1 00:00:04,160 --> 00:00:06,520 Speaker 1: Everybody. It's still Courtney with an army and normal folks. 2 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:15,440 Speaker 1: Welcome in to the shop. High Olex, Hi Bill, you're 3 00:00:15,440 --> 00:00:16,959 Speaker 1: in the shop. How's things going? 4 00:00:18,239 --> 00:00:20,160 Speaker 2: Apparably better than you? I got four and a half 5 00:00:20,200 --> 00:00:22,599 Speaker 2: hours of sleep last night, and I thought I was terrible, 6 00:00:22,600 --> 00:00:25,480 Speaker 2: and you said you got how much over how many days? 7 00:00:25,520 --> 00:00:29,200 Speaker 1: Honestly six and a half and three days. I'm so tired, 8 00:00:29,400 --> 00:00:32,960 Speaker 1: it is ridiculous. Just I'm on the board of a 9 00:00:33,000 --> 00:00:36,040 Speaker 1: couple of things, and we've had board meetings. 10 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:38,640 Speaker 2: At the Hardward Lumber Association. I saw them post something. 11 00:00:38,680 --> 00:00:44,000 Speaker 1: I'm like, yeah, that, And then then football practice has 12 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:45,800 Speaker 1: come late, and then. 13 00:00:45,920 --> 00:00:48,280 Speaker 2: Another update playoffs is that you guys are definitely in 14 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:48,800 Speaker 2: the playoffs. 15 00:00:48,960 --> 00:00:51,600 Speaker 3: Oh yeah, we won the region. We're eight and one. 16 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:54,040 Speaker 2: It's crazy for what was the record last year? 17 00:00:54,160 --> 00:00:55,720 Speaker 3: Oh they were good. They were all right, they were 18 00:00:55,760 --> 00:00:57,880 Speaker 3: like nine and three or something. Really okay, Yeah they 19 00:00:57,920 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 3: were bad. We're pretty good. 20 00:01:00,120 --> 00:01:03,720 Speaker 1: And it's been a lot of fun, and the kids 21 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:06,360 Speaker 1: are really improving and getting better at football or good 22 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:09,959 Speaker 1: kids as they are. But so that and then Lisa 23 00:01:10,360 --> 00:01:16,400 Speaker 1: left for she's going overseas, and so they're feeling lonely. 24 00:01:16,520 --> 00:01:20,560 Speaker 1: I'm very lonely. I miss her. I woke up and 25 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 1: her cat was on the bed and I was like, 26 00:01:23,680 --> 00:01:24,160 Speaker 1: what's up. 27 00:01:24,120 --> 00:01:26,920 Speaker 2: With your girls and cats? Now Molly's obsessed with her cat. 28 00:01:27,840 --> 00:01:30,280 Speaker 1: And I'm like, this is not a worthy substitute for 29 00:01:30,400 --> 00:01:33,480 Speaker 1: my wife. The stupid cat sitting down here looking at me. 30 00:01:33,640 --> 00:01:37,960 Speaker 1: So anyway, yeah, I'm tired, but nonetheless we must forge on. 31 00:01:38,200 --> 00:01:41,080 Speaker 2: Hey, one random thought I had the other day. We 32 00:01:41,200 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 2: need to start calling you more big Daddy snowflake. No 33 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:47,080 Speaker 2: you're yeah, yeah, I like your alternative persona in the. 34 00:01:47,040 --> 00:01:49,320 Speaker 3: Podcast that alone. We're not calling that at all. 35 00:01:49,480 --> 00:01:52,280 Speaker 1: Seventy six Shop Talk number seventy I got to explain 36 00:01:52,360 --> 00:01:52,840 Speaker 1: the context. 37 00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:54,600 Speaker 2: So the kids have an ass is called Bill the 38 00:01:54,720 --> 00:01:57,720 Speaker 2: Daddy Snowflake because he was the whitest thing around. Yeah, 39 00:01:57,760 --> 00:02:01,120 Speaker 2: and it's hilarious. It's ridiculous. I'm gonna start saying it 40 00:02:01,120 --> 00:02:02,160 Speaker 2: a lot to just be prepared. 41 00:02:02,320 --> 00:02:05,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, okay, well please do not call me big Daddy snowflake. 42 00:02:06,040 --> 00:02:10,720 Speaker 1: All right, God, where are we're in? The shop number 43 00:02:10,760 --> 00:02:15,240 Speaker 1: seventy six. That's it, number seventy six. And interestingly, in 44 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:20,240 Speaker 1: the anticipation of Shop Talk number seventy six, we got 45 00:02:20,280 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: a nice email from Army member, doctor Lisa Fox. 46 00:02:24,440 --> 00:02:26,960 Speaker 3: She said, hey, y'all, seventy six is a big number 47 00:02:26,960 --> 00:02:27,680 Speaker 3: of my family. 