This image is of Peggy (R), then a 19 year-old SNCC member, next to future civil rights icon, Dr. Dorothy Cotton (L), after a 1962 church burning in Georgia—the state that Peggy's great-great grandparents, William & Ellen Craft, famously escaped from enslavement nearly 115 years earlier...
M Y
W E E K L Y
W O R D
IN MEMORY OF CHARLES M. SHERROD
10.22.22
Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely
Dr. Dorothy Cotton
​​Charles M. Sherrod
First, let me apologize for taking so long to update, but after Juneteenth my schedule became extremely busy. That being said, it is with a heavy heart that I return to give my condolences to Mrs. Shirley Sherrod & the family of civil rights icon, Charles M. Sherrod, who recently passed away. It is especially tough for me, because Charles was actually the person who recruited me into SNCC from Harlem to do civil/voting rights activism in Lee County, Georgia the summer of 1962—and it changed me forever...
Therefore, my poem this week is in tribute to Charles and his extraordinary life. It's entitled, Sherrod! ...
photo credit: Moises Saman, New York Times
Our spirit leader
A soul-force
Son-brother-husband-father-friend
Student-teacher-servant-leader
Listened with his whole self
Caressed the soil
Harnessed the earth
Canvassed the backroads
Permitted the mistakes
Recognized the reluctant
Lifted up the fearful
Gathered a New Tribe
Envisioned The Beloved Community
Shared the victories
Recognized the defeats
Preached into the voids
A Soulful soldier
With a shy smile and a full laugh
Sang with head to the sky
And hand to the plow
Witnessed way too much
Never lost sight of the prize
Listened to all
Never left his post
Persisted beyond the parameters
Pondered all ideas
Insisted upon mutual respect
Modeled how to live
Became a reluctant hero
Praised the Almighty
Ordered his steps
Offered his life.
© 2022 Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely. All rights reserved.
S H E R R O D !
by Peggy Trotter Dammond Preacely
