80 Percent Black Selma, Alabama in 2016... The Gift that Keeps on Giving

There's something absolutely hilarious about this story, considering we are led to believe life in Post-March Across the Edmund Pettus Bridge 80 percent black Selma is nothing except peachy, that makes me laugh a deep, hearty laugh I hope former Birmingham Police Chief Bull Connor is sharing somewhere.

And to think it all happened on Martin Luther King Street... ['Rising Star' falls in Selma, Montgomery Advertiser, 1-15-16]:

Antoine Stallworth was helping a friend move furniture on New Year’s Eve when he became caught in the middle of a gunfight between two angry men said to have been on a “retribution mission.”

Stallworth, 38, had other things to do that afternoon, but put them on the backburner so he could pitch in to assist his friend move sofas and other heavy items.

They had just started when the pair arrived. Seconds later, guns were pulled and a hail of bullets enveloped Stallworth who never had a chance. He died a few days later at a Montgomery hospital.

“He was in the wrong place at the wrong time, an innocent bystander who didn’t have time to get out of the way,” said Dallas County District Attorney Michael Jackson.

Authorities indicated that the shooters were “getting even” following a violent incident before Stallworth became an unintended target.

It happened near historic Brown Chapel AME Church on Martin Luther King Jr. St. and inside a public housing project named for legendary educator George Washington Carver.

Deadly crossfires seem to be happening all too frequently in our shooting gallery of a country. Killers and victims become statistics with their names added to lists that just keep growing.

Stallworth was a quiet man from a big, loving family. He had spent nearly two years as custodian at the Selma-Dallas County YMCA before moving to another job.

He did it all at the “Y,” opening up around 5 a.m. to make the coffee for early arrivals before taking out his equipment to sweep and swab the floors at the big building.

He made sure television monitors in the weight room were on and tuned to popular stations for those on treadmills or other equipment.

On a first name basis with “Y” members, Antoine joined in conversations, usually about sports. Everybody marveled at his energy level and ability to tackle a job that most tend to avoid. The hallways sparkled and the bathrooms could have passed a country club inspection.

What upset him more than anything were rusty ceiling tiles and he kept looking up, knowing a leaky roof was causing the problem. Tired of looking, he decided to do something about it by hauling out a 25-foot ladder.

Unafraid of heights, he carefully climbed to the top and began scrubbing away the rust. A part-timer kept the ladder steady so Antoine wouldn’t fall.

“He was always doing things before anybody asked him,” said YMCA Director Ann Murray. “He was fabulous at whatever he did. That’s the best way to describe Antoine.”

Climbing ladders to ceilings isn’t something normally found in job descriptions, but he took it upon himself to get it done.

His dedication to his job was appreciated and he was surprised to find out he had been selected for a “Rising Star Award” by the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce.

He was always on time and rarely sick. When he didn’t show up we all knew he had to be under the weather. It became the topic of conversation among coffee sippers.

“I just feel good when the floors are clean,” he’d say. “People seem to like what I do and say nice things about me, but that’s not why I do what I do.”

Raised in rural Dallas County about 20 miles west of Selma, he learned the importance of cleanliness, be it a house or huge building.

He credited his great-grandmother with teaching him that lesson. Sallie Lee Stallworth assigned daily cleanup chores to more than a dozen young relatives who grew up in her house. She lived to be 95.

Antoine moved to New York City for a few years, but returned to Alabama to look for work back home. He found several before hooking up with the YMCA.

“I’m happy here,” he’d often say, when asked why he seemed to enjoy custodial work and always wore a smile on the job.

Nobody called him a janitor. He was the man who kept the YMCA clean and his “turf” included long hallways. He’d focus his eyes on the floor, looking for the tiniest piece of paper to pick up and discard.

Selma Police Chief John Brock said Antoine was shot four times, once in the throat. With wounds like that, recovery is unlikely. Initial reports indicated he’d be paralyzed the rest of his life if he survived.

“He wasn’t the target when the shooting started,” Brock said. “He just wanted to help somebody who needed it. It’s a real tragedy.”

Alfred Parnell and Glentravious Olds both have been charged with murder in connection with Antoine’s death, Jackson said Friday. Olds is in custody and Parnell is being sought, according to Jackson.

Funeral services were held Saturday afternoon at Tabernacle of Praise in Selma.

A "rising star" at 38?

The much touted and highly celebrated March Across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama helped birth a world where we must blame the death of the "rising star" on white privilege and white racism, instead of simply realizing our ancestors knew EXACTLY how to deal with the genetic reality of black dysfunction.