48 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,880 Speaker 1: My mom graduated from high school in nineteen seventy six. 49 00:02:32,000 --> 00:02:35,720 Speaker 1: My dad graduated from Vet school in seventy six. My 50 00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:39,799 Speaker 1: son's dad was born in seventy six. My son's football number, 51 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: passed down to him from a graduating teammate, is seventy six. 52 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:49,360 Speaker 1: So we're always trying to figure out odd reasons to 53 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,960 Speaker 1: celebrate shop talk numbers, and today seventy six because doctor 54 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:56,920 Speaker 1: Lisa Fox had the foresight to reach out to us 55 00:02:56,960 --> 00:03:00,400 Speaker 1: and tell us this is shop Talk seventy six in 56 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:04,360 Speaker 1: honor doctor Lisa Fox and her family, and seventy six. 57 00:03:04,600 --> 00:03:06,760 Speaker 2: And if you have numbers that are important to you, 58 00:03:06,960 --> 00:03:07,840 Speaker 2: emailing them to us. 59 00:03:08,200 --> 00:03:11,120 Speaker 3: Yeah, emailing to us anything beyond seventy six. That's kind 60 00:03:11,120 --> 00:03:11,359 Speaker 3: of hard. 61 00:03:11,360 --> 00:03:11,440 Speaker 1: Now. 62 00:03:11,440 --> 00:03:12,720 Speaker 2: It would have been easier if we're doing that. 63 00:03:12,680 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 3: For seventy seven cities something in the eighties. Oh, the eighties. 64 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:19,160 Speaker 3: I can do like eighty six when I graduate high 65 00:03:19,160 --> 00:03:20,120 Speaker 3: school and stuff like that. 66 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 1: Oh, Boddy cares, Oh they do care, They do care 67 00:03:23,560 --> 00:03:27,400 Speaker 1: so much. All right, So I'm going to read an 68 00:03:27,400 --> 00:03:32,000 Speaker 1: excerpt from an incredible book that's titled Madison Park A 69 00:03:32,080 --> 00:03:35,520 Speaker 1: Place of Hope, and then we'll talk about it. 70 00:03:36,440 --> 00:03:38,720 Speaker 2: You have no idea what's coming, but you're gonna love it. 71 00:03:38,840 --> 00:03:39,520 Speaker 3: Nobody does. 72 00:03:39,720 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: For Shop Talk number seventy six, it's a pot luck 73 00:03:42,280 --> 00:03:44,360 Speaker 1: pot luck Shop Talk number seventy six. 74 00:03:45,520 --> 00:03:48,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, so Madison Park a Place of Hope. 75 00:03:48,880 --> 00:04:24,680 Speaker 1: Right after these brief messages from our gener sponsors. 76 00:04:11,640 --> 00:04:13,840 Speaker 3: Hey, everybody, welcome back to the shop. 77 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,440 Speaker 1: Chop Talk seventy six in honor of doctor Lisa Fox's 78 00:04:19,560 --> 00:04:22,640 Speaker 1: entire family apparently, and Vidas got for the bell. 79 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:25,000 Speaker 2: Someone actually commented to me the other day, why do 80 00:04:25,040 --> 00:04:25,839 Speaker 2: you guys ring the bell? 81 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:28,720 Speaker 1: It's annoying? And I felt like, who said it's annoying? Oh, 82 00:04:28,839 --> 00:04:33,200 Speaker 1: I said that listener, I know needs an adjustment. 83 00:04:33,760 --> 00:04:37,480 Speaker 2: Yeah, And I almost felt like saying you, yeah, Veta Scott. 84 00:04:37,480 --> 00:04:42,360 Speaker 1: One one because it says an army and normal folks 85 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:44,640 Speaker 1: on it, because Veta Scott sent it to us. But 86 00:04:44,720 --> 00:04:48,000 Speaker 1: two because when you walk into an old shop where 87 00:04:48,040 --> 00:04:51,039 Speaker 1: farmers would be hanging around holding court in the morning, 88 00:04:51,080 --> 00:04:54,360 Speaker 1: drinking their coffee or whatever, there was a bell on 89 00:04:54,360 --> 00:04:56,559 Speaker 1: the door, and when the door opened and you walked 90 00:04:56,600 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: into the old time shop where people would hang around 91 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:02,920 Speaker 1: and actually talk about stuff. The bell would ring when 92 00:05:02,960 --> 00:05:05,880 Speaker 1: the door opened, so when you walk into the shop 93 00:05:05,960 --> 00:05:08,599 Speaker 1: for shop, talk our bell rings. It's also a good 94 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: re explanation for listeners. Why we do it anyway? Keep going, Bill, Yeah, 95 00:05:13,120 --> 00:05:19,000 Speaker 1: that's it. So I hope that really bothered the listener 96 00:05:20,440 --> 00:05:21,240 Speaker 1: needed adjustment. 