By Ken Hamilton
What is in a name?
The name “Niagara” seems important to many people. Some citizens took offense to the NFTA tacking on the name of Niagara as a part of the Buffalo Airport moniker, while some took pride in the name of the Niagara Movement — a group that in 1905 dedicated themselves to reducing racial intolerance. The NAACP is an offshoot of that meeting. While we have made tremendous progress, both the Niagara-area and the NAACP still has some way to go in fulfilling their joint destinies.
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the NAACP, Niagara-Chapter president and Gazette columnist Bill Bradberry wants church bells to ring on Sunday in honor of that centennial celebration. Hearing harmonious church bells would be nice.
Speaking of names, not long ago, I did a column on the naming of U.S. Navy ships, and how those names meant a lot. Featured in the column was the USS New York, which is made partially from steel from the World Trade Center. It left its shipyard in Louisiana this week for its commissioning in New York City. The former T-USS Niagara Falls, which was taken out of service last year, was also mentioned.
Now, perhaps another bell will ring in a future NAACP celebration. The USNS Medgar Evers will be one of the Navy’s newest ships, and it fulfills the role of the USS Niagara Falls. Evers was an NAACP national field secretary when he was shot and killed in his driveway in Mississippi on June 12, 1962. After three tries, Mississippians eventually convicted and imprisoned KKK-member salesman Byron De La Beckwith. Ironically, the secretary of the Navy and former governor of Mississippi, Ray Mabus, proudly made the ship’s announcement to his fellow Mississippians. The secretary has a final decision on ship’s names.
I guess anyone can change. Mississippians have made tremendous step-wise progress in civil rights and may serve as an example for the people of our region. For example, speaking of the Niagara name, the Niagara Falls Six are still going through their task of trying to bring equal working conditions to city government. They receive little help from the elected officials who claimed to have been dedicated to civil rights. Long-term black City Council member Charles Walker once met with members of the Niagara Falls Six and promised them his support, then at the next council meeting, instead of encouraging the city to investigate and settle the claims of these workers, he voted to secure the services of one of the area’s finest law firms, Underberg and Kessler, to fight them.
I don’t have a problem with a councilman looking out for the interests of the city, I elect them to do that. However, the foreseeable costs of litigation alone usually outweigh the costs of just doing the right thing. And when the councilman holds himself up as a standard for racial equality, then he should be consistent.
Walker accused former Mayor Irene Elia of being insensitive to African Americans when she restructured the city’s Human Rights Commission director’s job from full-time to 15 percent human rights and 85 percent risk management, thereby terminating Renae Kimble from former Mayor James Galie’s politically appointed position. The change was cleared through City Council in a unanimous vote with Walker voting yes. Elia didn’t do it — the council did!
Former Mayor Vince Anello returned Kimble to city hall as risk manager. Walker later revived a weaker, less-funded human rights organization.
During the discussions for the proposed Michigan Central Bridge, Walker angrily protested plans to send trucks down the railroad tracks and suggested diverting the traffic down Lewiston Road instead, past former Mayor Elia’s house, past Maple Avenue School and somehow down to the I-190, instead of down the railroad tracks. He ostensibly cited health and safety concerns in trucks passing through a black neighborhood. The truck road would have been scores of yards away from black homes, while Walker’s route would be much closer to the homes in the predominately-white neighborhood along Lewiston Road.
Ironically, Walker then supported the Niagara Falls Housing Authority digging up a dump near the tracks, putting down a liner, and building HOPE VI project homes, both on the dump and on the arsenic-contaminated soils between the street and those same railroad tracks. He voted for millions of dollars of your tax-induced dollars to support this. Hmmm.
Perhaps Niagara has to go through a Mississippi Burning situation to get it right after 100 years. Perhaps we have to purge the last remnants of racism out of our black lawmakers before we can squeeze the last syrupy solution of segregation out of the white ones. Then, like the NAACP bells of Niagara, and the ship’s bell aboard the USNS Medgar Evers, in the name of God, we can ring them out and make sweet, celebratory music together.
Ken Hamilton is a Niagara Falls resident. Contact him at kenhamilton930@aol.com.
