Greatness Comes in All Sizes
A Tribute to Daisy Bates at the City of Little Rock's Memorial for Daisy Bates
Delivered by Janis F. Kearney, Spring 2000
Good Morning. It's wonderful being home.
Thank you, Mayor Dailey, Larry Ross, and the Daisy Bates Memorial committee for your vision and commitment to the memory of Daisy Bates.
I racked my brain to come up with appropriate memories to share with you in my tribute to Daisy Bates. But what I finally discovered, was that
there are so many things that I could say about this great woman that it was a futile effort to try to identify just one or two memories.
I can tell you that it was Daisy who taught me that change begins with just one person; that it takes only one catalyst for change to move us
forward, or change the direction of a community, a state -- and, yes, a world.
I learned so much from Daisy Bates during the time I knew her. There are so many memories she left with me. While I didn't know her as well,
or as long as many of you -- she touched my life in an irrevocable way, leaving an indelible mark on my future.
I met Daisy Bates when I was 16 years old, and had learned just about everything I knew about her, from my father who is a history buff and loved to tell us -- all 18 of us -- about the great black leaders throughout history. Daisy Bates was one of the few women he ever mentioned, and it was clear from the way my father talked about Daisy Bates, he thought she was something very special - the next best thing to having Sojourner Truth in our midst.
In 1969, my parents decided I had mastered the art of cotton chopping, and thought I should have at least one other skill under my belt before I went on to college next year. They thought working in an office -- doing clerical work, would be a good thing.
Everybody, by then had heard about Daisy Bates moving down to Mitcheville and opening up a self-help office to help the city develop, and help the people secure jobs. So, my daddy, that summer, drove me the ten miles from Gould to Mitcheville, in hopes of me securing a job with the famous Daisy Bates.
When I walked into her trailer house office, that hot summer day, I knew immediately that I was in the presence of the most beautiful woman I'd ever seen. That moment is seared into my memory bank. I remember the curl of her hair down around her shoulders, the sleeveless, red cotton dress she wore, and the pearls around her thin neck. I especially remember the shiny, black patent leather pumps on her tiny, tiny feet.
Though I later learned just how small a woman Daisy really was, in my mind, at that moment, she appeared larger than life -- her image took up the room. She was the first woman I had met that exuded such elegance. It was the summer of my junior year of high school, and that picture of Daisy Bates stayed with me for the next 20 years.
Unfortunately, the clerical job I sought didn't work out. In a nut shell, my typing skills left much to be desired. I remember how Daisy looked from the sheet of paper, filled with errors, back up at me. There was an odd twinkle in her eyes as she kindly advised me to retake my typing class and check back with her the next summer. I left her office in that day with some dejection, but certainly with the knowledge that I had met a woman larger than life, whose presence would remain with me for the next 20 years.
It was 1987 -- almost 20 years later -- before I saw Daisy again. This time, her health had deteriorated. Her beautiful, lilting voice was now distorted by a number of strokes. Even so, I found her indomitable spirit…that wonderful Daisy spirit, still there, in her eyes, as she struggled with her recently re-established weekly newspaper.
This time, my typing was impeccable, and she hired me as her managing editor. Three months later, when she was "too tired to continue,"
she turned the care of her newspaper over to me. At that time, she gave me the most wonderful compliment I have ever received: she looked deep
in my eyes, as if looking through me, and told me I reminded her so much of herself when she was young…though I needed to learn to talk more.
And, she touched my heart when she told me that she believed I possessed the fire in the belly, that one needs to take on running a small, black
newspaper.
Thank you, Daisy, for your trust, and your wisdom. I know you're up there looking down on us, with your head slightly tilted to the side, and
that bright, wonderful smile lighting your face. You are larger than life, still, in my eyes.
Your life was one of incredible courage and selflessness. And, more than ever, I know now that it takes just one…just one selfless spirit,
just one giving heart, just one courageous life to change our world for the better. Daisy, thank you for that lesson.