"There is no need to stand up and fight for the right if you are not going to stand up and fight against the wrongs." This is the philosophy of Arthur Weaver a local resident of Nacogdoches, better known as a "civil rights leader." Let me warn readers now that some aspects of this column will not be pleasant to read but as life should be, "Let the truth be told now and as they say, 'it is what it is'." When Nacogdoches history is written, Arthur Weaver will be and should be woven fully into the fabric of Nacogdoches' African American history.

Mr. Weaver has been honored and recognized more times than this column can list and everyone he received, he deserved. In 1986, the Texas Civil Liberties Union honored him in Austin. A souvenir booklet describes Weaver as a "civil rights movement in his own right," citing the letters he had written to then-President Lyndon Johnson, the Fair Employment Practice Commission, the Texas attorney general, local and national elected representatives and senators. He wrote and contacted agencies having to do with civil rights, old age assistance and health services. Weaver documented incidents of alleged police misconduct and civil right violations often bringing awareness of these incidents in such a way to help people raise money for bail and lawyers. This was during the 50s, 60s and early s70s when black and poor people were arrested and jailed for minor offenses. Weaver saw this unequal and unjust set of laws to be unfair and true to his philosophy of life, he chose to stand up and fight for what he thought was right and at the same time fight for what he thought was wrong. Yes he did!

I had long admired Arthur Weaver and his boldness at stepping up to challenge a system that violates the rights of a people because of skin color or lack of resources to pay for bail or legal help. This was a difficult and frightening time for black people in Nacogdoches and other southern cities, yet Mr. Weaver was brave and strong often risking and ignoring threats on his life when he dared to challenge an unfair system. Some people in the community referred to him as the "black mayor of Nacogdoches" because they could bring their complaints to him and he would listen and advise them on issues of discrimination. It should be pointed out here that Mr. Weaver was the founder of the Nacogdoches chapter of the NAACP (National Association of Colored People).

I asked his daughter, Charlotte Weaver Stokes, to tell me how the work of her father affected here family during the period. She explained that she and her brothers were in college or involved in their own careers while their father was most active. She recalled many days of being concerned and in fear for his life because of what she read in the papers about her father and his civil rights work. She was afraid that what had happened to other civil rights leaders might happen to her father. She said she admired her mother, the late Tommie Lee Weaver.

"(She) worked in the store ... was there and supportive of Dad," she said. "She kept the home open for the meetings. A lot of people coming and sitting with dad and she was there in that stand point. She was not actively involved in the marching and all that, but she was on the phones, delivering messages, and all that. She was a very strong person. Dad could not have been involved as he was without her support."

When I asked Charlotte to take me to the nursing home to visit my hero, I expected to find someone who was not alert and not able to recall many events. I was wrong. He recalled many things about his life including his time as the unofficial civil right leader here in Nacogdoches. He said he was born in Nacogdoches in 1915 to a proud father who worked hard to take care of his family. As I listened to Mr. Weaver speak of various incidents that happened to him and his father while growing up in the early 1900s it became clear to me why he grew up to become a leader helping to defend the rights of others. I asked him what may have shaped his life to become such a leader for civil rights. He told me about several incidents, including one where, as a child, a white man asked him his father's name. He replied, "Mr. J. W. Weaver." He said the man replied, "Boy don't you ever call a n.... 'Mister'." Mr. Weaver said he continued to say, "Mister" every time he was asked about his father's name. One incident that brought an emotional response was when he was asked by a white man to dance. He said he couldn't dance. Although the man told him he would kill him if he didn't, Mr. Weaver refused until the man's son starting shooting a gun at his feet. His father did not fare as well when he was ordered to dance. When his father refused, telling the white man that he could not dance, he was hit on the head with a bucket of cement and severely injured. It took three months for the injuries to heal. Because hospitals were not available to blacks at that time, the doctor his father worked for came to their home to treat his injuries. He parked his car down the street because he didn't want it known that he was giving medical attention to a black man. This is consistent with help that Mr. Weaver received from the white community during the civil rights movements and struggles here in Nacogdoches. Local lawyers, SFA staff members and Nacogdoches businessmen often contributed money and support silently and anonymously to support the civil rights movement here in Nacogdoches.

I must admit, this was a very difficult column for me to write because it was difficult to narrow down the extensive research and personal materials provided to me from many sources. A special thanks to Charlotte Weaver Stokes for providing documents, readings, news clipping and arranging a special visit with her father. Thanks to Linda Reynolds of the East Texas Research Center at SFA for providing addition materials and documents.

Mr. Weaver, know this — I am among those who humbly say thanks for giving so much of your life to helping and serving others. Because of what you did and the brave stand that you took did not go unnoticed or unappreciated. I humbly say thank you and I know that I am not alone.