African-American history: A local legacy stays timeless

Robert Magill Jr. of Poughkeepsie speaks about his late mother, Cecelia, with a sense of triumph.

Cecelia Magill in 1942 joined forces with the Catharine Street Community Center to alert federal officials in Washington to what she said was racial discrimination in Poughkeepsie.

The federal government stepped in and the Schatz Manufacturing Company and Federal Bearing Company responding by telling officials they would "employ without regard to race." That was the message relayed by federal officials to Cecelia Magill in a Western Union telegram dated July 18, 1942.

"I take pride to know that my mom had the courage enough to stand up and pursue this," Magill said.

More than 70 years later, the chairman of the Black Studies Department at the State University of New York at New Paltz used the word "crisis" to describe the relationship nationally between people of different races, with an emphasis on blacks and whites.

"This is not a time to talk about hope," said Major G. Coleman, a political economist and lawyer, as well as a professor. "This is a time to talk about the crisis we are in and the need to fix it."

The contributions that black people have made and continue to make, in so many areas of society, are showcased each February during African American History Month. This annual opportunity to take a deeper look at black culture also gives Dutchess County a chance to reflect on the manner in which black culture has shaped life locally, for good and bad.

Cecelia Magill, who later worked at the Hudson River Psychiatric Center, cemented her place among those who have achieved notable milestones in Dutchess County's black history and history in general.

According to her son, Magill learned she wouldn't be hired because she was black. A Western Union telegram sent to Magill and dated July 15, 1942, reads, "You are requested to be present at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday July 21 1942 at 1406 G Street NW Washington DC Room 319 to testify in matter of alleged discrimination by Schatz Manufacturing Company and Federal Bearing Company..."

A second telegram, dated July 18, 1942, reads, "Schatz case postponed on promise of company immediately to employ without regard to race..."

Steve Pomeroy, president of Schatz Bearing Corp. in Poughkeepsie, said Schatz Federal Bearing Co. went bankrupt in 1979 and its assets were sold off during an auction in 1981. The Federal name was sold to one company, which never did anything with it. A separate company bought the Schatz name and launched a new venture.

Pomery said the original Schatz Manufacturing Co. dated back to 1895 and the Federal Bearing Company was created in the early 1900s. The two companies were run separately before being merged.

According to Robert Magill and the Dutchess County Historical Society, Cecelia Magill was close with Lucy Graves, executive director of the Catharine Street Community Center. Graves, Robert Magill Jr.'s godmother, had contacts in the federal government in Washington and helped spur the hearings that were ultimately never held.

"Mom was a giving and loving person," Magill said. "But she had a bit of a feisty side to her. She would stand up for her rights."

He added, "In Poughkeepsie, people were trying to do the right thing. God bless Dr. Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. But this was way before they were trying."

Beyond recalling history, African American History Month also provides the chance to examine the dynamic between blacks and whites, the manner in which they interact, work together, drive the economy, wield political power, share communities and go about their daily lives.

Narrowing this discussion down to the perspectives of Magill and Coleman can sharpen the focus. Asked about race relations in the Hudson Valley, Magill responded positively.

"I think, on a whole, as far as I see it, I think it's good," he said. "I think people need to be educated a little more. We're all in this together. There are only two kind of people in the world — male and female. It's not black or white."

Mention the phrase "race relations" to Coleman and he could fire back with a blunt response. "The term is a loaded term," Coleman said. "It comes from the historic period before the civil rights era in the U.S. It's a white term... Almost all the power is on the side of the whites. Is there a relationship between a lion and a lamb? Do you distinguish how they relate to each other? Lions eat lambs."

A kind of prelude is the Catharine Street Community Center's Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast, which is held annually in late January.

Multiple speakers at this year's Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast touched on the theme of accomplishments, over decades, in the struggle for civil rights. But the speakers also noted that work remains.

"So many people have worked so hard for so many of us to be where we are today," said Shirley Adams, executive director of the Catharine Street Community Center. "We would not be here without their work. We still continue to do what we can to make it better for the next generation, hoping they won't have to have this discussion. We're tired of having this discussion."

In Dutchess County, there are several important moments in black history.

• Dutchess County was home to many farms with slaves but was also a main artery on the Underground Railroad, which during the 19th century helped escaped slaves reach freedom.

• The late folk singer and Dutchess Junction resident Pete Seeger in 1957 introduced the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. to the song, "We Shall Overcome," which became an anthem for the civil rights movement.

• As a Justice Department civil rights lawyer from 1960 to 1967, John Doar of the Town of North East battled on the front lines of the turbulent 1960s to protect the rights of black voters and integrate universities in the South.

He escorted James Meredith onto the campus of the University of Mississippi in 1962, even as then-Gov. Ross Barnett and angry crowds sought to keep the school segregated. Doar later was the lead prosecutor in the federal trial arising from the deaths of three civil rights workers, Andrew Goodman, James Chaney and Michael Schwerner. Those killings inspired the 1988 film "Mississippi Burning."

John W. Barry: jobarry@poughkeepsie journal.com, 845-437-4822, Twitter: @JohnBarryPoJo

Percentage of African-Americans in Dutchess County. The total Dutchess County population is 297,488, with 29,518 African-Americans.

U.S. Census

Did You Know:

In 1925, Harvard-trained historian Carter G. Woodson, founder of the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, announced the creation of Negro History Week. The inaugural Negro History Week was celebrated in February 1926 during the week that encompassed the birthdays of Abraham Lincoln and Frederick Douglass.

The celebration in 1976 was expanded to a month. President Gerald R. Ford urged Americans to "seize the opportunity to honor the too-often neglected accomplishments of black Americans in every area of endeavor throughout our history."

source: www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov

Video

Visit www.poughkeepsiejournal.com to watch a video featuring Robert Magill Jr. and memories of his mother, Cecelia Magill.