled his congregants with abuse, beatings, sleep deprivation, constant work, and humiliation[8] This abuse caused some of even Jones’ most trusted members to leave the Temple and contact the media.[9] In 1974, threatened by an imminent media investigation, he moved his entire congregation to Guyana. There, the Temple sought to create a society where they were free to do as they wished without prejudice and hatred, and control by the US government. By 1977, “Jonestown” had nearly a thousand residents.[10]
Jones continued to maintain control over Jonestown residents by physical punishment and humiliations. Communication from inside and outside Jonestown was heavily controlled and censored. Phone calls were scripted, with Jones telling his followers what to say to their relatives in the US. He convinced his followers that staying in Jonestown was for their own safety, by falsely declaring that nuclear war was impending and concentration camps were being formed in the US. Despite these “warnings”, some members did leave Jonestown. As a test of loyalty, Jones even made his followers practice “revolutionary suicide” by drinking water said to be poisoned. Meanwhile in the US, relatives of the Jonestown population contacted the authorities to start an investigation into the Peoples Temple. Former members informed the media of the abuses and mass suicide threats that occurred in Jonestown.[11]
California Representative Leo Ryan, relatives of Temple members, and American journalists arrived in Jonestown on November 1978 to investigate. Jones and the residents put on public festivities to welcome their guests, but in private, Jones complained to Ryan about the American government interfering with the Peoples Temple.[12] The next day, a reporter handed Jones a note that was given to him by a Temple member reading “Help us get out of Jonestown.” Despite his anger, Jones told Ryan and the media that anyone who wanted to leave Jonestown could do so. As several groups of people prepared to leave the settlement, Peoples Temple members opened fire, killing Ryan and three others, and injuring 11.[13] In Jonestown, Jones convinced his congregation to drink from vats of Flavor-Aid that were laced with cyanide as a “revolutionary act.” A total of 918 people died by mass suicide that day, a third of them children.
Jones himself was found dead with a gunshot wound to the head, leaving an incomprehensible and tragic legacy of using civil rights and religion as a cover to further his political ideology resulting in human rights abuses and mass murder.[14]
On February 1, 1968, King delivered a speech at Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana, a private university associated with the Church of the Brethren. King had led campaigns for racial justice in the South and delivered similar speeches at colleges around the country, including in nearby Fort Wayne in 1963.[1] His Manchester speech was on the future of integration in the United States, highlighting a hope that race relations and equality in this country would get better in the years to come. “We have come a long, long way, but we must honestly face the fact that all over America we still have a long, long way to go before the problem of racial injustice is solved.”[2]
Manchester’s religious founder, the Church of the Brethren, is “committed to peace” and is one of the historic peace churches along with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites.[3] Manchester University’s Peace Studies Institute and Program for Conflict Resolution was the first undergraduate Peace Studies program in the world. King’s message of non-violence was expected to resonate with Manchester faculty and students.[4] However, Dr. King’s speech was not met with all peaceful reactions. In preparation for an influx of demonstrators during King’s visit, tight security was imposed amid high tensions on campus and in the community of Manchester.[5] The President of the university, A. Blair Helman, received hate mail prior to and following Dr. King’s appearance.[6] Much of the negative reactions stemmed from King’s stance on the Vietnam War. In his speech, Dr. King mentioned his opposition to the war, stating that, “I am afraid that our national administration is more concerned about winning an ill-considered war in Vietnam than about winning the war against poverty right here at home. I raise my voice against that war because I have seen what it has done to our nation...It has diverted attention from civil rights.”[7]
Two months later, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. His fight for civil rights and his powerful voice for social justice were silenced, but his legacy and message speak loud and clear today. Dr. King’s remarks at Manchester University was his last speech at a college campus, and the event is commemorated, with a bust in the likeness of King near the spot that he gave his address in 1968.[8]
]]>The 1960s were a time of great change and turmoil. The Civil Rights movement was at its height in the late 1960s, following the March on Washington in 1963, the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the passing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The leader of the Civil Rights movement was Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who traveled the country giving speeches, often on college campuses, calling for social justice and equal rights.