97 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:23,560 Speaker 3: That was good. Okay, thanks, All right, here we go. 98 00:05:26,320 --> 00:05:29,120 Speaker 1: I'm going to read an excerpt from Eric Motley's book 99 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,680 Speaker 1: that's titled Madison Park, a Place of Hope that was 100 00:05:31,720 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: featured on the website Faith Gateway, and then we'll chat 101 00:05:36,640 --> 00:05:40,799 Speaker 1: about it. Dating back to its earliest days, Madison Park's 102 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: most prominent feature was the absence of white faces. It 103 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: was built by the hands of people seeking not just 104 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:50,800 Speaker 1: a sense of community, but a safe haven free from 105 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:55,039 Speaker 1: the perils of the recent enslavement. When President Lincoln signed 106 00:05:55,040 --> 00:06:00,440 Speaker 1: the Emancipation Proclamation on January one, eighteen sixty three, three 107 00:06:00,480 --> 00:06:03,440 Speaker 1: million men and women were set free. At least in theory. 108 00:06:04,320 --> 00:06:09,239 Speaker 1: The proclamation immediately affected only twenty thousand to fifty thousand 109 00:06:09,279 --> 00:06:13,120 Speaker 1: slaves where the Union Army had taken control. It wasn't 110 00:06:13,240 --> 00:06:16,240 Speaker 1: until a full two years later, when the Civil War ended, 111 00:06:16,760 --> 00:06:20,560 Speaker 1: that the proclamation systematically freed thousands of men and women, 112 00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:24,800 Speaker 1: with nearly all liberated by July of eighteen sixty five. 113 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,120 Speaker 1: With almost nothing more than the clothes on their backs, 114 00:06:28,279 --> 00:06:32,600 Speaker 1: a little farming knowledge, and an extraordinary capacity for resilience, 115 00:06:33,040 --> 00:06:35,719 Speaker 1: they moved their families to find land where they could work, 116 00:06:36,440 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 1: land that the first time would yield profit, prosperity for 117 00:06:39,920 --> 00:06:44,440 Speaker 1: them and not a master. But freedom did not come 118 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:49,240 Speaker 1: without fear. Former slaves were ignorant of legal constraints and 119 00:06:49,320 --> 00:06:53,880 Speaker 1: general business practices, ironic given that they'd been legally constrained 120 00:06:53,920 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: all their lives. But most couldn't write their names. Some 121 00:06:57,680 --> 00:07:01,200 Speaker 1: only had one name until they chose to second. Their 122 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:05,159 Speaker 1: perspectives and understandings of how the world worked was based 123 00:07:05,200 --> 00:07:08,400 Speaker 1: on what they'd overheard and seen from their master's conversations 124 00:07:08,400 --> 00:07:12,520 Speaker 1: and transactions. Could they succeed on their own? Would they 125 00:07:12,560 --> 00:07:17,120 Speaker 1: become victims of carpetbaggers and scallywags who migrated the South 126 00:07:17,240 --> 00:07:20,520 Speaker 1: to take advantage of the social turmoil caused by the 127 00:07:20,600 --> 00:07:25,160 Speaker 1: onset of reconstruction? Would their freedom be short lived? What 128 00:07:25,320 --> 00:07:28,679 Speaker 1: if resentful plantation owners, angry over the loss of their 129 00:07:29,040 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: quote property, chose to retaliate as unequal as their lot 130 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,760 Speaker 1: in life had been to that point, they cherished a 131 00:07:36,800 --> 00:07:39,679 Speaker 1: conviction that they were the equals of any other person, 132 00:07:40,320 --> 00:07:44,200 Speaker 1: blessed by their creator, with inaliable rights. To paraph a 133 00:07:44,280 --> 00:07:48,640 Speaker 1: civil rights leader Reverend Fred Shuttlesworth, who spoke about our 134 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:53,120 Speaker 1: enslaved ancestors appetite to be free, A fire got started 135 00:07:53,160 --> 00:07:56,000 Speaker 1: deep in their souls, and it could not be put out. 136 00:07:56,640 --> 00:07:59,680 Speaker 1: What little is known about Madison Park's origins is due 137 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:03,320 Speaker 1: to that efforts of African American historian doctor Gwynn Patten 138 00:08:03,720 --> 00:08:07,640 Speaker 1: and her research among the Madison family papers housed at 139 00:08:07,680 --> 00:08:13,480 Speaker 1: Trenholm State Technical College in Montgomery, Alabama. Eli Madison, the 140 00:08:13,520 --> 00:08:16,800 Speaker 1: patriarch of the community bearing his name, was born in 141 00:08:16,880 --> 