by Roy Exum
posted May 14, 2008
 Roy Exum |
Duke was richly blessed with all the skills needed to cross any racial chasm. He would be welcomed into any house, whether it had silk curtains or none at all. And, best of all, it made Duke doggedly determined to do what was best for each and every one of us - no matter our color, our language or our social standing.
So count me among those who wanted to weep when federal officials nailed him on charges of money laundering, obstructing justice and improper documents as part of a wide-reaching cocaine conspiracy. To see John "Duke" Franklin Jr. handcuffed on TV, like some common criminal, was absolutely nauseating.
Duke and I have been friends for years, dating back eons ago when I would see his daddy at Brainerd High football games and then visit with his family after he had played. Every time I would see him my heart would leap, not because our greeting was so hale-and-hearty, but because I felt here was a guy who was destined to be a great leader for us in the years to come.
I know – every man is innocent until proven guilty and I hope his attorneys will prove the charges to be false, but I also know federal charges have an uncommonly high conviction rate. When the FBI brings you to the courtroom, those guys have the tapes and the videos and the rest of the proof we saw paraded not so long ago in our “Tennessee Waltz” debacle.
You’ll recall that every one of the Tennessee Waltz defendants went down and the one that broke my heart was William Cotton because he was a decorated combat veteran in Vietnam – he’d fought for our freedom – and when he was caught abusing his office it was so unbelievably sad to me. Even though William acted like a clown at times, and he did enjoy some colorful moments, I believed him to be a man of honor all the way up until the judge pounded the gavel.
Now comes Duke, who is a friend of mine, and while we’ve yet to hear his side of the story, his arrest alone smacks a huge blow to our entire community because we were depending on him, his careful education as the District 5 councilman giving great hope and promise to the coming years when we would sorely need his wisdom and his bearing at a higher level.
Earlier this week, when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton walloped Barack Obama so convincingly in West Virginia, the last voting lever hadn’t even been pulled before the nation’s political pundits were making mincemeat of the results, saying brazenly that no black man stood a prayer in the still-hateful hollows of that state.
So as we wince at such thought, hoping our nation will one day real soon get past such bigotry, we are buoyed by bright guys like Duke Franklin because we have watched him, seen him at prayer breakfasts, hugged him in restaurants and shared in his laughter countless times.
Now we wonder, just as they do in Detroit where the fallen mayor is being ousted and just as they do in Ohio, where the state’s attorney general is on the ropes, what it is about mankind that almost as soon as we put some up on the pedestal, they eventually commit some sort of self-inflicted hari-kari.
What’s even worse is that not only had we counted on Duke to one day star for us in the way he once did while wearing a Brainerd uniform, our need for people like him has seemingly never been as great. Senator Obama has demonstrated a huge desire within America and, while his liberal leanings may well get him in the end, even his fiercest opponents cheer that the color of his skin has absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with his vibrant convictions.
I saw the same thing in Duke Franklin, so help me I did, because the only colors I ever saw were his high school’s red-and-blue. Again, he is my friend. So is Billy Long. So is Ward Crutchfield. So is William Cotton. And now, once again, I want to weep.
If Duke Franklin turns out to be innocent in the eyes of the court, I’ll continue to believe in him, but if the charges are found to be true and he is sent away to jail, we need to devise a way to use such a fall to teach our young because – no matter the outcome – this city and state must continue to find and nurture our best and brightest.
We must strive to find those who don’t stumble, who are above reproach, because our lives depend on it.
royexum@aol.com
| Dining Out | Business | Movies | Focus | About Us |
| Church | Living Well | Memories | Outdoors | Real Estate | Student Scene | Travel |