Frank Morris and Stanley Nelson

A black man killed, burned to death in his shoe shop in 1964 by the KKK and a white man from the town where he died. If you haven’t heard of either, read the link. There is so much to learn from these men and their stories , and the little essays I write can’t do the job for you. In a nutshell here is what happened:
Frank Morris (wearing hat in photo) was a black shoe repairman living and working in Ferriday Louisiana and was killed in a fire started by KKK members. He was burned out because he had white patrons who respected him. The investigations at the time went nowhere and became a “cold case”. Stanley Nelson, editor of the small town weekly the Concordia Sentinel broke the story in January. The story? That the KKK member that was part of the gang that started the fire was alive and never charged with the crime.
Two heroes uncovered here: Frank Morris for being a black man in the South and daring to have white customers. A man of high principles, a father, husband, church goer. A threat to the bigots of the times; Stanley Morris for being a white man having the courage to pursue the story in the community where the killing occurred.
This is what courage and a free press is all about. If you get a minute, go to the Sentinel website and send Stanley a note of appreciation for his courage to face the community, the families and the killers and standing up. But don’t ever forget that there are two heroes here. Frank Morris and Stanley Nelson. Hey Obama, how about Freedom medals for these Americans?
Image (Morris): http://www.cnycentral.com/news/photos.aspx?id=566371
Image (Nelson): http://blogs.clarionledger.com/jmitchell/files/2011/01/nelson_stanleyBW_150.jpg
Background information at the Concordia Sentinel: http://www.concordiasentinel.com/news.php?category=9