Jonathan Myrick Daniels (March 20, 1939 – August 20, 1965) was an
Episcopal seminarian and civil rights activist. In 1965, he was killed by a special county deputy, Tom Coleman, who was a construction worker, in
Hayneville, Alabama, while in the act of shielding 17-year-old
Ruby Sales
Ruby Nell Sales (born July 8, 1948 in Jemison, Alabama) is an African-American social justice activist, scholar, and public theologian. She has been described as a "legendary civil rights activist" by the PBS program ''Religion and Ethics Weekly' ...
. He saved the life of the young Black civil rights activist. They were both working in the nonviolent
civil rights movement
The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...
in
Lowndes County to integrate public places and register Black voters after passage of the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
that summer. Daniels' death generated further support for the civil rights movement.
In 1991, Daniels was designated as a
martyr
A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...
in the Episcopal church, and is recognized annually in its calendar.
Background
Born in
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Keene is ho ...
, Jonathan Myrick Daniels was the son of Phillip Brock Daniels (July 14, 1904 – December 27, 1959), a
physician
A physician (American English), medical practitioner (Commonwealth English), medical doctor, or simply doctor, is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through th ...
and
Congregationalist, and his wife Constance Weaver (August 20, 1905 – January 9, 1984). Daniels considered a career in the ministry as early as high school and joined the Episcopal Church as a young man. He attended local schools before graduating from the
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
. He began to question his religious faith during his sophomore year, possibly because his father died and his sister Emily suffered an extended illness at the same time. He graduated as
valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title for the highest-performing student of a graduating class of an academic institution.
The valedictorian is commonly determined by a numerical formula, generally an academic institution's grade point average (GPA ...
of his class.
In the fall of 1961, Daniels entered
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
to study English literature. In the spring of 1962, during an
Easter
Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...
service at the
Church of the Advent in Boston, Daniels felt a renewed conviction that he was being called to serve
God
In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
. Soon after, he decided to pursue
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
. After a working out of family financial problems, he applied and was accepted to the
Episcopal Theological School
Episcopal may refer to:
*Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church
*Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese
* Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name
** Episcopal Church (United Stat ...
in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, starting his studies in 1963 and expecting to graduate in 1966.
Civil rights work
![Varner's Cash Store](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Varner%27s_Cash_Store.jpg)
In March 1965, Daniels answered the call of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
, who recruited students and clergy to join the movement in
Selma, Alabama, to take part in the march for voting rights from
Selma to the state capital of Montgomery. Daniels and several other seminary students left for Alabama on Thursday, intending to stay the weekend. After Daniels and friend Judith Upham missed the bus home, they had second thoughts about their short stay. The two returned to the seminary just long enough to request permission to spend the rest of the semester working in Selma, where they would also study on their own and return at the end of the term to take exams.
In Selma, Daniels stayed with the Wests, a local African-American family. During the next months, Daniels worked to integrate the local Episcopal church by taking groups of young
African Americans
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to the church. The church members were not welcoming. In May, Daniels returned to the seminary to take his semester exams and passed.
Daniels returned to Alabama in July to continue his work. He helped assemble a list of federal, state, and local agencies that could provide assistance for those in need. He also tutored children, helped poor locals apply for aid, and worked to register voters. That summer, on August 2, 1965, Congress passed the
Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
which would provide broad federal oversight and enforcement of the constitutional right to vote. Before that, blacks had been effectively
disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
across the South since the turn of the century.
Murder
On August 14, 1965, Daniels was one of a group of 29 protesters, including members of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
(SNCC), who went to
Fort Deposit, Alabama
Fort Deposit is a town in Lowndes County, Alabama, United States. Since 1890, it has been the largest town in Lowndes County. At the 2010 census the population was 1,344, up from 1,270 in 2000. It is part of the Montgomery Metropolitan Statistica ...
, to picket its whites-only stores. All of the protesters were arrested. They were transported in a garbage truck and taken to jail in the nearby town of
Hayneville. The police released five juvenile protesters the next day. The rest of the group was held for six days in a facility which lacked air conditioning. Authorities refused to accept
bail
Bail is a set of pre-trial restrictions that are imposed on a suspect to ensure that they will not hamper the judicial process. Bail is the conditional release of a defendant with the promise to appear in court when required.
In some countries ...
for anyone unless everyone was bailed.
Finally, on August 20, the prisoners were released without transport back to Fort Deposit. After release, the group waited near the courthouse jail while one of their members called for transport. Daniels with three others—a white
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
priest and two black female activists—walked to buy a cold soft drink at nearby Varner's Cash Store, one of the few local places to serve non-whites. But barring the front was Tom L. Coleman, an unpaid special deputy who was holding a
shotgun
A shotgun (also known as a scattergun, or historically as a fowling piece) is a long gun, long-barreled firearm designed to shoot a straight-walled cartridge (firearms), cartridge known as a shotshell, which usually discharges numerous small p ...
and had a pistol in a holster. Coleman threatened the group and leveled his gun at seventeen-year-old
Ruby Sales
Ruby Nell Sales (born July 8, 1948 in Jemison, Alabama) is an African-American social justice activist, scholar, and public theologian. She has been described as a "legendary civil rights activist" by the PBS program ''Religion and Ethics Weekly' ...
