Speak Truth Bridges Racial Divide

Jan. 13, 2011 - PRLog -- HOUSTON—When black WWII veteran Charles Patrick challenged corrupt powers in 1954 Birmingham, Ala., little did he know that this would become one of the first cases on record whereby segregated races would rally and unify in support of one man wronged.  Patrick’s unusual story is captured in a book released by the University of Alabama Press:  Speak Truth to Power, the Story of Charles Patrick, a Civil Rights Pioneer, by Mignette Y. Patrick Dorsey.  This moving account of faith, truth and brazen courage happened prior to the start of an organized mass movement for civil rights.  Charles Patrick is now 92 years old.  He will receive the April 4th Foundation’s “Open Door Award” on April 4, 2011, at the Cook Convention Center in Memphis, Tenn.

Patrick took his stand after a December 1954 argument with a white woman over a parking space in downtown Birmingham.  That night, he was arrested and charged with vagrancy and disorderly conduct, but while in jail, he was brutally assaulted by the woman’s police officer husband and two other cops, and left for dead.  Standing with one white attorney before a racist judge, and after agonizing soul searching and prayer, he accused the officers of assault—a first for that era.  Expecting death, he instructed his brother to help raise his young children.  Patrick was shocked when the officers were abruptly fired, and even more stunned when after they were rehired, Birmingham’s white and black citizenry, the press and politicians went public in avid support of his cause.  A citizen letter-writing campaign, rallies at Sixteenth Street Baptist Church and newspaper editorials calling for the officers’ permanent dismissal from the police force ensued.

Journalist and writing instructor Mignette Yvonne Patrick Dorsey never dreamed she would parlay yellowing articles about her father into such a book, one seen as crucial to badly needed healing in today’s fragmented social environment.  “The editorials and letters I read in support of my father changed my views about Birmingham,” said Dorsey, a Los Angeles, Calif., native.

Speak Truth to Power offers a rare look into a silent era prior to the advent of Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.  It confirms that when adversity strikes, faith, truth and courage can unite any community torn by racial strife—even as far back as 1954.

More information at http://www.mignettepatrickdorsey.com