00:08:21,320 Speaker 1: Alabama in eighteen thirty nine. According to stories passed down, 142 00:08:21,520 --> 00:08:25,480 Speaker 1: he was both physically and intellectually, a strong man with 143 00:08:25,600 --> 00:08:29,840 Speaker 1: an indestructible sense of self respect. Doctor Patten notes that 144 00:08:29,920 --> 00:08:34,040 Speaker 1: his slave master trusted him yet feared him. In eighteen 145 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:38,040 Speaker 1: sixty five, after the conclusion of the Civil War, Madison 146 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:41,360 Speaker 1: set out with his half brother kill Us Marshall and 147 00:08:41,480 --> 00:08:45,720 Speaker 1: close friend Gadson Draw, along with their wives, to establish 148 00:08:45,720 --> 00:08:51,640 Speaker 1: what would become were the states first free African American communities. Soon, 149 00:08:51,880 --> 00:08:56,720 Speaker 1: other families from Atauga County, about twenty miles north of Montgomery, 150 00:08:57,160 --> 00:09:02,080 Speaker 1: joined the pioneers in Hunter's Station miles down the road. Next, 151 00:09:02,200 --> 00:09:05,640 Speaker 1: Madison moved the families to King Hill, thirteen miles away. 152 00:09:06,160 --> 00:09:08,439 Speaker 1: They were closer to the city, but still deep enough 153 00:09:08,480 --> 00:09:11,680 Speaker 1: in the country to secure the amount of areable land 154 00:09:11,720 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: they needed for the settlement they envisioned. Within a few years, 155 00:09:16,320 --> 00:09:20,320 Speaker 1: the families had accumulated enough capital to buy a substantial plot. 156 00:09:20,840 --> 00:09:25,200 Speaker 1: Only modestesized properties were available in king Hill, but Flatbush, 157 00:09:25,440 --> 00:09:28,960 Speaker 1: which is near Watoomka to the northeast, had a number 158 00:09:29,000 --> 00:09:32,920 Speaker 1: of plantations for sale land that belonged to financially ruined 159 00:09:32,920 --> 00:09:36,760 Speaker 1: white Southerners. So the families pulled their resources in eighteen 160 00:09:36,840 --> 00:09:39,800 Speaker 1: eighty and made a down payment on the May plantation. 161 00:09:40,440 --> 00:09:43,559 Speaker 1: Within two years, Madison paid James and Molly May two 162 00:09:44,040 --> 00:09:46,800 Speaker 1: three hundred and eighty dollars in exchange for the deed 163 00:09:46,880 --> 00:09:51,280 Speaker 1: to five hundred and sixty acres, becoming the only recorded 164 00:09:51,320 --> 00:09:55,720 Speaker 1: group of free slaves in Alabama to purchase an entire estate. 165 00:09:56,800 --> 00:09:59,760 Speaker 1: Madison and his group trusted the lord's promise to supply 166 00:09:59,760 --> 00:10:04,360 Speaker 1: their needs, settling their families on the plantation. They cleared brush, 167 00:10:04,720 --> 00:10:08,480 Speaker 1: tilled the sandy fields, and planted trees, including oaks, whose 168 00:10:08,520 --> 00:10:12,920 Speaker 1: height and grandeur now rain its testaments to their industriousness, 169 00:10:13,320 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: even while shading what would become their graves. Later, they 170 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:22,840 Speaker 1: established a sawmill and a gristmill, and bought a cotton gin. Unincorporated, 171 00:10:22,880 --> 00:10:26,160 Speaker 1: without a mayor or town council, the community was organized 172 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:30,120 Speaker 1: around the common good, within the framework of national state laws. 173 00:10:30,240 --> 00:10:33,360 Speaker 1: Residents made the rules, governed and cared for one another, 174 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:37,319 Speaker 1: and met it out what discipline and correction a situation required. 175 00:10:37,960 --> 00:10:41,040 Speaker 1: It was a community where when a black person spoke, 176 00:10:41,520 --> 00:10:45,079 Speaker 1: black people listened. The one thing the town fathers hadn't 177 00:10:45,160 --> 00:10:48,840 Speaker 1: done was to give their community a name. One night, 178 00:10:49,040 --> 00:10:51,640 Speaker 1: the train that regularly passed along the edge of the 179 00:10:51,679 --> 00:10:56,160 Speaker 1: hamlet derailed. The booming noises the railroad cars exploded could 180 00:10:56,200 --> 00:10:59,240 Speaker 1: be heard for miles, rousing them men from their beds. 181 00:10:59,400 --> 00:11:02,559 Speaker 1: Madison and others struggled to put out the spreading fire 182 00:11:02,760 --> 00:11:05,760 Speaker 1: or at least contain it, tend to the injured train crew, 183 00:11:06,080 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: and keep watch over the debris scattered in the surrounding 184 00:11:08,760 --> 00:11:11,960 Speaker 1: field along the tracks. They didn't care that it was 185 00:11:12,040 --> 00:11:16,320 Speaker 