On February 1, 1968, King delivered a speech at Manchester University in North Manchester, Indiana, a private university associated with the Church of the Brethren. King had led campaigns for racial justice in the South and delivered similar speeches at colleges around the country, including in nearby Fort Wayne in 1963.[1] His Manchester speech was on the future of integration in the United States, highlighting a hope that race relations and equality in this country would get better in the years to come. “We have come a long, long way, but we must honestly face the fact that all over America we still have a long, long way to go before the problem of racial injustice is solved.”[2]
Manchester’s religious founder, the Church of the Brethren, is “committed to peace” and is one of the historic peace churches along with the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) and Mennonites.[3] Manchester University’s Peace Studies Institute and Program for Conflict Resolution was the first undergraduate Peace Studies program in the world. King’s message of non-violence was expected to resonate with Manchester faculty and students.[4] However, Dr. King’s speech was not met with all peaceful reactions. In preparation for an influx of demonstrators during King’s visit, tight security was imposed amid high tensions on campus and in the community of Manchester.[5] The President of the university, A. Blair Helman, received hate mail prior to and following Dr. King’s appearance.[6] Much of the negative reactions stemmed from King’s stance on the Vietnam War. In his speech, Dr. King mentioned his opposition to the war, stating that, “I am afraid that our national administration is more concerned about winning an ill-considered war in Vietnam than about winning the war against poverty right here at home. I raise my voice against that war because I have seen what it has done to our nation...It has diverted attention from civil rights.”[7]
Two months later, on April 4, 1968, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr was shot and killed in Memphis, Tennessee. His fight for civil rights and his powerful voice for social justice were silenced, but his legacy and message speak loud and clear today. Dr. King’s remarks at Manchester University was his last speech at a college campus, and the event is commemorated, with a bust in the likeness of King near the spot that he gave his address in 1968.[8]
One member of Company 517-C, Francis Crowdus, recounted his experience in the CCC, saying “there was a sense of high expectation. We worked hard and were expected to do it right. We used our muscles…we built barracks, dams, fought forest fires, reclaimed streams, and planted forests. Even though the CCC was one of President Roosevelt’s job programs, I never felt I was on welfare.”[5] In addition to the work described by Crowdus, the 517-C worked in natural stone quarries, as well as helped in rescue efforts following the flood of 1937.[6]
The time spent in segregated camps afforded the men opportunities they would not have otherwise had. At Corydon, Company 517-C was isolated from the surrounding white community, cementing a sense of belonging for those in 517-C. Another former member of Company 517-C claimed “I’ve never seen such camaraderie anywhere, not even in a fraternity or a church. It’s like blood brothers.” With this strong sense of teamwork, Company 517-C coined the phrase “We Can Take It!” as their motto, highlighting their hard work and friendship.[7]
While New Deal historians argue that race relations did not see improvement on a national level as a result of the CCC, it can be argued that race relations did improve on a local level by the brotherhood developed among African American young men following the Great Depression. Many white farmers and landowners of southern Indiana openly accepted and appreciated the help of the African American CCC groups.[8][9]
However, members of the 517-C were the subject of great prejudice in other areas of Indiana. Company 517-C moved to Portland in Jay County in the fall of 1939 to repair a drainage system. Their arrival caused much anxiety throughout the community. An editorial in The Sun & Commercial asked local citizens not to be alarmed assuring that “during the few months they will be kept under strict discipline by their white officers.”[10] With no diversity in Portland, the men of 517-C traveled to Muncie or Fort Wayne for their weekend social activities. With Camp Portland close to town, the local community cultivated a growing distrust of the CCC workers.
