The Index-Journal from Greenwood, South Carolina • Page 10

Wednesday, July 13, 2005 10A -The Index-Journal, Greenwood, SC. Apologizing for lynchings THF ton MVMh. I III 7 a -if. Anth. JT to If A Eugene Crawford, seated center, grandson of Anthony apologize for not trying to stop racial strife decades ago, Crawford, and his family react Tuesday during a reconcil- including the 1916 lynching of Anthony Crawford, a iation service at the Friendship Worship Center in wealthy black farmer.

Abbeville. Local churches had a reconciliation service to ns of our African. Worshippers join hands near sign of solidarity. tance. "If we are to move forward, we must have a period of healing," the Rev.

Aaron Walker said, 'Tonight is a form of healing." Ministers who gathered after the service were exhausted, yet bouyed by the thunder rolling 4'- A "WW aM SCENE Continued from page 1A Barksdale called him a liar; Crawford called the storeowner a cheat. Three clerks grabbed ax handles, and Crawford backed into the street, where a sheriff arrested him. When he was released on bail, Crawford was cornered by about 50 whites who beat and knifed him. The sheriff carried him back to jail. A few hours later, a deputy gave the mob keys to Crawford's cell.

At a baseball field at the edge of town, they hanged Crawford from a solitary Southern pine. Friendship congregation members said the service gave hope of a brighter future for Abbeville. hope it takes a lot of the of, the Ferguson said. "We just want unity unity for the community," Jeff Price said. People from other congregations arrived in their own vehicles and in church buses.

"There's an air of expectation," said Sam Rivera, of Grace Community Church, a multi-ethnic congregation. "We expect a miracle." Others focused on the healing power of confession and repen- Jk Oik- Hh irihmi.il-1- li 1 Staff photo by Vic MacDonald the conclusion of the service in a through the congregation, "There was something going on there tonight," Rhodes said. "It was hard for me to quit" The Associated Press con- tributed to this story. Staff photo by Shavonne Potts The Rev. Wendell Rhodes, right, pastor of Friendship Worship Center in Abbeville, weeps as Pastor Tony Foster, of Restoration Worship Center in Greenwood, declares forgiveness for the crimes against blacks years ago.

LYNCHINGS Continued from page I A Nearly 90 years ago, Anthony Crawford, a black Abbeville farmer, was placed in jail after a dispute with a white man over the price of cotton. He was then mobbed and later hanged. The idea for the service came on the heels of last month's formal apology by the U.S. Senate to the descendants of victims of lynchings. Pastor Johnson Dorn, a member of Friendship Worship Center and son of former U.S.

Sen. William Jennings Bryan Dorn, spoke about the root of the division between blacks and whites and gave a historical perspective of the racial prejudices that penned the; tftft, "This is not a story about someone a long time ago," he said. "It's a story about me and you and our families." Dorn told of a time of Ku Klux Klan rallies, Jim Crow Laws and Reconstruction. 'Tonight, I need deliverance from that history," he said. Dorn said it didn't matter if the people in the room were at the lynchings vicariously, they were all there.

Pastor Byron Jones, of Refiner's Fire Christian Assembly in Greenwood, communicated the injustices that were done years ago and those that remain. He also confessed and repented of the sins that were committed on churches that were terrorized and burned. "We promise to remember the history of slavery, lynching and racism to ensure that these tragedies will be neither forgotten nor repeated," he said. "We formally ask for forgiveness and we pledge to work together to eradicate racism." Jones said white forefathers should have already given the statement of apology. "I thank God that we can worship together in the open without fear," he said.

Pastor Tony Foster, of Restoration Worship Center in Greenwood, called Rhodes to the podium to openly accept the apologies and forgive the sins. There were tears and hugs from blacks and whites as ministers apologized and oth- AP photo for true revival and that once forgiveness comes, so can healing. "There's no separation in heaven," she said, "and there should not be any here." Mickler said she saw in a vision given to her by God two years ago that an event of this caliber would take place in Abbeville. In her vision, pastors, black and white, would reach out to each other in a realm of reconciliation for past sins. Pastor Dan Henley, of Journey Christian Church in Memphis, brought four others with him to the service.