1: white people's property. They prized their community's integrity too much 186 00:11:16,440 --> 00:11:20,920 Speaker 1: to tarnish it by looting at daybreak. When officials arrived 187 00:11:20,920 --> 00:11:24,240 Speaker 1: from Montgomery to investigate and secure the cargo, the all 188 00:11:24,280 --> 00:11:28,240 Speaker 1: white posseuous prize to find order, an outcome they deemed 189 00:11:28,280 --> 00:11:32,959 Speaker 1: impossible among African Americans. When the story reached the rest 190 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:36,640 Speaker 1: of Montgomery's citienory, Madison's community was held up as a 191 00:11:36,720 --> 00:11:39,960 Speaker 1: model for black people. From that day on, it was 192 00:11:40,000 --> 00:11:44,800 Speaker 1: called Madison's Park and gradually Madison Park. The name was 193 00:11:44,840 --> 00:11:48,160 Speaker 1: not merely an honor bestowed upon the founder. It spoke 194 00:11:48,200 --> 00:11:53,160 Speaker 1: to the unifying sentiment that we were Madison's children. Despite 195 00:11:53,200 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: their lack of formal education, these pioneers took concrete steps 196 00:11:56,679 --> 00:12:00,480 Speaker 1: to care for their souls, minds, and bodies. They desired 197 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:05,199 Speaker 1: freedom not only from slavery, but from poverty. Realizing their 198 00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:09,280 Speaker 1: need to remain spiritually liberated, sometime in eighteen eighty one, 199 00:12:09,520 --> 00:12:13,480 Speaker 1: they established a church in the Methodist tradition, an unsurprising 200 00:12:13,600 --> 00:12:17,920 Speaker 1: choice given Methodist founder John Wesley's outspoken opposition to slavery. 201 00:12:18,600 --> 00:12:22,439 Speaker 1: The church met first under bush trees, then moving into 202 00:12:22,520 --> 00:12:25,360 Speaker 1: a long cabin that protected them from the wintry winds. 203 00:12:26,000 --> 00:12:29,760 Speaker 1: Two years later, Kate and Kilis Marshall donated the land 204 00:12:29,840 --> 00:12:34,960 Speaker 1: on Old Watumka Highway, on which today's church, which Eli 205 00:12:35,080 --> 00:12:39,960 Speaker 1: Madison named the Union Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church 206 00:12:40,200 --> 00:12:44,920 Speaker 1: still sits. A few years later, founding families cleared twenty 207 00:12:44,960 --> 00:12:48,360 Speaker 1: five more acres to Great Park, shaded by oak trees 208 00:12:48,400 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: that lined its perimeter. The land was a vast green 209 00:12:51,320 --> 00:12:55,280 Speaker 1: lawn broken up by gravel sidewalks, play areas for children, 210 00:12:55,400 --> 00:12:58,680 Speaker 1: and a central pavilion. The park doubled as a meeting 211 00:12:58,679 --> 00:13:02,440 Speaker 1: place in vacation spot since most residents couldn't afford to travel. 212 00:13:03,400 --> 00:13:05,719 Speaker 1: I don't know the story of my great great grandfather, 213 00:13:05,840 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: John Motley Seniors enslavement, whether he worked in the plantation 214 00:13:09,920 --> 00:13:12,480 Speaker 1: house or in the cotton fields, and how his owners 215 00:13:12,520 --> 00:13:15,559 Speaker 1: treated him, but I do know that he was one 216 00:13:15,559 --> 00:13:19,240 Speaker 1: of the freedmen who left Ottouga County to join Eli 217 00:13:19,360 --> 00:13:23,120 Speaker 1: Madison just before sunrise one summer morning in eighteen eighty. 218 00:13:23,840 --> 00:13:27,079 Speaker 1: Upon arriving, he and his group of former slaves gathered 219 00:13:27,120 --> 00:13:30,079 Speaker 1: in an open air temple of arch trees to make 220 00:13:30,120 --> 00:13:33,200 Speaker 1: a promise under God's heaven and on the altar of 221 00:13:33,240 --> 00:13:37,640 Speaker 1: God's greened earth to start their own community, take responsibility 222 00:13:37,679 --> 00:13:41,320 Speaker 1: for one another, and make a success of their lives. Later, 223 00:13:41,720 --> 00:13:44,120 Speaker 1: he was among the pioneers who moved the stones to 224 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,560 Speaker 1: build the foundation of Union Chapel Church. This is my community. 225 00:13:49,240 --> 00:13:52,080 Speaker 1: Madison Park does not exist on the radar of many 226 00:13:52,200 --> 00:13:56,160 Speaker 1: navigational systems or printed maps. Except for those who work 227 00:13:56,200 --> 00:13:59,559 Speaker 1: in the municipal government and public schools of Montgomery, or 228 00:13:59,600 --> 00:14:02,520 Speaker 1: who know of people and know the story of our community. 