Dr. Henry Karlson, Rev. Mmoja Ajabu & Images
Friday, October 29, 2010 I was honored to preside over Dr. Karlson’s homegoing at Crown Hill Cemetery. You can see a wonderful tribute to his life by Kimberly King at:
http://www.fox59.com/news/wxin-iu-law-professor-provided-fox5-103110,0,5461458.story Before his passing he had shared with his wonderful wife Nancy, and eventually me, that it was his wish that I do his funeral. Wow!! What an honor. Me, former Commander-In-Chief for the Black Panther Militia for the state of Indiana receives a request from the foremost legal mind in the state of Indiana who wants the former commander to preside at his funeral. Tell me God does not work in mysterious ways. When I queried Dr. Karlson on his choice he said that people need to know the greatness of you. He went on to say that I myself, in his opinion, did not know how great I am. He saw me as a man of integrity and a man that this city should actually consult concerning the issues of the day. What a compliment from a man of his stature. He saw me as a man that had the power to bring the races together. Imagine that. With my history as being portrayed as a white person hater, which is not true but I was still portrayed that way, amazingly a man of Dr. Karlson’s stature saw me as a catalyst that could bring unity among the races. For you to understand how Dr. Karlson and my relationship got to this point I want to share an experience.
Dr. Karlson has helped me for better than the past twenty years with legal issues. One of great importance was his assistance with working through the legal quagmire surrounding the conviction of my son Kofi Modibo Ajabu. As most of you know, in 1995 my son was convicted, along with two others, for what eventually became known as the Carmel Triple Murders.
While serving time in Pendleton he was accused of assaulting a guard. WTHR did an excellent story which can be read at http://search.yahoo.com/search?ei=utf-8&fr=slv8-grpj&p=professor%20henry%20karlson&type= Although Kofi was found guilty by Pendleton’s Conduct Adjust Board (CAB) our family was impressed upon by Kofi that he had not laid a hand on this officer. He asked us to pressure for him to get his day in court. We did and were successful at getting charges filed against Kofi in Madison County Superior Court. Dr. Karlson agreed to help.
Dr. Karlson had never taken the bar exam in Indiana. He said that he didn’t take the bar exam because once he did he would not be able to be the independent voice that the city needed and he was called to be. He explained that by taking and passing the bar a lawyer by law becomes a representative of the state. Dr. Karlson said that by representing the state he could not speak out against the state when the state was found to be on the wrong side of justice. Therefore, he chose to keep his independence by not taking the bar. This truly is a stance that I could see myself taking. In fact, when I went to seminary at the Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta I would not declare a denomination because I wanted the independence to speak about the truth from God and not be tied down by some denomination’s interpretation or control. I cherished my independence. Mrs. Karlson calls us the odd couple, and indeed we were to a large extent, but this one trait we had in common. You will understand the magnitude Mrs. Karlson’s description and Dr. Karlson’s request as this experience continues to unfold.
Chadwick Hill agreed to take on my son’s legal woes and was elated that Dr. Karlson was on board to help. Chad was one of Dr. Karlson’s students. To strategize we met in Chad’s downtown office. I had provided transportation to Dr. Karlson and had returned to drop him off at the front of Indiana University’s Law School. However, Dr. Karlson was hesitant to get out. I had a meeting that I needed to get to but Dr. Karlson actually refused to get out. Those of you that know Dr. Karlson know that when he makes up his mind you might as well go with his wish because he is like a rock that shalt not be moved. He informed me that he had to share something with me. These following words are his words. He started to become really emotional. His body was convulsing and tears were streaming down from his eyes. He stated that I “did not know how I had helped him.” What!! Mmoja Ajabu had helped the great Dr. Henry Karlson? How did that happen? Dr. Karlson went on to say that he had been a “racist.” This was his word, not mine. And I had helped him to see the error of this position. And he just wanted to thank me. And he couldn’t go on being in my midst without sharing this fact with me. And he loved me unceasingly for what I had done for him. I was floored.
