By David Fortier
One-hundred–year old Deacon Joseph Hudson Sr. was the center of the local NAACP chapter’s annual Black History Month Celebration, “A Piece of African-American History,” held at the Bridge Community Church building on School St. this past Saturday.
The celebration featured an hour-long conversation with Hudson, moderated by his son, Joseph Hudson Jr., an historical presentation about area blacks, comments from NAACP members, and the presentations of proclamations from the city and state as well as two other acknowledgments, including one from local veterans recognizing his years in the military.
Looking fit and exhibiting a fine sense of humor, the elder Hudson discussed with his son, his arrival in Bristol in 1946, his accomplishments playing in what was then the farm teams of the Negro baseball league, his employment with Bristol Brass, his involvement with local churches, several of which he helped found, including St. James in New Britain and AME Beulah in Bristol.
The senior Hudson spoke in a low voice and apologized several times for messing things up because, as he said, it was difficult to remember the details of what happened 50 years ago or so.
His son carried most of the conversation, providing a context for the life of his father, and handing the microphone to his father at different times during the conversation.
Some of the discussion was fun, as when the junior Hudson recalled his father taking him to Ebbetts Field in Brooklyn to watch Jackie Robinson play, hoping to see what made Robinson so special and hoping to see him steal home, which he did, and to which the junior Hudson recalled his father expressing satisfaction, saying, “Good” and “We been doing that all the time.”
The elder Hudson was a highly skilled baseball talent, who was sought after by the Bristol Brass factory team for his prowess on the field. On a trip to Auburn, the junior Hudson said, a former coach told him his father had the stuff to make professional baseball if the leagues had not been segregated.
Several times, the elder Hudson remarked that he had to turn down playing for the team because his work hours conflicted with game times, and he reiterated that work was a priority.
Other parts of the conversation covered the day to day life of the family, friends and fellow church goers. Church was a significant factor in the elder Hudson’s life, but he was a Baptist and there wasn’t a Baptist church in the area, so he ended up playing cards every Thursday night with members of the Methodist church.
He attended the card nights, every other Thursday, setting aside the mandatory $5 to play, that is until, the Baptists founded a church of their own and asked him to be a deacon, which ended his attendance at card night.
More harrowing were the memories of family trips back South at a time when there were no major routes, such as Rt. 95, and blacks were not allowed to eat at most establishments in the small towns they traveled through, nor allowed to sleep at hotels along the way. It wasn’t unusual to ask a gas station owner if the family could park the car and sleep on the premises. Sometimes food could be purchased, if only at the back door. One exception was the Blue Robin hotel chain which was black owned and considered a sanctuary of sorts.
The junior Hudson also shared a few stories from his school days, attending Ellen P. Hubbell and Mary A. Callen schools, when he often ended up in fights, or even as the butt of jokes, including when the student sang school-sanctioned songs, such as “Old Black Joe,” which inevitably ended with the white students pointing a finger at him as the refrain came to the words, “old black Joe.”
Another part of the discussion covered the reintroduction of a local NAACP chapter in 1968, during which time a minister from a white church and the priest who became the principal of St. Paul Catholic High School, supported the effort. The memory caused the junior Hudson to pause as he was overcome with emotion.
As part of the program, Gail Williams from Plainville presented a slideshow based on her own research and other research, much of it produced by the late Barbara Hudson, a daughter of the senior Hudson.
Among the revelations was that the African slaves from the Amistad traveled through Plainville to and from their way to court in Hartford prior to being freed. Williams also brought up a KKK rally held in Plainville in 1980, which drew national attention, and resulted in the appearance of then-NAACP president Roger Wilkins, who spoke in Hartford.
Much of the research, and Barbara Hudson’s Freedom Trail Grant Report for the Bristol Historical Society, were printed in the program.
Mayor Ellen Zoppo-Sassu (D) presented the proclamation from the city, and offered an open invitation to anyone interested in accessing Bristol Historical Society archives, which include those of the Bristol Press, to encourage further research into the history of Bristol’s blacks.
Rep. Whit Betts (R) presented a proclamation from the state legislature.
Veteran Tim Gamache, representing the Bristol Veterans Council, performed a coining ceremony, where a coin from the veterans’ association was presented to the senior Hudson via a handshake and then a salute from Gamache. The senior Hudson served in the armed forces from 1942-1946 and served in Germany, France, Italy and the Philippines. He was among the first U.S. soldiers to liberate the concentration camp at Auschwitz.
Patty Floyd Bentley presented a plague from a local business, African Heritage Collection.
In closing remarks, Tim Camerl spoke briefly, challenging the members of the audience to remember their forerunners in the civil rights movement and how today their example needs to be respected and followed. If people forget their history, they may find themselves without direction because the past, while not always a positive thing, provides a compass for those who follow, he said.
In addition, he pressed people to be positive even in times where it might appear to be impossible.
Finally, he said, that with just one tenth of the resolve and mission of the people who began the civil rights movement, people today could effect monumental change.
Pastor Irene Singleton of Tower of Hope Christian Ministries which holds services at the Bridge Community building provided the invocation.
Lexie Mangum, president of the local NAACP chapter, kicked off the celebration and conclude the event with the announcement that the local NAACP chapter will officially opened its new offices on Saturday, March 2, at 55 South St. All are welcome.