Preface

Page xiii →In 1902, as a senior at the Colored Normal, Industrial, Agricultural and Mechanical College of South Carolina (now South Carolina State University), my grandfather, James Alvirgus Brown, wrote an essay on Jean-Jacques Rousseau’s The Social Contract, the monumental book on the essential elements of a legitimate political community. In his essay, my grandfather referenced the French philosopher’s quote from Solon, the Greek statesman: “To know thyself is not sufficient; know others and know them well.” After much reflection on the wisdom of those words, I have attempted to hew close to Solon’s guidance in this autobiography. In the pages that follow, I profile the individuals who have had a significant impact on my life. By holding a mirror to their lives, you gain a better picture of who I am.

After graduation in 1903, my grandfather taught for a brief period in the School of Industries at Biddle University (now Johnson C. Smith University) in Charlotte, North Carolina. Two years later, in 1905, he was appointed to the faculty of the Mechanical Department at his beloved alma mater. Professor Brown has been a constant companion as I penned this autobiography. He knew of what he wrote by quoting Solon; his warmth for others and his contributions to the South Carolina college were praised and recognized at the memorial convocation following his premature death at age forty-one. He was a brilliant student of mathematics, astronomy, and masonry construction who shared his knowledge generously. All academic classes were cancelled on the afternoon of his memorial service held at the overflowing White Hall auditorium to enable family, faculty, Page xiv →students, and the community to pay their respects. He knew others, knew them well, and they thanked him with effusive appreciation for what he had accomplished.

Although I have lived nearly twice my grandfather’s years and pursued different life goals during different historical times, there is a bond that connects us to the same life purpose. In many ways, my life is an extension of his unfulfilled life. We share a love of knowledge and curiosity for new ideas, a spirit of adventure and courage to blaze new trails, a trust and openness to others, a commitment to the advancement of Black education, an avid devotion to family, and a philosophical belief that we were put on this planet to serve the greater good.

This autobiography provides the portrait of a Black person growing up in South Carolina during the 1950s and 1960s. He had strong family ties and an awareness of the contributions of his ancestors. His family was very involved in the civil rights movement and paid a high price for engaging in those activities. At an early age, he followed in their footsteps by protesting the mistreatment and inequality of Black people. He understood and was obsessed with the power of learning, especially the value of higher education, to improve the plight of Black folk. After his formative years in South Carolina, he left the state in 1967 and was exposed to different cultures and lifestyles, both national and international. That exposure enhanced his maturity and taught him that the achievement of significant and lasting progress is rooted in the collective contributions of many with diverse ideas. Feeling the need to give back to the community and use the vast talents given to him through his education and exposure, he ultimately returned to South Carolina in 1973 and made a significate contribution to Black education as the first full-time African American professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law.

In the chapters that follow, I have chronicled meaningful phases of my life from childhood to adulthood. I have detailed episodes of Page xv →my life against the backdrop of the turbulent times in which I have lived and describe critical events and people that have shaped my character. Those events have included the decades-long struggle for civil rights; the Vietnam conflict; the political assassinations of the youthful Medgar Evers [Mississippi civil rights activist for National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)], John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy; the erosion of Black voting rights and affirmative action by the US Supreme Court; hyperpartisan politics; and the emerging empowerment of the African American middle class. The trajectory of my life has not been linear and reflects mistakes, indecisions, and course corrections after I encountered obstacles. As a Black person growing up in the Jim Crow South, my path was not determinative. It was buffeted by challenges that had to be negotiated carefully to survive and thrive. With the help and support of family and community, I avoided pitfalls that could have cratered my quest to become who I am.

Dag Hammarskjöld wrote that while we are not permitted to choose the frame of our destiny, what we put into it is our own. I am fortunate to have been given a life filled with a diversity of rich experiences. Those experiences were made possible by the unprecedented societal amalgamation that occurred during my lifetime. I have seen unparalleled progress in civil and political rights for Black people, women, LGBTQ+ individuals, and other marginalized groups. My awareness of the world and the panoply of cutting-edge ideas were made possible through developments of the computer, Internet, and efficient air travel. The times were ripe for me to break down barriers that prevented my forbears from achieving what I have accomplished. Through the preparation and encouragement provided to me by many individuals, who believed I could succeed and contribute, I am the person I am today.

As an academic in South Carolina with an awareness of the contributions of African American scholars and educators in the Page xvi →state, my grandfather more than likely knew of the life and work of Professor Richard T. Greener. During Reconstruction in 1873, he was the first African American appointed to the University of South Carolina (USC) faculty as professor of mental and moral philosophy, librarian, and part-time law teacher. He made monumental contributions to USC while negotiating a hostile white environment that presented many obstacles to his efforts to improve the school during his four years at the college. Although it took one hundred years for the USC School of Law to recognize the need for a full-time Black professor to continue Professor Greener’s work there, that long-delayed action illustrates that the arc of history does ultimately bend toward liberation and justice. Abraham Lincoln recognized this immutable truth when he encouraged Congress before signing the Emancipation Proclamation to think anew about taking whatever steps are necessary to save the Union with the prophetic words: “we cannot escape history.”