229 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:07,760 Speaker 1: Madison Park, no doubt, is invisible and invisible. Madison Park 230 00:14:08,240 --> 00:14:11,200 Speaker 1: is an incredible idea for me because to those who 231 00:14:11,240 --> 00:14:14,800 Speaker 1: held from this place, Madison Park is as much an 232 00:14:14,840 --> 00:14:18,840 Speaker 1: idea as it is a living, breathing organism. To those 233 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,640 Speaker 1: who have never heard of our little community, it may 234 00:14:21,680 --> 00:14:24,800 Speaker 1: not exist. But to the founders who bought the land, 235 00:14:24,840 --> 00:14:27,960 Speaker 1: cleared the brush, and laid the cornerstones, and to their 236 00:14:28,000 --> 00:14:31,200 Speaker 1: descendants who still care for it, whether they live there 237 00:14:31,360 --> 00:14:35,600 Speaker 1: or not, it is as large as America. The seeds 238 00:14:35,640 --> 00:14:37,920 Speaker 1: of America are planted and nurtured in the hearts and 239 00:14:37,960 --> 00:14:40,760 Speaker 1: minds of Madison Park citizens over one hundred and thirty 240 00:14:40,800 --> 00:14:45,040 Speaker 1: five years ago, and the people there have been trying 241 00:14:45,200 --> 00:14:48,440 Speaker 1: ever since to make America work for them, the same 242 00:14:48,600 --> 00:14:51,680 Speaker 1: as people do in the less obscure places where lights 243 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:55,800 Speaker 1: shine bright and all the roads are paved. Eli Madison's 244 00:14:55,880 --> 00:14:59,000 Speaker 1: vision of a self reliant and sustaining community where people 245 00:14:59,040 --> 00:15:01,880 Speaker 1: could come and work to improve their state of life 246 00:15:02,240 --> 00:15:07,400 Speaker 1: remains the vision of its inhabitants today. Over the last decade, 247 00:15:07,560 --> 00:15:10,240 Speaker 1: as I have publicly shared the story of Madison Park 248 00:15:10,360 --> 00:15:14,680 Speaker 1: at Washington dinner parties, rotary meetings, church work, and with friends, 249 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:17,600 Speaker 1: others have a firm that they too once lived in 250 00:15:17,600 --> 00:15:21,240 Speaker 1: a similar place. So in many ways, Madison Park has 251 00:15:21,280 --> 00:15:24,680 Speaker 1: become a metaphor of places that can be seen invisible 252 00:15:24,760 --> 00:15:29,280 Speaker 1: or nonexistent. These places still exist, but are their days numbered? 253 00:15:29,800 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 1: Are they at risk of becoming extinct in the face 254 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:37,000 Speaker 1: of increasingly atomization. I can only hope not. Despite the 255 00:15:37,120 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: changing landscape and encroaching city, the same strong pride and 256 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:46,080 Speaker 1: commitment to community remains strong among the people of Madison Park. 257 00:15:46,640 --> 00:15:50,040 Speaker 1: It is planted deep in the earth, carefully and powerfully 258 00:15:50,040 --> 00:15:53,800 Speaker 1: cultivated by my great great grandfather and of freed slaves 259 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:56,960 Speaker 1: who began the community and gave it its name. The 260 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,240 Speaker 1: history of Madison Park is tied inextricably to my of 261 00:16:00,280 --> 00:16:04,400 Speaker 1: who I am. It is a spiritual locust that continues 262 00:16:04,440 --> 00:16:09,920 Speaker 1: to offer interfuge, solace, instruction, and most importantly meaning, in 263 00:16:09,960 --> 00:16:14,040 Speaker 1: the ever changing flux of daily existence. Wherever I go, 264 00:16:14,600 --> 00:16:17,560 Speaker 1: Madison Park goes with me, one of our reflect On 265 00:16:17,600 --> 00:16:20,440 Speaker 1: the roadblocks that I faced, I'm so grateful for the 266 00:16:20,480 --> 00:16:23,920 Speaker 1: Madison Park community. They set me on a different path 267 00:16:24,320 --> 00:16:28,760 Speaker 1: than the external features in my life. My race, relative poverty, 268 00:16:29,240 --> 00:16:33,160 Speaker 1: rural Southern roots, and the absence of biological parents would 269 00:16:33,160 --> 00:16:36,600 Speaker 1: seem to predict. The people of Madison Park bestowed the 270 00:16:36,760 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: gift of grace which I can never repay. Life is 271 00:16:40,360 --> 00:16:44,600 Speaker 1: like that. Blessings come to us so relentlessly, we are 272 00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:48,160 Speaker 1: forever in a deficit position. We never get all the 273 00:16:48,240 --> 00:16:51,640 Speaker 1: thank yous and goodbyes properly said, which leaves us each 274 00:16:51,720 --> 00:16:58,400 Speaker 1: one living with a burden of gratitude. What a great story. 