One of the 517-C crew, Marshall Carter, walked through an alley on his way out of town one evening in December 1939. A local resident yelled at him to stop, then open fired without warning, severely wounding Carter, and he was rushed to the local hospital. The attack was initially ignored in the national CCC paper Happy Days, greatly upsetting many of the African American CCC members.[11] However, the December 1939 issue of Ditch Dots and Dashes, published by 517-C members, blared the headline “Local Citizen Shoots C.C.C. Boy, Marshall Carter is Victim”. Subsequent issues included submissions from 517-C crew lamenting racial injustice in the form of testimonials and poetry, including Carter with a poem titled So You’re the Judge.[12] It was reported in the February 1940 issue that Carter had recovered from his wounds.[13]
In 1942, the CCC disbanded nationally as young men were needed to fight in WWII. Many members of the 517-C met for annual reunions at their camps in Corydon and Portland until the last CCC reunion in 1994.[14]
]]>The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was one of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s most popular New Deal relief agencies, employing approximately three million men between the ages of 17 and 23, from 1933 to 1942, in 57 camps across the United States.[1] The CCC was heavily responsible for the creation of many structures and infrastructure within Indiana state parks and forests, as well as many other public works across the state.[2] Eight Indiana CCC companies were comprised solely of African Americans. Company 517-C, formed in 1934 with 250 men and based outside of Corydon, became the largest and most enduring African American CCC company.[3] The “-C” in the name designated it as a “colored” group.[4]
One member of Company 517-C, Francis Crowdus, recounted his experience in the CCC, saying “there was a sense of high expectation. We worked hard and were expected to do it right. We used our muscles…we built barracks, dams, fought forest fires, reclaimed streams, and planted forests. Even though the CCC was one of President Roosevelt’s job programs, I never felt I was on welfare.”[5] In addition to the work described by Crowdus, the 517-C worked in natural stone quarries, as well as helped in rescue efforts following the flood of 1937.[6]
The time spent in segregated camps afforded the men opportunities they would not have otherwise had. At Corydon, Company 517-C was isolated from the surrounding white community, cementing a sense of belonging for those in 517-C. Another former member of Company 517-C claimed “I’ve never seen such camaraderie anywhere, not even in a fraternity or a church. It’s like blood brothers.” With this strong sense of teamwork, Company 517-C coined the phrase “We Can Take It!” as their motto, highlighting their hard work and friendship.[7]
While New Deal historians argue that race relations did not see improvement on a national level as a result of the CCC, it can be argued that race relations did improve on a local level by the brotherhood developed among African American young men following the Great Depression. Many white farmers and landowners of southern Indiana openly accepted and appreciated the help of the African American CCC groups.[8][9]
However, members of the 517-C were the subject of great prejudice in other areas of Indiana. Company 517-C moved to Portland in Jay County in the fall of 1939 to repair a drainage system. Their arrival caused much anxiety throughout the community. An editorial in The Sun & Commercial asked local citizens not to be alarmed assuring that “during the few months they will be kept under strict discipline by their white officers.”[10] With no diversity in Portland, the men of 517-C traveled to Muncie or Fort Wayne for their weekend social activities. With Camp Portland close to town, the local community cultivated a growing distrust of the CCC workers.
One of the 517-C crew, Marshall Carter, walked through an alley on his way out of town one evening in December 1939. A local resident yelled at him to stop, then open fired without warning, severely wounding Carter, and he was rushed to the local hospital. The attack was initially ignored in the national CCC paper Happy Days, greatly upsetting many of the African American CCC members.[11] However, the December 1939 issue of Ditch Dots and Dashes, published by 517-C members, blared the headline “Local Citizen Shoots C.C.C. Boy, Marshall Carter is Victim”. Subsequent issues included submissions from 517-C crew lamenting racial injustice in the form of testimonials and poetry, including Carter with a poem titled So You’re the Judge.[12] It was reported in the February 1940 issue that Carter had recovered from his wounds.[13]
In 1942, the CCC disbanded nationally as young men were needed to fight in WWII. Many members of the 517-C met for annual reunions at their camps in Corydon and Portland until the last CCC reunion in 1994.[14]
