Native Americans are invisible until they become criminals
Locklear describes his efforts to erect markers for prominent Lumbees, complaining that the only time Native Americans enter the public consciousness is when they commit crimes.
Citing this Excerpt
Oral History Interview with Carnell Locklear, February 24, 2004. Interview U-0007. Southern Oral History Program Collection (#4007) in the Southern Oral History Program Collection, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Full Text of the Excerpt
- WILLIE LOWERY:
-
You did better than most. You did a job
[unclear]
.
- MALINDA MAYNOR:
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Very good.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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Yep. Well, I still say there's a lot we could do. We're the most
[unclear]
people in the world. I mean, God has really blessed these
people.
- WILLIE LOWERY:
-
I just hope the young people don't let all that's been done in the past
to move us along fall on the wayside.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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I do too.
- WILLIE LOWERY:
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Cause they don't have the same drive we did. They got everything will be
alright, Mama and Daddy's took care of it.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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Yeah, somebody's got to pick it up and really go with it. They've got to
find an issue. And what I wanted to do, I wanted to get a marker for the
22. But I wanted to get-with the good Lord's help, and some
people here in locally, I got a statue-not a statue, a name
marker for Mr. Jim Chavis. Have you seen that?
- MALINDA MAYNOR:
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Yes.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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I raised 1200 dollars and had that done. I wanted to get a marker for
the 22 on [Hwy] 74, and I wanted to have a streak of Highway 74 named in
honor of Dr. Adolph [Dial]. Now whether we like him or not, he
accomplished a great deal in his life, and he done a lot. A lot of help.
- WILLIE LOWERY:
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Who's that?
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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Adolph, Mr. Adolph. Then I wanted to get something in the park, and
Harold Collins approached me
[unclear]
. And then I wanted to go in the schools and have talent shows,
get the best talent I could find, put it on video, and go before these
big companies like Pepsi, Juicy Fruit, potato chips, and have our people
on commercial television. Equal justice is what I'm talking about.
- MALINDA MAYNOR:
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Well, right. When you think about, especially in this area, regional
television, the number of Indians here, and you never see them on TV
unless something bad happens.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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Yeah, that's right.
- MALINDA MAYNOR:
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Unless somebody gets shot.
- CARNELL LOCKLEAR:
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Yeah. Somebody gets shot or somebody gets arrested for dope. You see
them good, before that you don't see them.