275 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:07,240 Speaker 1: When I was in high school, as I'm reading this, 276 00:17:07,359 --> 00:17:10,440 Speaker 1: when I was in high school, there were two communities, 277 00:17:11,119 --> 00:17:14,680 Speaker 1: one was called berry Hill and one was called Bridgewater 278 00:17:15,480 --> 00:17:19,880 Speaker 1: that were near where I lived, and they were very similar. 279 00:17:20,040 --> 00:17:26,720 Speaker 1: They were all African American communities, but great communities that 280 00:17:26,840 --> 00:17:30,600 Speaker 1: had churches and stores, and you know, there were one 281 00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:34,040 Speaker 1: two lane road towns. But the people that came from 282 00:17:34,040 --> 00:17:37,800 Speaker 1: those communities were proud of those communities, and those those 283 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:41,240 Speaker 1: communities propped each propped each other up, and they were 284 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,119 Speaker 1: by no doubt. There was no influence there, but the 285 00:17:46,160 --> 00:17:48,679 Speaker 1: people that lived there supported each other, were happy. And 286 00:17:49,280 --> 00:17:53,040 Speaker 1: as I'm reading this, I'm remembering those communities and how 287 00:17:53,080 --> 00:17:57,680 Speaker 1: important those communities were to the to the kids, because 288 00:17:57,720 --> 00:17:59,399 Speaker 1: I was a kid then, but the kids that came 289 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:02,520 Speaker 1: from those I mean, we played sports together and went 290 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:05,160 Speaker 1: to school together and everything else. Those kids were great kids, 291 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:08,040 Speaker 1: and I think it was because they had those supportive 292 00:18:08,040 --> 00:18:10,600 Speaker 1: communities they came from. 293 00:18:11,600 --> 00:18:12,400 Speaker 3: Pretty amazing. 294 00:18:12,760 --> 00:18:17,440 Speaker 2: How cool that some freed slaves bought a plantation moved 295 00:18:17,440 --> 00:18:17,879 Speaker 2: it together. 296 00:18:18,040 --> 00:18:22,639 Speaker 1: Pretty crazy, you know, I know this is kind of 297 00:18:22,680 --> 00:18:25,320 Speaker 1: all subject, but also five hundred and sixty something acres 298 00:18:25,320 --> 00:18:29,720 Speaker 1: for twenty five hundred bucks, Holy smokes. But I loved 299 00:18:29,800 --> 00:18:33,399 Speaker 1: the deal that they protected all of the goods that 300 00:18:33,440 --> 00:18:37,560 Speaker 1: were on the train from looting because they wanted people 301 00:18:37,640 --> 00:18:41,320 Speaker 1: to respect their home and know that, you know, this 302 00:18:41,359 --> 00:18:43,960 Speaker 1: is the kind of people we are. And then they 303 00:18:44,160 --> 00:18:49,160 Speaker 1: apparently won over the people from Montgomery because they held 304 00:18:49,200 --> 00:18:51,040 Speaker 1: it up as the way community should be. 305 00:18:51,320 --> 00:18:53,960 Speaker 2: So to your point about sense of community, I almost 306 00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:57,440 Speaker 2: pulled from another excerpt if I didn't. But so Eric 307 00:18:58,200 --> 00:19:00,800 Speaker 2: was like behind in school, and like either his aunt 308 00:19:00,920 --> 00:19:04,080 Speaker 2: or his grandma got before the church that Sunday and said, 309 00:19:04,280 --> 00:19:07,119 Speaker 2: little Eric's like basically behind in school. We need your help, 310 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:09,639 Speaker 2: no kid, we need more books. And then then like 311 00:19:09,720 --> 00:19:12,600 Speaker 2: dozens of books are being dropped off on their front porch. 312 00:19:13,160 --> 00:19:15,320 Speaker 2: And then they started having tutoring sessions for him, and 313 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:18,240 Speaker 2: it turned into tutoring sessions for the entire community's kids, 314 00:19:18,880 --> 00:19:20,840 Speaker 2: and like their goal was to get him to college. 315 00:19:20,880 --> 00:19:24,280 Speaker 2: She went to college. She actually was part of overseeing 316 00:19:24,320 --> 00:19:27,360 Speaker 2: presidential appointments, you know for one of the past white houses. 317 00:19:27,640 --> 00:19:28,240 Speaker 3: Are you kidding? 318 00:19:28,280 --> 00:19:31,600 Speaker 2: He's now the deputy director of the Smithsonian's National Gallery 319 00:19:31,600 --> 00:19:35,840 Speaker 2: of Art. So you know, this guy from this little community. 320 00:19:35,760 --> 00:19:38,840 Speaker 3: That's that was my question. Where is he now? Usually 321 00:19:38,880 --> 00:19:39,720 Speaker 3: what he. 322 00:19:39,640 --> 00:19:43,840 Speaker 2: Is the deputy director of the Smithsonian's National Gallery of Art. 323 00:19:43,880 --> 00:19:46,200 Speaker 2: Have you gone in the art Museum of the Smithsonian. 