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Singer James Brown performs on television the day after the assassination in Memphis, Tenn., of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Brown carved niche in movement

Web posted April 5, 1998

By Kent Kimes
Staff Writer

For most blacks who came of age in the 1960s, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.'s assassination 30 years ago is a vivid memory.

``Everybody knows what they were doing, where they were when he was shot,'' said Kenyon Burke, a New Jersey civil-rights lecturer and author. ``It was just one of those searing moments in our history.''

A lesser-known chapter in history is Augusta native James Brown's role in cooling down riots that broke out in several U.S. cities after Dr. King's death.

Today marks the 30th anniversary of Mr. Brown's national TV appeal from his concert at Boston Gardens. The soul singer and entertainer urged restraint and more constructive channelling of the anger boiling in the wake of Dr. King's assassination.

``I knew how to talk to 'em, because I grew up at 944 Twiggs St. (in Augusta) and I understood 'em,'' Mr. Brown, now 64, recalled last week. ``I just wanted peace.''

The Boston concert, one day after Dr. King's assassination April 4, 1968, was to be canceled because of feared violence, but a deal was struck to televise the show so folks would stay home. However, people showed up anyway and got a little rowdy.

``I had to make them be quiet,'' Mr. Brown said.

After Boston, the entertainer traveled to other cities, including Washington, and tried to ease civil unrest. He earned a commendation from Vice President Hubert Humphrey.

Washington was ``about to burn,'' Mr. Brown said.

The soul singer urged ``rioting youths to cool their passions and build instead of burn,'' according to The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock and Roll.

``His role was pretty darn significant,'' said Mr. Brown's attorney and longtime confidant, Buddy Dallas.

Mr. Brown grew up in poverty at his aunt's bordello in Augusta and made it big in show business through a relentless work ethic.

``I made it because I believed I'd make it,'' he said.

The singer became a heroic figure to much of the black youth culture, having ``risen from a deprived background and fulfilled the American dream simply via raw talent,'' according to Encyclopedia of Rock Stars by Dafydd Rees and Luke Crampton.

So Mr. Brown was an effective communicator to rioters because of connections to his audience and the black community, who felt he was one of them, said John English, a journalism professor at the University of Georgia who is an expert on popular culture.

``He always remained true to his roots and a loyalist,'' said Dr. English. ``He was the real thing to young, black people.''

It wasn't uncommon for black entertainers of the turbulent civil-rights era to be outspoken, Dr. Burke said.

``What he (Mr. Brown) did is in the tradition of many entertainers, like Harry Belafonte. But I think it's a very positive thing,'' he said.

Mr. Brown's interest in others' well-being and his desire for peace have always been sincere, Mr. Dallas said. ``That's what the man's been about all these years. It's not an act,'' Mr. Dallas said.

From quelling riots, Mr. Brown went on to visit and entertain American troops in Vietnam later in 1968, according to Mr. Rees and Mr. Crampton.

By the end of the 1960s, Mr. Brown's music began to reflect his political involvement and social themes, with songs such as Say It Loud -- I'm Black and I'm Proud and I Don't Want Nobody To Give Me Nothin' (Open Up the Door, I'll Get it Myself).

Mr. Brown's music reflected social changes around him, Dr. Burke said.

``The rise of ethnicity became part of the American scene,'' he said.

Despite his many tangles with the law, including a Jan. 27 arrest on two charges of unlawful use of a firearm while under the influence of alcohol or a controlled substance, Mr. Brown insists he is and always has been peace-loving.

``Peace is always the answer,'' Mr. Brown said. ``That's what Jesus Christ said.''

An Aiken County circuit judge fined Mr. Brown $1,100 on March 13 and ordered the singer to complete a 90-day drug treatment program to avoid a two-year prison sentence in connection with the weapons charges.

Reflecting on the state of race relations and America in general since Dr. King's death, Mr. Brown listed a litany of social ills -- including unemployment, foul language and gun availability -- he feels need to be reversed.

``We've got work to do,'' he said.