A Good Father is No Stranger to Black Families
By Shauna Jamieson Carty
As the image of President Barack Obama with his wife First Lady Michelle, and their two daughters, Sasha and Malia flashes across the television screen into homes around the world, it shatters stereotypes because the American media more commonly portrays the images of criminalized black men. Like many black husbands and fathers before him, President Obama is an outstanding role model.
Sis. Marian Briggs Williams was born in 1930 and grew up with a strong black father. Mr. Alexander Briggs married Lillian Edmonds Briggs. They moved north from Petersburg, Virginia in 1925, after the birth of their second child. They lived in Cranford and Roselle Park before settling in Roselle, where Mr. Briggs established Briggs Sign Shop and became nationally renowned for his slogan, “Who knows without a sign.” A newspaper article from the “Afro Magazine Section” of a newspaper dated December 7, 1957 states that Mr. Briggs was “the first colored person to serve on a jury in the Fifth Judicial District Court in 1941...” He was also a Trustee in Second Baptist Church.Sadly, Mr. Briggs lost his wife and mother of their nine children in 1943. At that time, Sis. Marian’s youngest sibling, Mother Barbara Turner, was only seven; their oldest sibling was 23.
“When I was working at AT&T and we had classes, the instructor asked us to point out who was a good example of a role model,” said Sis. Marian. “Most mentioned celebrities. When they asked me, I said my father. My mother died when I was 13 and he raised us. We all had good jobs and good reputation and honesty.”
As Sis. Marian learned about President Obama during the campaign, she was impressed by him, and was not surprised that he won the election. She described how she responded to someone who was less optimistic: “Someone said, we’re never going to have a black president. They’re not going to have a black man in the White House. I thought, eventually we will. Things have been changing all along. Eventually, it had to come to pass.” To her, it seemed to take a long time, considering that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King rose to leadership during the 1960s and it’s taken over 40 years for another black leader to earn the support of people of all races throughout the nation.
At age 78, Sis. Marian is vibrant, energetic and physically fit. “I’m blessed,” she says, giving God total praise for her well being. She and her sister Mother Turner are the only two of the nine siblings remaining. They both grew up in Roselle and attended schools here as members of a black minority in a predominantly white school system.
“When we were coming up, we were raised to know people for the content of their character, not the color of your skin,” Mother Turner said. “I appreciate that because you get to know everyone, different nationalities and backgrounds.”
Consequently, they enjoyed school and had a diverse group of friends. Yet they were not immune to racial prejudice and they were aware that some people applied different standards to people of different races. Their family broke through many barriers to become the first black person in various positions. Their late sister Mrs. Louise Briggs West was the first woman sprayer at the General Motors plant. Sis. Marian was the first black salesperson at a store in Newark. And their father was the only black person employed by another business in Roselle, while he maintained his sign shop.
“He was lettering the trucks and equipment there,” Sis. Marian said. “They were having a Christmas party and dad bought mom a gown. The men that were working there were all white. They didn’t want them to come. They didn’t end up going. When my mother died a couple years later, she got buried in that gown.”
Mother Turner acknowledges that the nation has made great strides toward racial harmony, but there is still work to be done. “You still have prejudice to this day,” she said.
The satisfaction of seeing President Barack Obama take the oath of office to become President last Tuesday eclipsed the memories of past discrimination and present-day imperfection.
“I was really overjoyed,” said Mother Turner, who turned 72 on Inauguration Day. She remained calm when President Obama won the election. “God had predestined him to be where he is now.”
Sis. Marian and her daughter Sis. Sharon Smith, along with Mother Turner and her daughter Rev. Barbara Turner, watched the Inauguration at a celebratory brunch at Second Baptist Church.
“It was great,” said Sis. Marian, who remains active in the NAACP and the National Council Negro Women. Her advice for young people: “Take advantage of the opportunities that you have now, try to get a good education, set goals for yourself, believe things can get better, have faith in God and pray.”
Printer Friendly
Favorites
Make Home Page!
Email this Page