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Civil rights leader Jerome 'Big Duck' Smith, left, and Louis Charbonnet ride in a second line during 'Honoring Fathers of the Movement: A Juneteenth Celebration' in New Orleans, Sunday, June 19, 2022. The event honored Smith and others before a second line moved from the Carver Theater to Hunter's Field for a celebration. (Photo by Scott Threlkeld, | The Times-Picayune | The New Orleans Advocate)

 STAFF PHOTO BY SCOTT THRELKELD

There are those among us who propagate a history of America devoid of racism, slavery and Jim Crow segregation. If racism and Jim Crow did not exist, then Jerome Smith should not have suffered the chronic headaches, impaired mobility and psychic trauma that plagued him in life

When I met Smith on Canal Street in 1987 and later had lunch with him at Maison Blanche, he spoke to me about the segregated America that he and his fellow activists were fighting to eradicate. It was heart-rending to hear about the vicious beatings he endured and the assault on and disrespect to his humanity. But as he spoke, I detected no hatred or vengeance, bitterness or animosity. Instead, I detected an aura of love, sympathy and forgiveness toward his abusers.

I should not have been surprised, because Smith was an adherent of nonviolent direct action who followed the teachings and philosophy of Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Smith also noted he was not naturally nonviolent and that the Civil Rights Movement’s elders convinced him that nonviolence would bring about constructive change. He saw nonviolence more as a tactic than as a way of life.

We did not talk solely about the movement. We also spoke about our shared love of music — from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye to Earth, Wind & Fire. Like me, Smith loved jazz. We spoke excitedly about Billie, Miles and Monk. In fact, he got me into John Coltrane — especially “A Love Supreme,” which he listened to in order to lift his spirits during turbulent moments.

I was at home when I heard of his passing, and I played “A Love Supreme” in his memory.

HUEY HARRISON

New Orleans

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