Henley said he read a brief story about the service in a newspaper in Mississippi. He said he was led by God to attend. "God told me that revival would truly happen here," he said. "I think it's time to rebuild in unity and in the body of Christ," said Bob Erwin, of Greenwood, who heard about the event from a church member. from video surveillance at the hospital.

Police were able to determine what Jackson was wearing, including a hospital gown and blue tennis shoes, and matched it to the clothing found with the remains, Coursey said. Where the remains were found is just three blocks from the hospital, he said. "We felt it was him," Coursey said, "but there was no positive ID until now." Still, investigators might never know what happened to Jackson. Coursey said he wasn't carrying money, so there likely was no robbery motive, and he was ill. The official cause of death is "undetermined," but Coursey said there is no evidence to indicate foul play in Jackson's death.

"We won't ever really know," he said. I -r1- I I f- di ers forgave. Dianne Childes, of Abbeville, attended the service after hearing about it from a friend who attends Friendship Worship Center. "I came to emphasize more unity for my city, which I live in, and better it as a purpose of what God wants us to be," she said. Childes said it was important for her, as well as youths, to attend and witness a positive event "I feel like it's right on time.

We can't bring back years of loss, but it's a good start," she said. Childes said she thought the service was something that God would want the church and the community to do. Sandy Mickler, of Anderson, attends Friendship Worship Center, where her father, Rhodes, is the pastor. "It's important for the whole nation, for us to become one," she said. "It's not about politics.

It's about love." Mickler said she thinks the community must join together MAN Continued from page I A In late June, a person walking on the Heritage Walking Trail near a creek bed found what appeared to be human remains. When the skull was found, police were called to the scene. Coursey said the skull, a portion of the chest and a leg bone were recovered, along with some clothing, and the remains were sent to the forensic pathologist in Newberry. Medical records were obtained through Veterans Affairs, and head and chest X-rays were found and sent to the pathologist. "They were able to make a positive identification," Coursey said.

In addition to the remains, evidence in the identification came Young women clap their hands to music dur- service was ing a reconciliation service in Abbeville. The races. Staff photo by Shavonne Potts attended by people of various Catholics attack Northern Ireland police following Protestant marches staged mass parades across Northern Ireland. About 40 officers and two journalists were wounded when Catholics from Ardoyne, an Irish Republican Army power base in north Belfast, hurled at least two of the grenades into columns of riot police. The hourlong riot was the worst violence on a day of dangerous street confrontations across this British territory.

BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) Militant Catholics attacked riot police with homemade grenades and gasoline bombs Tuesday in an explosion of fury over the Orange Order, a Protestant brotherhood that successor and to smoothly transition into the position." Turner said everyone at the Chamber is pleased to have worked with Bornemann. "(He) has done an amazing job in this role, and we are truly blessed to have the benefit of his leadership over the past eight years," she said. "The Greenwood Chamber has proven to be a consistently effective force for community growth and improvement, and we will continue to build upon this successful RETIRE Continued from page I A "(My wife) Lynn and I thought this over for a long time, and we thought it was the right time for us to do other things we want to do, and to spend more time with the family," Bofnemann said. In a statement released to the board, Bornemann said, "I have no other professional plans it is my hope and desire to continue to serve, as a volunteer, with the outstanding community lead ership that I have had the privilege of working with over the years." Over the course of his tenure as executive director, Bornemann said he thinks the Chamber has accomplished the short- and long-term goals he set forth when coming into the position, including building a strong staff, getting on solid financial footing and increasing membership. "In looking back, it is gratifying to know that the Chamber staff and Chamber membership have addressed all of these prior ities and met those goals," the statement said.

Bornemann said his decision has gotten support from Chamber staff and members. "I've gotten a number of calls and e-mails, and they've been very positive and complimentary," he said. Because his retirement is not effective until the end of this year, Deborah Turner, president of the Chamber's board of directors, said Bornemann has "provided the executive committee with ample time to identify a.