After the banquet, Jordan decided to go with a white woman named Martha Coleman to eat dinner at her house in the city.[6] When Jordan returned to the Marriot Motor Inn, Coleman dropped him off at the side entrance of the hotel, because it was closer to his room.[7] While getting out of the car, Jordan collapsed to the ground; he had been shot in the back with a bullet from a .30-06 rifle.[8] According to Jordan, the bullet left a hole in his back that was the size of a man’s fist, later causing him to have 5 operations to remove the bullet fragments and close the wound.[9] At first the police and FBI had trouble determining the identity of the shooter was because Jordan was shot in the back at night.[10] A year after the shooting the police identified and arrested Joseph Paul Franklin.[11]
Before this assassination attempt, Franklin was known across the country as an outspoken and violent racist. In 1980 alone, Franklin was linked to eleven racial killings.[12] One of the most disturbing incidents was when he killed two black men who were jogging with two white women in Utah.[13] Franklin did not hide his racist attitudes. He associated himself with the American Nazi Party, the Klu Klux Klan, and was not afraid to tell people about his hatred of interracial relationships.[14] Despite Franklin being arrested for shooting Jordan, the state did not believe that there was enough evidence to charge him with attempted murder, so the cause went to a federal court to determine if Jordan’s civil rights were violated.[15] In August of 1982 Joseph Paul Franklin was tried in northern Indiana under Judge Allen Sharp. Franklin was acquitted of the accusations in the Vernon Jordan case by an all-white jury.[16] Despite being acquitted in this case, Franklin was already serving four life sentences for other crimes he had committed across the country.[17] While serving these sentences, Franklin reportedly admitted to an inmate that he had shot Jordan.[18] After the case, Franklin spent the rest of his life in a Missouri prison where he was awaiting his execution for murdering a man in St. Louis outside of a synagogue in 1977. Thirty-six years later, Franklin would be put to death by lethal injection on November 20, 2013.[19]
After this attack on his life, Vernon Jordan continued to fight for what he believed in. However, Jordan decided in December of 1980 to resign as the President of the National Urban League.[20] After leaving the Urban League, he joined a private law firm in Washington, D.C. dealing with “corporate and political affairs.” In 1992 Jordan advised Bill Clinton’s Presidential Campaign and lead his transition team, but opted to remain an unofficial advisor during Clinton’s presidency.[21] Since his time in the Clinton administration, Jordan has continued to work in politics while also becoming an influence in the financial realm while still fighting for civil rights in the United States.[22] He has faced many challenges throughout his career, even an attack on his life, but he still continues to fight for the equality of Americans in modern society.
]]>On May 29, 1980 in Fort Wayne, Indiana, the civil rights leader and National Urban League president Vernon Jordan was the guest speaker at the Equal Opportunity Dinner for the Fort Wayne chapter of the Urban League.[1] By all accounts, this appeared to be an ordinary day for Jordan.
Vernon Eulion Jordan Jr. was a born in Atlanta, Georgia in 1935 and did his undergraduate studies at DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. He majored in political science and was intentional in choosing DePauw, which was a nearly all-white school at the time. Even at that young age Vernon Jordan wanted to challenge the established ways that things were done and pave the way for new opportunities for African American men and women. Upon graduating Depauw University as the only African American in a class of 400 students, Vernon Jordan studied at Howard University and graduated with a J.D. in 1960.[2] Since then, he had worked with Donald Hollowell fighting Jim Crow laws, the NAACP as a field secretary in Georgia, and as the director of the Southern Regional Council’s Voter Education Project.[3] Since 1971, Jordan had served as the president of the National Urban League.[4] In 1980 Jordan had been speaking across the country promoting the National Urban League and its significance to American society during the presidential election between Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. His speaking engagement at the Equal Opportunity Dinner at the Fort Wayne Marriot Motor Inn was only one stop on his national tour.[5]
