Louis Coleman, one of Louisvilles greatest freedom fighters, was buried a few weeks ago. Make no mistake, he was not a favorite son. He was not the most beloved fellow to walk the citys streets. He was not a man who brought comfort to wrongdoers. He was not easily appeased.
Louis Coleman was a reverend, but he did not pastor the largest church. He did not have much money, drive fancy cars or wear fine clothes. In fact, he wasnt dapper at all. He wasnt very refined, tall, sexy or overwhelmingly handsome. Just a plain old pot-bellied street fighter.
Come to think of it, a lot of folk didnt like Louis very much. Fact is, the man was a damn irritant. He talked too much. He was always marching around protesting and doing inappropriate things. He wouldnt put that damn bullhorn away and he kept company with other crazy people.
He was stuck in the past just wouldnt let Louisville get over that race crap. Racisms dead! Didnt he know there were well-to-do Negroes now? Didnt he know there were dark folks living in exclusive neighborhoods? Hadnt he heard of Oprah? Hell, a brown fellow is even the odds-on favorite to be the next president. So, what the hell is this guy complaining about? Troublemaker. Poverty pimp. Race baiter. Hustler. Excuse maker. Nigger!
We didnt like Louis Coleman very much. Be honest. Admit it! We didnt like him so we killed him.
Yes, I said WE! Thats right you, you, you over there, you, you and me. WE killed him. You there. Yes you, Coward. You killed Louis with your lack of courage. You knew things were wrong, but you never said or did anything because you were scared. You sat in the shadows, complained and waited for Louis to act. You never said a word. You left it all to him. His burdens grew because of you.
You there, Selfish Bastard. You killed Louis with your embryo complex. You think the world revolves around you and never would have anything to do with Louis until something happened to you. Then you sought him out and enlisted his aid. He gave it to you, of course. He did what he could with a smile. It doesnt matter whether he won or lost your case. The only thing that matters is he gave his help to you when you didnt deserve it. You burdened him a little bit more.
You there, Bourgeois Negro! Yeah, you. You know who you are. You killed Louis with your escapism. You felt like everything in the world was all right because you were doing OK, so you blamed the suffering masses for their struggles. You were too good for Louis and his ilk. You had arrived. Oh yes, youre good. You have your luxury cars, diamond rings, designer suits, mega-churches and even more mega- egos. You didnt need Louis. In your world, he created problems. Your condemnation weighed heavily on him.
You there, yes you Racist. You killed Louis Coleman with the injection of your never-ending poison into the world. I dont care if you wear a white sheet or a white dress shirt and tie youre a murderer. Louis knew you were still there, even though a ton of folks, black and white, wanted to deny your existence so they could feel a little more comfortable. Sleep well. Hes gone now. Damn you.
Dont think youre getting away. Yeah, you Apathetic Bench-Rider. You killed Louis with your lethargic approach to struggle. You were all too cool with saying to yourself, Damn, thats messed up. The Rev. Coleman will handle it. You know what? You were right, he did handle it until it killed him. So yes, you were in on it, too.
I saw all of you at Louis funeral. Each and every one of you. You, me and the others killers all. I kept waiting for Police Chief Robert White to stand up and arrest us. We all would have deserved it.
Remember, until next time have no fear, stay strong, stand on truth, do justice and do not leave the people in the hands of fools.
Dr. Ricky L. Jones is associate professor of Pan-African Studies at U of L and author of Whats Wrong with Obamamania? Visit him at www.rickyljones.com
This article appears in July 30, 2008.