324 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,959 Speaker 2: I think, yeah, it's actually a really good art museum. 325 00:19:50,040 --> 00:19:51,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, but. 326 00:19:52,920 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: This little this guy from little old Madison Port is 327 00:19:55,840 --> 00:19:59,280 Speaker 1: now that Yeah, it's pretty amazing. Obviously she read this, 328 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:02,600 Speaker 1: she can tell us as a very intelligent dude who 329 00:20:03,119 --> 00:20:07,480 Speaker 1: has a real good command of not only the English language, 330 00:20:07,520 --> 00:20:14,320 Speaker 1: but the ability to convey thought and do it in 331 00:20:14,400 --> 00:20:16,560 Speaker 1: a I mean, there was a couple of times in 332 00:20:16,640 --> 00:20:21,320 Speaker 1: here that you know, I was like some people when 333 00:20:21,320 --> 00:20:23,479 Speaker 1: you read their words, you can feel what they're feeling. 334 00:20:23,760 --> 00:20:25,119 Speaker 1: And he was able to convey that. 335 00:20:25,160 --> 00:20:25,280 Speaker 3: Man. 336 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,160 Speaker 2: I actually wanted to interview him, but he's not doing 337 00:20:27,200 --> 00:20:28,560 Speaker 2: interviews about the book anymore. 338 00:20:28,920 --> 00:20:30,120 Speaker 3: Why not. I don't know. 339 00:20:30,800 --> 00:20:32,480 Speaker 2: I would say I disagree with them, but thanks for 340 00:20:32,520 --> 00:20:34,160 Speaker 2: the great writing, Eric, Thanks for doing it. 341 00:20:34,280 --> 00:20:38,000 Speaker 3: Thanks Eric, because that's pretty cool. So what do we 342 00:20:38,000 --> 00:20:38,480 Speaker 3: get from this? 343 00:20:39,440 --> 00:20:41,600 Speaker 1: I think we get from from this what we've been 344 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:46,520 Speaker 1: talking about over and over and over again, that you know, 345 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:51,400 Speaker 1: one man can make a difference, and. 346 00:20:50,119 --> 00:20:52,679 Speaker 2: An all army living together and supporting each other can 347 00:20:52,720 --> 00:20:53,400 Speaker 2: make a difference. 348 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:59,639 Speaker 1: Yeah, and mister Madison didn't have two Nichols drubbed together. 349 00:21:00,119 --> 00:21:04,160 Speaker 1: Was a former slave, and he created a legacy now 350 00:21:04,200 --> 00:21:07,840 Speaker 1: that is four generations old, and his descendants are now 351 00:21:09,160 --> 00:21:14,680 Speaker 1: directing at the Smithsonian. And it's all because he served 352 00:21:14,880 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 1: people in his community and built this place for them. 353 00:21:19,640 --> 00:21:22,120 Speaker 1: To have a safe place to live in five and grow. 354 00:21:22,359 --> 00:21:24,959 Speaker 1: And I think the moral of the whole story is 355 00:21:25,640 --> 00:21:27,800 Speaker 1: an army of normal folks has been the answer all 356 00:21:27,880 --> 00:21:30,760 Speaker 1: the way back since eighteen sixty five and remains the 357 00:21:30,760 --> 00:21:35,040 Speaker 1: answer today. And the words written on these pages and 358 00:21:35,119 --> 00:21:37,639 Speaker 1: the story that we're just being told is just another 359 00:21:37,680 --> 00:21:38,400 Speaker 1: example of it. 360 00:21:38,480 --> 00:21:40,879 Speaker 2: And some former slaves can figure it out, so can we. 361 00:21:41,080 --> 00:21:44,720 Speaker 3: Yeah, no kidding, Yeah for sure. So that's it. Everybody, 362 00:21:45,480 --> 00:21:47,159 Speaker 3: shop Talk number seventy six. 363 00:21:47,840 --> 00:21:52,480 Speaker 1: Join the army, engage in your community, do what you 364 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:57,000 Speaker 1: can do. If former slaves can build one hundred and 365 00:21:57,040 --> 00:22:02,120 Speaker 1: seventy five year legacy that reveals itself in the words 366 00:22:02,400 --> 00:22:05,480 Speaker 1: of what we just read to you, certainly you can 367 00:22:05,520 --> 00:22:09,479 Speaker 1: find a way to serve your community today. Shop Talk 368 00:22:09,600 --> 00:22:12,280 Speaker 1: number seventy six, thanks for joining us. If you enjoyed 369 00:22:12,280 --> 00:22:17,000 Speaker 1: this episode, please rate it, review it, send me ideas 370 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:20,120 Speaker 1: for shop Talk and for Army Normal Folks. Guests at 371 00:22:20,160 --> 00:22:25,480 Speaker 1: Bill at normal folks dot Us. Join the podcast what Else. 372 00:22:25,840 --> 00:22:27,640 Speaker 2: Sign up to join the army in normal Folks out 373 00:22:27,640 --> 00:22:29,320 Speaker 2: of us. We'll see you next week. 374 00:22:29,400 --> 00:22:31,119 Speaker 3: We'll see you next week.