Self-made civil rights activist visits campus, shares story with students
By Kevin Kues, News Writing Student
A civil rights activist who dropped out of high school has gone on to develop legislation that will lead to one of the biggest criminal manhunts in American history. He told his story to OCCC students on Feb. 10.
Alvin Sykes, president of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign, said he is searching for truth and justice for the victims’ families whose loved ones lost their lives in civil rights struggles prior to 1970.
His work led to the passage of the Till Bill, also known as the Unsolved Civil Rights Crimes Act, which was signed into law on Oct. 7.
Sykes began his journey with the murder of Kansas City musician Steve Harvey.
Harvey was beaten to death in a park in Kansas City, Sykes’s hometown. Sykes said Harvey would play his saxophone in this park often by himself late at night. The man responsible for the beating, Raymond Bledsoe, was eventually charged with the crime but was acquitted by an all-white jury in 1981.
Sykes said he and other members of the African-American community were bitterly disappointed with the outcome. Because of his layman’s background in the law, Sykes knew that nothing more could be done on the state level.
But he thought some measure of justice might be found through federal law. He started by calling the U.S. Justice Department. When they turned him down, he went back to doing research in the public library, where he said he received most of his education.
Eventually Sykes found a statute that allowed Bledsoe to be re-tried for a federal civil rights offense. Bledsoe is now serving a life sentence for the murder.
“Anything is possible,” Sykes said. “You can take the knowledge you gain and turn it into something positive.”
Sykes said he acquired much of his education the hard way, learning outside the mainstream.
He was born to a 14-year-old mother in 1956. As a sufferer of epilepsy, he spent so much time in and out of the hospital, he thought it was his second home. Shortly after that, he became a victim of sexual abuse by a neighbor across the street.
The inner struggle he had to deal with took a great toll on him as a youngster.
Looking for some way to “protect” his community, he and his friend started what he referred to as a “junior police” force. They would ride around on their bikes, looking for people starting fires and causing mischief, and would turn them in. The result was to make him a target for neighborhood bullies.
That led him to Boys Town in Nebraska. It was here where he learned the value of education. He took this back to Kansas City with him.
When he returned, he realized the best way for him to get the knowledge he desired was by dropping out of high school and teaching himself at the local library. This is where he discovered his passion for law.
Sykes then gained a reputation around the community for helping people. That would lead him to Harvey’s case which led him to his most important case so far, Emmett Till.
Emmett Till was a 14-year-old African-American from Chicago visiting his relatives in Mississippi in 1956. One day Till was walking with his cousin to the local store when Till whistled at a woman. The woman told her husband. As a result, a few days later Till was kidnapped and lynched.
The two men accused in the murder were tried but acquitted, again by an all-white jury. Again Sykes worked successfully through the U.S. Justice Department to bring one of the perpetrators to trial.
It was this case that led Sykes to the Till Bill.
“I realized I could make a difference with this,” he said. He then took this inspiration to Congress.
The bill was going to pass the U.S. Senate until Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn put a hold on it. This prohibited the bill from even reaching a vote in the Senate.
Sykes became worried and reached out to Coburn. They met and each explained his side. Coburn told Sykes he supported the purpose of the Till Bill, but wanted the funding in place before it was voted on.
Coburn assured him the bill would succeed even though Sykes’ doubts were becoming stronger.
Finally, on Sept. 24, 2008, the bill was brought forth. When asked if any senator disapproved of the bill, not one objection was recorded.
This marked the first time a major civil rights bill passed through Congress without an objection.
The bill creates positions in the Justice Department and the FBI specifically to investigate civil rights deaths before 1970. It also gives grants to the states that want to launch their own investigations. A total of $13.5 million is now set aside to re-open civil rights cases and bring justice to those families.
“The beginning of any achievement is believing,” Sykes said. He encouraged everyone to talk to their elder relatives about mysterious disappearances before 1970. He said this may be the only way to find out if a crime had been committed.
When asked to sum up his incredible journey, Sykes looked upon the students and replied: “Truth and justice.”
