The Man from Pin Point Georgia

About a month ago, the Georgia Sociological Association held its annual meeting in Savannah.  Prior to this conference, there was much discussion about what we should do for entertainment.  The Board, therefore, took the advice of one of its members and scheduled an evening at the Pin Point Heritage museum.

Most of us had no idea of what this would entail.  We did not even know where the place was.  Merely getting there turned out to be an adventure.  It was located in such an our-of-the-way spot that our GPS guidance made several errors along the route.

Then after we arrived, we were not sure that we were at the right locale.  The place did not look like museum.  There was no imposing building with Greek columns out front.  All we could see was a series of modest structures.  So far as we could tell, they were private residences.

Nonetheless, the staff of the museum was extremely gracious.  First off, we were served a low country boil.  Our plates were stacked high with crabs, shrimp, sausages, potatoes, and corn.  The setting might have been simple, but the meal was sumptuous.

Afterward we attended a demonstration of how crabbing nets were woven and then were ushered into a small factory building to watch a film about the history of Pin Point.  This was an eye-opener.

Pin Point is a tiny town on the edge of a marsh.  Its population never exceeded three hundred and had now been reduced to about half of that.  Located among the Sea Islands, its inhabitants supported themselves on the bounty available in the surrounding waters.

The men had been fisherman and the women had processed the crabs and oysters their husbands brought home.  Theirs was a tough life, but one in which they had the satisfaction of personal achievement and independence.

Oh, did I mention that these folks were Gullah/Geechee and proud of it.  They delighted in their African origins and unique dialect.  They were also pleased to belong to the supportive community that they had created.

These folks had once been free Negroes.  Then after the Civil War they pooled their assets to purchase the waterfront land they now occupied.  Back then few whites appreciated the virtues of a swamp and so the property was cheap.

The result was a distinctive sense of self-sufficiency.  These were people who relied upon themselves.  The fed themselves, they governed themselves, they prayed for and among themselves.  So comfortable were they with whom they were that everyone had a nickname; one that usually teased them about their personal peculiarities.

But then came the big surprise.  Pin Point had a favorite son.  We were shown pictures of his parents.  There they were standing in front of tables full of crabs and oysters.  These were clearly hard working people who were unashamed of engaging in manual labor.

Who was their distinguished, and much loved, son?  He was none other than Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.  I had known Thomas came from Georgia.  I was also aware that he had grown up in a small town.  But that his origins were with the Geechee came as a complete shock.

Nonetheless, this discovery made sense of Thomas’ politics.  He has been accused of not being authentically black because he is a forceful conservative.  Rather than support a proliferation of government programs, he has championed personal freedom.

Although this might not be the outlook of all American blacks, it is obviously faithful to Thomas’ own roots.  He rose from obscurity to national eminence, not because his parents were wealthy or well-educated.  He had done so because they encouraged him to be his own person.

Some people believe that those with African origins are incapable of taking care of themselves, much less of assuming positions of national leadership.  Clarence Thomas’s story proves otherwise.  Instead of being regarded as a racial turncoat, he ought to be celebrated as a model of what pride and ability make possible. 

African-Americans are perfectly capable of self-reliance.  Were some liberal apologists more aware of Thomas’ origins, they might better understand this.  So might those racists who underestimate what blacks can achieve.

Melvyn L. Fein, Ph.D.

Professor of Sociology

Kennesaw State University