Wednesday, November 26, 2003

Why some faces are seen less than others in ‘Faces’

I would like to thank those of you who have responded so positively to my series, “The Faces That Built Fayette.” I enjoy all of your e-mails and encourage all of you who are related to the long-time families of Fayette County to continue writing me with your stories.

I apologize that there will be a two- to three-week break in the series but I think you will find what’s coming next to be well worth your wait. I would also like to thank the editorial staff of The Citizen for devoting so much space and attention to the past leaders and families of Fayette County.

I would like to address the letter complaining that no African-Americans have yet to be included in the series, the reasons for which are complicated.

To start with, the series so far has been about the roots of past mayors. It is no secret that there has never been an African-American mayor of Fayetteville. I have neither the talent or entitlement to rewrite history. I have chosen to try and blend in some of the long-time African-American families later in the series.

To assume that there “had to have been some black leaders in those days” is to seriously underestimate the plight of the African-American in the early years of the 20th century in rural Georgia. They were doing everything they could, against insurmountable odds, just to survive.

I have found some photos depicting African-Americans here at the early part of the century, and it is my sensitivity to their plight that has caused me to pause before publishing them. Some of the photos that were taken back then were not intended to flatter them.

I have, for several weeks, been in touch with one of the long-time Fayette County African-American families (they have asked me not to mention them yet) trying to gather photos of a family who has established themselves well in the community today. I hope to blend them into the series as it progresses.

Whenever I do, whoever wrote that letter last week will try and take the credit for giving me a social conscience I already had. (Whenever he does, he better look out for my mom, the one who really gets the credit for that).

It will be difficult to accumulate good photos of real African-Americans who grew up in Fayette County. They were not given the luxury of obtaining their land through lotteries; in the beginning they had to work other people’s land. The black families that were here didn’t have the opportunity, let alone the time, to stand around town having their pictures taken. They were on the farms and in the fields picking cotton or the crop of the year just to feed their families.

With my first book, “Death Unexpected,” one of the early reviewers praised me for my accurate portrayal of the plight of the African-American. If I can compile enough information to include them in this series I hope to do so with the same accuracy, but not at the expense of the dignity of hard-working people who survived a struggle most of us today will never know.

Bruce L. Jordan

Fayette