My Black Cousin. My White Cousin.
by David Fulbright

We had several presentations in Springfield following the Saturday evening dinner and program. We shall be sharing these with you over the next several months. One of those that aroused much interest was on Black Fulbrights. Some black Americans carry the name Fulbright because they are the descendants of former slaves who were owned by white Fulbrights. Others are connected by blood ties. The story that follows is about one familv that is related by kinship. It is true and can be documented by David Fulbright and Clara Maddox. Both David and Clara live in the Kansas City, Missouri area.

David Fulbright presented the story at the reunion. Several people asked to meet Clara at the next reunion. If we are fortunate, she may be there. (In the interest of newsletter space, this is a highly abbreviated version of the reunion presentation. )

The story that follows is intriguing and delightful because it is true, and it is about a part of our history that few families have been able to recover. Our family history happened in a historical context. Slavery was part of that context. The relationships of Fulbrights to each other have involved the relationship of black and white persons. In this story, there is a slave and a master who became lovers, although that may have well been forced on the woman. The relationship of master and slave preceded everything else in the story. It is written from the perspective of a white Fulbright.

Several years ago, while in a meeting at King Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri, a black woman wearing a golfer's cap approached me. She said, "Mr. Fulbright, where are you from?"

I replied, "I'm from the Springfield, Missouri area."

Smiling, she replied, "I thought so. How long have you people been down there?"

"We started the place. We have been there since 1829 or 1839.", I replied.

Instantly, she said, "I thought so. I used to know a man who looked just like you. His name was Louis Fulbright. He was a Presbyterian minister."

Louis was not a family name. We had few Presbyterians in the family. Suddenly, it hit me. "Is he a black Fulbright or a white Fulbright?"

Her eyes twinkling, she responded, "He was black, but he could pass for white. He looked like you." (Much later, when I saw a photograph of Louis Fulbright, I thought he looked like my grandfather, C.R. Fulbright. Why she thought he looked like me puzzles me. Perhaps, the man in person appeared so.)

I gave the traditional family wisdom! "If he had one bit of white blood, he was a relative of mine."

Leora said, "He talked a lot about his white father, a slave master. His father was a Fulbright in Springfield."

I got a number and a name from her. Clara Maddox was his great granddaughter. Her uncle was knowledgeable about the family history, but my new friend thought he might not talk with me. I tried to touch base with Clara, but I could not. Finally, over a year later, I called Howard. I have rarely been more warmly received. He told me a lot that afternoon, and I was able to share things with him that he had not heard about the history of the white Fulbright family.

Louis was born to a Fulbright slave, Minerva. She was a house slave in the home of a William Fulbright in Springfield. Louis was treated very, very well, and he did not work outside as his mother's other children did. He did chores around the house. He was so well accepted that he worshiped with the white family on Sunday while his mother and her other children sat in the balcony of the church (It should be noted once again that Louis was very, very light. His brothers and sisters were dark. At that time, much was made of his light complexion.) At about age 3, he was freed but not before an adventure in Texas.

During the Civil War or just after it, Louis was sent to Texas where he became the house slave of a General Wakefield. Gen. Wakefield was connected with a group supporting the Confederacy in the war. Louis was often at the house alone with the General's mother. She secretly began to teach him to read and write. Her comment was, "I am not going to have this sin on my head. You have to learn to read." She taught him herself. At the time, it was against the law for a slave to be so taught by his master or mistress.

When he learned of the project, General Wakefield was not offended. He agreed to his mother's decision, and he gave Louis a writing desk that was in the family until recent years. This event was pivotal in Louis' life. Later, he could study for the ministry with his newly acquired skills.

After the war, Louis returned to Springfield. From there he went to Topeka for his first ministry. The story of his time in Topeka takes too much space to tell here.

My source, Howard Kennedy, was aware of the Fulbrights coming to Springfield with approximately 30 slaves. He told me that Carol, the daughter of James and Clara Maddox (Clara is Howard's niece.) could tell me more. She and her mother had done extensive research for the family on their genealogy. As it happened, Clara was a gold mine of information.

Howard had an excellent photograph of his grandfather that proved one point. He could have passed for white anywhere in the world. He could easily be a white Fulbright from his physical appearance. I could not agree with Leora, my original informant, that he looked just like me, but he shared Fulbright physical characteristics.

Howard told me that his grandfather became a minister serving in both the Presbyterian and Methodist (African Methodist Episcopal) denominations. He served churches in Topeka, Girard, Galena, and Baxter Springs, Kansas. He later went to Oklahoma to stake a land claim at Earlsboro, Oklahoma. He visited a white cousin of his, a Mrs. King, whose son was a banker in the area. Somewhere in this period of his life, he was the founding pastor of Avery Chapel AME, a congregation in Oklahoma City that is today the largest AME congregation in that city.

The story about the King family was important to Louis. At one time, some white people in the community began to cause him trouble. He was told by Mrs. King�s son. "Don't worry, Louis. We will take care of you. " Louis never knew what was said or to whom, but the trouble stopped.

For any white Fulbrights wondering what Louis' family is like, Howard is a model. He attended college and prepared to teach school. Upon his arrival in Kansas City, he quickly concluded that teaching paid little. He bought a cab, and he became a founding partner in Consolidated Cab, a large, successful taxi service in Kansas City. Although Howard and his lovely wife, Willa, never had children, they educated several nieces and nephews.

There have been five Ph.D.'s in this line since the Civil War. Howard�s niece, Mrs. James (Clara) Maddox, has been chosen one of the 100 Outstanding Black Leaders in Kansas City, Missouri since I have known her. She is frequently in the media in her role as a nurse at the Samuel Rodgers Health Center. Success crops up everywhere in this remarkable family. Clara is convinced that her grandfather was born in Springfield in 1851. If date is accurate as I too believe it is, the only William who could have been the father of her grandmother was William the son of the founder of Springfield. Clara also has a fascinating aside to all of this. Capt. James Harvey Fulbright owned Rebecca McKinney who became the wife of Green Fulbright, Louis' brother, whose daughter Ada Fulbright became a legend in Springfield, Missouri educational circles. Green met her at a Fulbright family gathering!

In what has to be one of the red letter days of my life, I took Clara to Springfield to the Green County Archives to look for any documentation we could find for her family story. There it was in Uncle Billy's probate file. Her grandmother's name was on the list of slaves in his possession at the time of Iris death. I asked one of the best genealogists about it. She said, "You have her in the home with a spelling of the name that was not typical in that day. The only thing better would be a birth certificate." Ironically, we also discovered that day that her Uncle Green was married in Ozark, Missouri, and worked for Ozark Mill and Elevator Company. I was a member of the Ozark Christian Church, my home church. I also grew up with members of the Hawkins familv who owned the company Green worked for.

Clara Maddox is the family genealogist for her family and is eager to learn more about her farnily origins. Her work is excellent.

I apologize to Clara and to Howard and their family that this story is told so briefly. It needs a more detailed accounting, but there is not time for it in this issue. We really should have Clara to a reunion to share her part of this amazing story. I have seriously thought of writing it in a longer, more detailed version with Clara. A title of something like, "My Cousin, Clara. My Cousin David" might be appropriate