. Daniels pushed Sales down and caught the full blast of the shotgun. He was instantly killed by
shot
Shot may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Shot'' (album), by The Jesus Lizard
*''Shot, Illusion, New God'', an EP by Gruntruck
*'' Shot Rev 2.0'', a video album by The Sisters of Mercy
* "Shot" (song), by The Rasmus
* ''Shot'' (2017 f ...
. Father Richard F. Morrisroe grabbed activist Joyce Bailey and ran with her. Coleman shot Morrisroe, severely wounding him in the lower back, and then stopped firing.
Upon learning of Daniels' murder,
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...
stated that "one of the most heroic Christian deeds of which I have heard in my entire ministry was performed by Jonathan Daniels."
A grand jury indicted Coleman for
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
.
Richmond Flowers Sr.
Richmond McDavid Flowers Sr. (November 11, 1918 – August 9, 2007) was the Attorney General of the U.S. state of Alabama from 1963 to 1967, best known for his opposition to then Governor George C. Wallace's policy of racial segregation.
Early li ...
, the Attorney General of Alabama, believed the charge should have been
murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
and intervened in the prosecution, but was thwarted by the trial judge T. Werth Thagard. He refused to wait until Morrisroe had recovered enough to testify and removed Flowers from the case. Coleman claimed self-defense, although Morrisroe and the others were unarmed, and was acquitted of manslaughter charges by an
all-white jury
Racial discrimination in jury selection is specifically prohibited by law in many jurisdictions throughout the world. In the United States, it has been defined through a series of judicial decisions. However, juries composed solely of one racial ...
.
["Leadership Gallery: Jonathan Daniels, 1939–1965"](_blank)
The Archives of the Episcopal Church. (
Disfranchisement
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
had resulted in excluding blacks from jury duty, as only voters were called.) Flowers described the verdict as representing the "democratic process going down the drain of irrationality, bigotry and improper law enforcement."
Coleman continued working as an engineer for the state highway department. He died at the age of 86 on June 13, 1997, without having faced further prosecution.
Aftermath and commemoration
The murder of an educated, white seminarian who was defending an unarmed teenage girl shocked members of the Episcopal Church and other whites into facing the violent reality of racial inequality in the South. Other members worked to continue the civil rights movement and work for social justice.
Ruby Sales went on to attend Episcopal Theological School (now
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) is a theological school in New York City that trains students for service with the Episcopal Church. It is affiliated with the Union Theological Seminary. Students who enroll in the EDS at Union Anglican st ...
). She works as a human rights advocate in
Washington, DC
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, and founded an inner-city mission dedicated to Daniels.
*A sculpture group, ''The Garden of Gethsemani'' (1965–66) by sculptor
Walker Hancock
Walker Kirtland Hancock (June 28, 1901 – December 30, 1998) was an American sculptor and teacher. He created notable monumental sculptures, including the Pennsylvania Railroad World War II Memorial (1950–52) at 30th Street Station in Philadel ...
, was dedicated to Daniels when installed at the
Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani
The Abbey of Our Lady of Gethsemani is a Catholic monastery in the United States near Bardstown, Kentucky, in Nelson County. The abbey is part of the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (''Ordo Cisterciensis Strictioris Observantiae''), ...
in
Bardstown, Kentucky
Bardstown is a home rule-class city in Nelson County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 11,700 in the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Nelson County.
Bardstown is named for the pioneering Bard brothers. David Bard obtained a l ...
.
*In 1991, the Episcopal Church designated Jonathan Myrick Daniels as a martyr, and August 14 was designated as a day of remembrance for the sacrifice of Daniels and all the martyrs of the civil rights movement. (The church also recognizes Martin Luther King Jr.) Daniels is one of 15 martyrs to have been designated since the start of the 20th century.
*Daniels was the subject of historian Charles Eagles' book ''Outside Agitator: Jon Daniels and the Civil Rights Movement in Alabama'' (1993), which won the
Lillian Smith Award that year.
*The
Episcopal Diocese of Alabama
The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama is located in Province IV of the Episcopal Church and serves the state of Alabama with the exception of the extreme southern region, including Mobile, which forms part of the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast ...
and the
Episcopal Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast sponsor a yearly pilgrimage in Hayneville on August 14, to commemorate Daniels and all other martyrs of the civil rights movement.
