Brenda Cherry facts for kids
Brenda Cherry (born March 19, 1958) is an American civil rights activist from Paris, Texas.
Cherry is the President and co-founder of Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality, a non-profit civil rights organization located in Paris, Texas. Founded in 2003, CCFRE co-sponsored events with the U.S. Department of Justice, Lone Star Legal Aid, and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Early life
Cherry grew up in Blossom, Texas. Her father, Zeb Reynolds, was a farmer, and her mother, Irene Whitney, was a domestic worker. She began school at T.G. Givens, which was then a segregated school in Paris, Texas. She had to be bused 10 miles to the school even though there was a local school district in the town where she lived. After the schools were forced to integrate, she attended the formerly "whites only" school in Blossom. Cherry graduated from Prairiland High School in Pattonville, Texas. She went on to attend Paris Junior College and East Texas State University. Cherry worked as a Licensed Vocational Nurse for 9 years before becoming a civil rights activist. Cherry has two daughters, Shauncia Cherry and Tiffany Cherry, and one son, Rico Lewis.
Activism
Schoolyard assault
On October 23, 2003, an 11-year-old black student was reportedly attacked by a principal at Crockett Middle School in Paris, Texas. The child was removed from the school and sent to a detention center. Cherry, along with a small group of people, including the child's mother and grandfather, staged a protest in front of the school. During the protest, the child was released from the detention center. This event marked the beginning of several future protest demonstrations in the town.
Shaquanda Cotton
Shaquanda Cotton was an African-American student that attended Paris High School in Paris, Texas. On March 16, 2006, Cotton, aged 14, was arrested for allegedly shoving a school hall monitor. Having no prior criminal history, Cotton was tried and sentenced to up to 7 years in the Texas Youth Commission. During the same time frame, the judge in the case, Chuck Superville, sentenced a Caucasian 14-year-old girl who had a prior criminal history to probation after committing the confirmed crime of arson. Writer Darwin Campbell with African-American News and Issues broke the story, which garnered attention to Cotton's sentencing. After serving a year and one month in prison, the Chicago Tribune story written by Howard Witt led the case to national exposure. A large protest led by comedian Rickey Smiley was held at the Lamar County Courthouse in Paris, Texas. Approximately two weeks after the Tribune article and protest, ShaQuanda was released. Cherry was interviewed by the BBC regarding Cotton, and the case was included in a BBC documentary by United Kingdom reporter Julian O'Halloran.
Turner Industries
Turner Industries is a privately owned industrial plant with facilities in several cities and states including Paris, Texas. In February 2009, Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality received complaints and photos regarding racist graffiti, Confederate flags, and salary and advancement discrimination against black workers in the Turner Industries Paris plant. Activism led to a federal investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The findings led to a federal lawsuit which was settled out of court, as well as changes in Turner Industries employment practices. Cherry stated, "One of my biggest concerns regarding the racist graffiti and other things found at the plant is the mentality of those who put it there. Those same people serve on juries, and some go on to have supervisory positions or other positions of authority." The Turner Industries investigation was one of the largest civil rights investigations ever undertaken in the State of Texas.
Advocacy
Concerned Citizens for Racial Equality co-sponsored a community reconciliation meeting with the U.S. Department of Justice which was featured in the Chicago Tribune. "I'm here to talk about racism. I don't see any sense in playing games, pretending it doesn't exist," stated Cherry. "When you go in the schools and see mostly black kids sitting in detention—it's racism. In court, we get high bonds, we get longer sentences. If that's not racism, what is it?
"This town is being forced to look at things they never wanted to look at before," stated Cherry in an excerpt from Newsweek. Cherry, along with Lone Star Legal Aid, a local nonprofit law firm, compiled statistics showing that the Paris Independent School District punished black kids eight times more often than white ones, even though blacks make up a minority of the population. The U.S. Department of Education ruled that there wasn't enough evidence to attribute the discrepancy to racism. The New York Times quoted Cherry, "I think we are probably stuck in 1930 right about now. If you complain about anything, you are going to be punished."
Cherry has been an advocate for civil and human rights, and continues her work to address race and humanitarian issues.