After the banquet, Jordan decided to go with a white woman named Martha Coleman to eat dinner at her house in the city.[6] When Jordan returned to the Marriot Motor Inn, Coleman dropped him off at the side entrance of the hotel, because it was closer to his room.[7] While getting out of the car, Jordan collapsed to the ground; he had been shot in the back with a bullet from a .30-06 rifle.[8] According to Jordan, the bullet left a hole in his back that was the size of a man’s fist, later causing him to have 5 operations to remove the bullet fragments and close the wound.[9] At first the police and FBI had trouble determining the identity of the shooter was because Jordan was shot in the back at night.[10] A year after the shooting the police identified and arrested Joseph Paul Franklin.[11]
Before this assassination attempt, Franklin was known across the country as an outspoken and violent racist. In 1980 alone, Franklin was linked to eleven racial killings.[12] One of the most disturbing incidents was when he killed two black men who were jogging with two white women in Utah.[13] Franklin did not hide his racist attitudes. He associated himself with the American Nazi Party, the Klu Klux Klan, and was not afraid to tell people about his hatred of interracial relationships.[14] Despite Franklin being arrested for shooting Jordan, the state did not believe that there was enough evidence to charge him with attempted murder, so the cause went to a federal court to determine if Jordan’s civil rights were violated.[15] In August of 1982 Joseph Paul Franklin was tried in northern Indiana under Judge Allen Sharp. Franklin was acquitted of the accusations in the Vernon Jordan case by an all-white jury.[16] Despite being acquitted in this case, Franklin was already serving four life sentences for other crimes he had committed across the country.[17] While serving these sentences, Franklin reportedly admitted to an inmate that he had shot Jordan.[18] After the case, Franklin spent the rest of his life in a Missouri prison where he was awaiting his execution for murdering a man in St. Louis outside of a synagogue in 1977. Thirty-six years later, Franklin would be put to death by lethal injection on November 20, 2013.[19]
After this attack on his life, Vernon Jordan continued to fight for what he believed in. However, Jordan decided in December of 1980 to resign as the President of the National Urban League.[20] After leaving the Urban League, he joined a private law firm in Washington, D.C. dealing with “corporate and political affairs.” In 1992 Jordan advised Bill Clinton’s Presidential Campaign and lead his transition team, but opted to remain an unofficial advisor during Clinton’s presidency.[21] Since his time in the Clinton administration, Jordan has continued to work in politics while also becoming an influence in the financial realm while still fighting for civil rights in the United States.[22] He has faced many challenges throughout his career, even an attack on his life, but he still continues to fight for the equality of Americans in modern society.
[1] Jo Thomas, “Racist who Killed 2 Indicted in Shooting of Vernon Jordan,” Archives, New York Times, June 3, 1982, https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/03/us/racist-who-killed-2-indicted-in-shooting-of-vernon-jordan.html.
[2] “Vernon Jordan Jr.,” Biography, accessed April 2, 2019, https://www.biography.com/people/vernon-jordan-jr-9358120.
[3] “Vernon Jordan Jr.,” Biography, accessed March 16, 2019, https://www.biography.com/people/vernon-jordan-jr-9358120.
[4] Ibid.
[5]Vernon E. Jordan and Annette Gordon-Reed, Vernon can read!: a memoir (New York: Public Affairs, 2001), 280.
[6] Ibid.
[7] Ibid, 281.
[8] Thomas, “Racist who Killed 2”.
[9] Jordan, and Gordon Reed, Vernon Can Read: a Memoir, 283.
[10] Linda G. Caleca, “A year later, few clues in Vernon Jordan shooting,” UPI, May 28, 1981, https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/05/28/A-year-later-few-clues-in-Vernon-Jordan-shooting/7539359870400/.
[11] Jordan and Gordon-Reed, Vernon Can Read: a Memoir, 296.
[12] Linda G. Caleca, “Civil rights leader Vernon Jordan testified today he though…,” UPI, August 10, 1982. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1982/08/10/Civil-rights-leader-Vernon-Jordan-testified-today-he-thought/6415397800000/.
[13] Thomas, “Racist who Killed 2.”
[14] Ibid.
[15] Jordan and Gordon-Reed, Vernon Can Read: a Memoir, 296.
[16] “Federal Jury Returns Verdict of Not Guilty in Jordan Shooting,” Archives, New York Times, August 18, 1982. https://www.nytimes.com/1982/08/18/us/federal-jury-returns-verdict-of-not-guilty-in-jordan-shooting.html.
[17] Ibid.
[18] “Vernon Jordan Jr.,” Biography, accessed March 16, 2019, https://www.biography.com/people/vernon-jordan-jr-9358120.
[19] Lateef Mungin, “Serial killer Joseph Franklin executed after hours of delay,” CNN, November 21, 2013, https://www.cnn.com/2013/11/20/justice/missouri-franklin-execution/index.html.
[20] Caleca, “Civil rights leader Vernon Jordan testified.”
[21] “Vernon E. Jordan, Jr.” Encycylopaedia Britannica, accessed April 2, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vernon-E-Jordan-Jr.
[22] “Vernon Jordan ’57 Returning to Depauw to Address Class of 2018 at May’s 179th Commencement,” Depauw University, November 24, 2017, https://www.depauw.edu/news-media/latest-news/details/33325/.