1b constitution the lawton - townnews...brazzel’s body was transported by southwest mortuary to...
TRANSCRIPT
BY KIM MCCONNELL
The one-time president of the national NAACP offered a brief history of race rela-tions in the United States, then urged a Lawton audience to accept “our responsibility” to work together to solve prob-lems.
Benjamin Jealous, a civil rights activist for decades, was the featured speaker Monday at the 36th annual Dr. Mar-tin Luther King Jr. Celebra-tion, one of two events held by Cameron University and Cameron Campus Ministry to honor the legacy of the famed civil rights leader.
Jealous wound history throughout his speech Mon-day, ending by saying he was buoyed by the thought that the nation’s younger generation is willing to work together for change. He said he remembers the words from King’s last ser-mon, given the Sunday before he was assassinated in 1968: if you don’t know whether you’ve done something right,
chances are, you’re not doing enough.
Jealous said that to under-stand the origin of race and relations, people have to “deal with a notion that predates our country.”
He said concept of race didn’t always exist as it does today. He said that in the ear-liest days of Colonial Amer-ica, a person’s status was deter-mined by his mother, meaning that even if your father was a Black male slave, if he was married to a free woman, that was the child’s status. Almost exactly 300 years before King’s famed march on Washington, D.C., that status was changed to specify the lowest status of the parents would be con-veyed to their child.
It was a change that gave African slaves and Irish in-dentured servants common ground, until the nation be-gan to differentiate between the two groups to keep them from cooperating. Jealous said that in the early 1600, Afri-cans taken to be sold into slav-ery were referred to by their
country of origin. By the mid-1700s, “something is different.” What was differ-ent was the advance of “mod-ern” science that claimed the superiority of Europeans, noting Africans were the missing link between hu-mans and apes, Jealous said.
If there is comfort to be taken from the history les-son, Jealous said it is this: the first rebellion in the colonies was people uniting against a common enemy, an enemy
that could affect their chil-dren.
“We rebel together,” he said, adding that is the time the na-tion exists in now and “that draws us together.”
And, he is comforted by the fact young people are coming together in ways that would have been surprising before, saying both black and white are worried about their fu-tures.
Jealous, in an interview
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The Lawton Constitution Staff
C.H. Brazzel, longtime Lawton law enforcement officer, died in a single-vehicle accident Monday morning southeast of Lawton.
Brazzel was driving his Ford pickup northbound on Southeast 165th Street a 10th of a mile south of Woodlawn about 11 a.m. when, for an unknown reason, the vehicle left the roadway, struck a ditch, continued through a series of fences and a field before striking numerous trees, according to a re-port by the Oklahoma Highway Patrol. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Brazzel had been a member of law enforcement in Southwest Oklahoma since the 1970s and was primarily employed by the Lawton Police Depart-ment.
“He helped any way, anyone and anytime that he could,” Lawton Police Chief James T. Smith said in a statement. “He truly was one of the best and most dedicated officers that the Lawton Police Depart-ment was privileged to have serve.”
Lawton Police will honor Brazzel by wearing a mourning ribbon over badges and lowering the flag in front of the police station to half-staff until he is laid to rest, according to a statement from the City of Lawton.
Brazzel’s body was transported by Southwest Mortuary to the Medical Examiner’s office in Okla-homa City. The cause of the accident is under in-vestigation.
Brazzel dies in car accident
Courtesy photo
C.H. Brazzel, longtime Lawton law enforcement offi-
cer, died in a single-vehicle accident Monday morn-
ing.
BY PAUL VANTINE
“Not a day off, but a day on.”That expression was repeated by
several volunteers who used their day off work or class for the Mar-tin Luther King Jr. Day of Service.
Volunteers were from Cameron University and the Lawton-Ft. Sill community. Cameron University coordinated with 3 main locations: Edison Elementary, Washington Elementary and Lawton High. The more common tasks at each school were painting, organizing, and cleaning. All of the schools were also using wipes for extra cleaning because of flu season.
“It is really fun for us to get to-gether and do things for the com-munity,” Sarah Stroud, a Day of Service volunteer at Edison Ele-mentary, said.
Dana Moore, Edison Elemen-tary school principal, said that over 77 volunteers showed up for the Day of Service.
“Knowing that the community wants to help is amazing. To see
the enthusiasm and pride is huge and impactful,” Moore said.
According to Moore, one proj-ect at Edison Elementary involved labeling and organizing the class-room libraries so students can more efficiently meet their Accel-erated Reading (AR) goals. When certain goals are met, the students get rewards, such as AR parties.
Volunteer Myca Hinkle’s task was to paint inspirational messages in various locations at the school. One message she was finishing up said, “You are capable of more than you know.”
“It means the world to me to have the privilege to work together to create a better society,” Hinkle said.
Leslie Cothren, a Day of Ser-vice Volunteer at Washington Ele-mentary, said that volunteers were repainting bathrooms and orga-nizing closets, among other tasks. She said there were about 65-80 volunteers.
“It’s fabulous. I applaud that these volunteers, on their day off, got up, got out and were here at
9 a.m. to do something to give back,” Cothren said. “The students, when they were finished with a job, were always asking, ‘What else can I do?’”
Ella Snavely, Washington Ele-mentary School principal, along with Cothren, said that there were several organizations that helped, including Cameron Cross Coun-try, Cameron Track, Lawton High School Key Club, Girl Scouts, Cameron University Sports and Exercise Science Club, Sigma Tau Delta, Black Student Association, Omega Zeta Theta Sorority and International Club.
“I am so grateful,” Snavely said.Snavely thanked each group
personally. She noted that “Edu-cation is more than academics,” explaining that students are also learning about volunteering and helping the community.
Another project at Washington Elementary involved a unique dec-oration on the stairs.
“When I was a teacher here, I wanted to see math facts placed on
Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service
Michael D. Pope/staff
Victoria Quiroga , a member of the OAEAG organization at Cameron University wipes down the billboard of Edison
Elementary school during the annual MLK Day of Service. Over 77 Cameron University students volunteered for
the Day.
BY SCOTT RAINS
Lawton police have made a pair of arrests in connec-tion with a pair of violent in-cidents including for connec-tion to the death of a 28-year-old woman consid-ered the city’s second homi-cide victim of 2020.
A 23-year-old Lawton man is in jail awaiting charges after he was arrested in connection with the death of An-gel Conner, ac-cording to Sgt. Tim Jenkins , LPD informa-tion officer.
Conner was killed following a Saturday morning shooting at a southwest Lawton apartment complex.
Officers were called shortly before 2:30 a.m. to Dis-trictSIX10, 610 SW 52nd, on
Two arrests made in violent
weekend incidents
SMITH
NAVARRO
See MLK, 2A
See Arrests, 2A
Jealous urges residents to work
together for solutions
Michael D. Pope/Staff
Harold Davis, left, winner of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Human-
itarian Service Award accepts congratulations Monday from the
Rev. Phil Jones, with Cameron Campus Ministry. Davis was hon-
ored for his longtime work with MidDay Feeding Program.
See Jealous, 6A