At no time during our interaction had I had any inkling of Dr. Karlson having race issues. In my opinion, he never showed it, and if he did, I didn’t see, nor at anytime was I looking for it. This is what made us, to use Mrs. Karlson’s words, “the Odd Couple.” This little known history fact is what illuminates the magnitude of Dr. Karlson’s request for me to preside at his funeral. Through an act of God a confessed former racist and the former Commander of the Black Panther Militia could through honest and sincere interaction become the best of friends even unto death. This was a better than twenty year process. God is such a good God!! This is where images play a big part. Let me explain.
With Dr. Karlson’s assistance Chad was able to find that the evidence unequivocally showed that Kofi could not have assaulted the guard at Pendleton. The prosecutor agreed and submitted a motion for the judge to not try the case for lack of evidence. The judge agreed the evidence was not there and the evidence that was there actually exonerated Kofi therefore he through the case out of his court. Still, because of the CAB conviction, Kofi, even after the case was thrown out of court, he still spent more than a year in solitary confinement. Kofi was innocent but still did time for a crime he did not do. My son was convicted of murder although the Supreme Court of Indiana ruled that the evidence shows he killed no one. He was there at that house and mine and my family’s deepest sympathies go out to both families. Kofi should not have been at that house uninvited and even with an invitation he should have not been a party to what happened in that house. And I want to extend my deepest and sincere apology for any words that I uttered that contributed to these families’ grief. Please forgive me.
Dr. Karlson eventually agreed that my son shouldn’t have been treated like a murderer because he killed no one, although by law a person with a murder can be treated as if he did the murder. What you see here is one of the contentions that Dr. Karlson and I had. I took the stance that just because it’s the law, does not mean it is right. I cited the institution of slavery being legal but no one in his right mind would argue that slavery was right. A person can be convicted as a murder when they killed no one if they are charged with felony murder. Kofi was charged as a principle. But he was sentenced as if he was charged with felony murder. Unfortunately I could get none of his appellate lawyers to raise this issue. To change the legal sentencing associated with felony murder is one of the things Dr. Karlson and I were working on to get changed by the Indiana legislature that obviously we will not accomplish together. Just like Kofi was at Pendleton when Officer Semler got assaulted he was at that house in Carmel when those children were killed. However, he did not kill anyone nor did he put a hand on the guard. Dr. Karlson eventually agreed and emphatically pledged his assistance to help my son get the justice that God’s law was in contention with the law of man. Everyone should be held accountable for their own actions. No one should be accountable for the actions of others. I have one more point and it deals with images. Here’s how.
Dr. Karlson envisioned me as the catalyst in Indianapolis that could better race relations. He regularly referred the press to seek my opinion. I valued my friend’s vision so this is an attempt to take his vision from rhetoric to reality. The image that is proposed to be placed on the cultural trail to represent the contribution of Black folks to Indianapolis history is unacceptable.
For people of African descent the above image conjures other images that are truly counterproductive to racial unity within the city. The images the above image generates is depicted by the image below.
If there is the desire to have an image then let’s choose a positive shows voluntary servitude to the family as shown by the family posing with six new born babies.
Never again should we as a nation attempt to support an image that when placed in stone it permanently depicts the involuntary servitude of people of African descent to the people that founded America.
Dr. Karlson wanted to use his death as a resurrection of my life to bring about racial harmony. I take his charge seriously. I pray that we as a city do too. Let’s speak honestly about the contributions that people of African descent has made to Indianapolis and come up with a image that makes us all proud. It is what Dr. Henry Karlson used his death to give me the opportunity to say and be listened to. Do you hear me? Thank you for listening to AjabuSpeaks.
Tune in to http://www.thewarhorn.com Monday – Friday from 11Am to 1PM and 7Pm to 9PM to hear the words from AjabuUnleashed. Your calls for dialogue are welcome. You don’t want to miss the powerful words. See You There!!