The Passing of Dr. James Cameron

The choir sang yesterday at the funeral for Dr. James Cameron. I will miss his presence in the community - and seeing him each week at Mass.

The following is from the Marion, Indiana Chronicle Tribune. Marion is the city where Cameron was nearly lynched.

Through what he considered divine intervention, Cameron escaped the 1930 lynch mob that hanged two of his friends. His next 76 years were spent as a father, husband, author, educator and community activist. It was a life that brought hundreds of Cameron's relatives and friends Monday to St. John's Cathedral, across the street from the site of the old jail that was broken into to save a black man. They came to bid goodbye to the man they called "James," "Dr. C," "Grandfather" and "Dad."

"He lived 92 years and touched people from every walk of life," said Reggie Jackson, longtime friend and volunteer coordinator and board member at America's Black Holocaust Museum, founded by Cameron. "Dr. Cameron was what I call a soldier. He was a soldier of what I consider to be the most important battle of our life. Dr. Cameron was a soldier in the battle against injustice."

The sweet smell of incense filled the air as the funeral Mass began, and those in attendance joined in a rendition of Lift Every Voice and Sing, known as the African-American national anthem.

The casket was closed, washed in water from the peach marble baptistery and shrouded in a white cloth that bore a red cross.

Attendants carried the casket to a large center altar, where it was placed under a stone sculpture of Jesus suspended from the ceiling below an intricate wooden crown of thorns.

Cameron's family left their seats and walked to the front of the church, followed by members of a fraternal organization to which Cameron belonged and a number of priests, who bowed to the casket before taking their places.

A Bible and a cross were placed on top of the casket. Friends and family walked to a podium to read passages from scripture, many of them dealing with resurrection, rebirth and what awaits the faithful upon death.

"Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," Deacon Edward Blaze said, reading from the Book of Matthew as a sprinkling of "Amen" erupted from the crowd.

Constructed of yellow brick, the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist takes up an entire city block in downtown Milwaukee. The service was held there because the church where Cameron worshipped on Sundays is being renovated.

"In spite of that, when I sought another venue for the funeral I thought of the cathedral and thought, 'Why not?'" Father Carl Diederichs said. "This is the home church of the archdiocese of Milwaukee, and if there is a man who ought to be revered by the entire archdiocese, it's Dr. James Cameron."

In preparing his sermon for Monday's funeral, Diederichs read parts of Cameron's book, A Time of Terror. The book describes how 16-year-old Cameron, along with Abram Smith, 18, and Thomas Shipp, 19, were jailed in Marion after the killing of 24-year-old Claude Deeter and the reported assault of 18-year-old Mary Ball.

"Look at this picture, this horrible picture, and you see the two hanging there - grotesque, grotesque," Diederichs said before reading the passage where Cameron describes the lynching of Smith and Shipp. "And I see another branch. Guess who it was for? Guess who it was for? Dr. James Cameron."

"I see this day as an opportunity that we can come together not just to mourn our brother," continued Diederichs, who knew Cameron for years, "but to be strengthened by his spirit so it will not happen again."

A few moments later, Diederichs asked the mourners to exchange greetings. As they shook hands and hugged, the words "Peace" spoken in dozens of different tones and accents echoed through the cavernous church.

After communion, family and local officials were invited to the podium to speak.

"As a young child in 1930, he faced death," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. "He lived the next 76 years of life as I think any of us would like to live our lives. As an outsider looking in, as a mayor, I say, 'That's the way we should live our lives.' He was committed to his family, he was committed to justice and he was committed to treating people with respect."

Cameron's son Walter described a father who never missed an important occasion in the lives of his five children, three of whom survive.

"He was always at school events, he attended sporting events and anything disciplinary that may have happened at school," Walter Cameron said, his chuckles drawing the crowd to join him. "That was one time only."

When a call came in from someone interested in speaking to James Cameron about his book, he often referred the inquiry to his "agent" - his cousin Tom Wise, a retired Marion police officer.

Wise thanked Cameron's family for allowing him to share the time with the activist and thanked the city of Milwaukee.

"I'm sure it was God's will for James to move to Milwaukee. James loved Milwaukee, and the love Milwaukee shared with James, you can't believe it," Wise said. "If he had stayed in Anderson or Marion, there is no way the legacy of James Cameron would be what it is now."

Then he turned the crowd's attention to a group seated in the back row: Marion Police Chief David Gilbert, Deputy Chief Cliff Sessoms, Fire Chief Steve Gorrell and Stacy Henderson, chief of staff for Mayor Wayne Seybold. Seybold is in Asia on a trade mission with Gov. Mitch Daniels.

As the service neared its end, speakers who met Cameron through their involvement in America's Black Holocaust Museum took the stage. Cameron opened the museum 18 years ago Monday. When the hearse containing his casket passed the museum on the way to Holy Cross Cemetery, red, black and green balloons secured to its roof were released into the sky.

"There was a very public face of Dr. Cameron," said Marissa Weaver, chairwoman of the museum's board. "But there was also a very personal face of Dr. Cameron, and some family members lost a grandfather, there's some children who lost a dad, and his wife of 68 years lost a husband."

She then addressed Virginia Cameron directly. "Miss Virginia," Weaver said. "I know it was hard to give up your husband to the rest of the world, but we really appreciate that you did so."