Across this great nation in every community there have always been men and women who would challenge the inequities of society. These individuals would stand up and speak out even at great personal risks. This week’s column will focus on such an individual, James “Cookie” McDonald.
It has been on my mind for a number of years to write a column of thanks for a job well done. I have watched the advertisement about the movie “Selma” and it brought back memories of the 1960s and those I have known that were active in the local Alabamas such as Pittsburgh, Rankin, Duquesne, Clairton, McKeesport, Beaver Falls and the city of Washington, Pa. often referred to as Little Washington.
The legendary Matthew Moore Sr. introduced me to Jim at an NAACP meeting in the early 1960s and over the following years we became true friends. Jim is a strong standup Black man who recognized the overwhelming importance of a quality education and Blacks being afforded the opportunity to participate in the economics so that our families can share in the American Dream. He proved over the many years that I have known him to a man with a word, man of principle, man who could be trusted, and a devoted family man. Jim McDonald also proved over his lifetime that you can be a strong committed Black man and still be able to live out that fact that some of his best friends are White.
I would have called Jim and asked him what would he consider his proudest moment or event, but he would have said, “Hop, it is not that important, I only have done whatever God has allowed me to do.”
On Oct. 6, 2013, LeMoyne Community Center honored Jim so I called the executive director Joyce D. Ellis and explained to her about the upcoming column and she provided me with a booklet of the program, which included some very moving comments about James “Cookie” McDonald.
Joyce D. Ellis: “Mr. McDonald has touched many persons in the four corners of his life, he is truly a humble man.”
I then called his daughter Traci L. McDonald, deputy district attorney, and explained to her and asked for comment and with no hesitation Traci stated he is my best friend and most wonderful father in the whole wide world.
As I looked through the booklet there was a picture of Jim and his two granddaughters Olivia and Araina and Jim’s words, “All I want to be known and remembered for is that I was a good father and grandfather.”
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(Louis “Hop” Kendrick is a weekly contributor to the Forum page.)
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