*The
Virginia Military Institute
la, Consilio et Animis (on seal)
, mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal)
, established =
, type = Public senior military college
, accreditation = SACS
, endowment = $696.8 mill ...
created the Jonathan Daniels Humanitarian Award in 1998; awardees include former President
Jimmy Carter
James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...
.
*One of the five elementary schools in Daniels' hometown of
Keene, New Hampshire
Keene is a city in, and the County seat, seat of Cheshire County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 23,047 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, down from 23,409 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census.
Keene is ho ...
, is named after him.
*Daniels is one of 40 martyrs memorialized at the
Southern Poverty Law Center
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal advocacy organization specializing in civil rights and public interest litigation. Based in Montgomery, Alabama, it is known for its legal cases against white su ...
's Civil Rights Memorial in
Montgomery, Alabama
Montgomery is the capital city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Named for the Irish soldier Richard Montgomery, it stands beside the Alabama River, on the coastal Plain of the Gulf of Mexico. In the 202 ...
.
*A
New Hampshire historical marker
The U.S. state of New Hampshire has, since 1958, placed historical markers at locations that are deemed significant to New Hampshire history. The New Hampshire Division of Historical Resources (DHR) and the Department of Transportation (DOT) are j ...
(
number 226) about Daniels was erected in Keene in 2011.
*In November 2013, the
Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the state of Rhode Island. It is one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1.
The former Episcopal seat of the ...
announced its plan to open the Jonathan Daniels House, a service-oriented
intentional community
An intentional community is a voluntary residential community which is designed to have a high degree of social cohesion and teamwork from the start. The members of an intentional community typically hold a common social, political, religious, ...
for young adults, as part of the national Episcopal Service Corps program.
*In 2013, the
Order of Saint Luke
The Order of Saint Luke (OSL) is a religious order begun within the Methodist Church in the United States that is dedicated to sacramental and liturgical scholarship, education, and practice.
As a Christian religious order, it is a dispersed co ...
, a religious order in the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
, added Daniels to their calendar of saints and recommended his commemoration to all United Methodists.
*In 2015,
Washington National Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the cap ...
unveiled and dedicated a sculpture of Daniels within its Human Rights Porch, designed by
Chas Fagan
Chas Fagan is an American artist and sculptor. He is known for painting oil portraits of all 45 U.S. Presidents (as of 2016), on commission from C-SPAN and the White House Historical Association. He also painted the official canonization image of ...
and sculpted by stonemason Sean Callahan. Looking on at the dedication was the woman Daniels saved, Ruby Sales.
Representation in other media
*A play by Lowell Williams, ''Six Nights in the
Black Belt'', chronicles events related to the arrests in Fort Deposit, six nights in jail, and Daniels' murder. It also explores the relationship between Daniels and
Stokely Carmichael
Kwame Ture (; born Stokely Standiford Churchill Carmichael; June 29, 1941November 15, 1998) was a prominent organizer in the civil rights movement in the United States and the global pan-African movement. Born in Trinidad, he grew up in the Unite ...
, then a member of the
Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC, often pronounced ) was the principal channel of student commitment in the United States to the civil rights movement during the 1960s. Emerging in 1960 from the student-led sit-ins at segrega ...
, with whom he shared a jail cell in Hayneville.
*Daniels and his murder were referred to in the TV film ''
Selma, Lord, Selma
''Selma, Lord, Selma'' is a 1999 American made-for-television biographical drama film based on true events that happened in March 1965, known as Bloody Sunday in Selma, Alabama. The film tells the story through the eyes of an 9-year-old African-A ...
'' (1999). He was played by
Mackenzie Astin
Mackenzie Alexander Astin (born May 12, 1973) is an American actor.
Early and personal life
Astin was born on May 12, 1973, in Los Angeles, California, the son of actress Patty Duke and actor John Astin. His brother is actor Sean Astin. He at ...
.
*The Civil Rights memoir ''Brother to a Dragonfly'' by
Will Campbell includes the account of Daniels' murder.
*The film ''Here Am I, Send Me: The Story of Jonathan Daniels'' (2000) documents his life and murder.
References
Further reading
* Originally published as ''The Jon Daniels Story: with his Letters and Papers'' (New York: Seabury Press, 1967).
* Originally published under same title by the University of North Carolina Press (Chapel Hill, 1993).
External links
Jonathan Myrick Daniels*
Virginia Military Institute's page on Daniels
{{DEFAULTSORT:Daniels, Jonathan
1939 births
1965 deaths
People from Keene, New Hampshire
1965 murders in the United States
Anglican saints
Harvard University alumni
Virginia Military Institute alumni
20th-century Christian saints
People murdered in Alabama
Assassinated American civil rights activists
Deaths by firearm in Alabama
African-American history of Alabama
People shot dead by law enforcement officers in the United States
Activists for African-American civil rights
American Anglo-Catholics
Activists from New Hampshire
20th-century American Episcopalians