Transcript | Annotation | Source: 89-4286-HH-2-8-11 (PDF) | Month Index
Beulah woke me at 8.30. I bathed and dressed. For breakfast I had two eggs, toast, bacon, and an orange.
Beulah had more children in the house than I have seen there before. They were sleeping in every corner. She told me that ten of them were children of the girl friend of her son (he has one of his own). The children call her grandmother.
The children’s mother took us all to church. She was late and we did not get into service until 11.50.
Testimonials were being given. One by Henry Mercer made reference to the hostility with which some of the younger people treated him. He was cut short and Jim’s voice came on the loudspeaker demanding that testimonies keep to what God has done for you. Our church compared to others is like a rose compared with thorns in the desert. He will do his own preaching.
The choir sang and the young women presented African dances.
A tape of a former sermon of Jim’s was played.
Jim spoke at 1.00. We must give the appearance of unity at all times. Others cannot reprove. The Council is always here to receive complaints.
Jim said one hundred people are badly in need of reducing their weight. The list is to be posted publicly.
In our out-patient clinic yesterday all the black nurses deserted; all examinations were left to the white nurses. One white nurse married to a black left also. Jim questioned the motive of those who marry black.
The rate of breast cancer is one in two among blacks, one in four or five among whites. Probably the cause is purposeful treatment of our foods.
Jim explained how severely he reprimands leadership. Terri Buford was up for one hour for one mistake. Larry Schacht for three hours while his weaknesses were reviewed. Jim asked Cathy Grauman why she married a black man. She said she didn’t feel she was good enough for a white man.
A woman was put on the floor who stayed with Judy Ijames; she didn’t help her with the work, hasn’t got a job. Jim said by Wednesday he wanted her to have $100. She lives in a commune without bringing in anything. Jim: You have two weeks to get a productive job or move out. Wanda King was accused of using health as an excuse for not going back to work. Cynthia Jacobs had been on security and in security meeting thereby not working at the clinic; she did not tell the nurses. Jim: The job of the nurses is more important than my personal security. He assigned the nurses who did not report to turn in $100 each. He told Cathy, who is now pregnant, that she was not mature enough to rear a child, left it up to her.
Jim read the list of those selling pamphlets with the amounts raised.
In Carmel, an intellectual community, all blacks were driven out. Six counties have formed private posses.
I had written an application to go on the trip to Hawaii and gave it to Claire Janaro.
Jim intermingled offering taking with healings.
He had the congregation come to the altar. The meeting ended at 4.00.
I got in the line for dinner early, and it moved rapidly for a while, but then it slowed down as people bunched at the top, with no hindrance from security. Glenn Hennington told me to sit at the table with the seniors and food would be brought to me, but I encountered a delay here too, which made me very irritable.
I changed clothes and went to the bus. The buses left about 5.00.
While the offering was taken, I read Wilson’s book. I had intended to give $1.50 on the bus offering on the return trip but had received $2.00 from a woman for a loan of $1.00 on Saturday, so I gave it all.
It was a hot day, but the windows were open, so it was not uncomfortable. We were crowded, though, and the children were restless. I did not sleep much, if at all, before we arrived at Button Willow about 8.00.
We had an hour and a half for recreation. I ran. Patty Cartmell talked to me at some length about the episode in Chicago with Dorothy. She had been one of those who dealt with her. Among others were, besides Liz, Debbie Blakey, Tim Stoen and Mike Prokes, and as I later learned, Carol Stahl. Patty said Dorothy had stayed at the service trying to get in for eight hours. She puzzled them because she gave the “right” answers to political and social questions, while making statements that caused them to be suspicious of her. She claimed to be a reporter, she repeated people’s names as if memorizing them, she said she had been working with one of Jim’s biggest enemies (they thought she meant Kinsolving), she accused Temple members of sentimentalism, made fun of Jim’s replanting weeds. Patty thought she was very unhappy and in reality envied me. She acknowledged Dorothy was attractive and well-informed; however, she remarked on her beliefs as being essentially optimistic, and I agreed that this was one of the most important impediments to her trusting Jim. Patty said Dorothy became nastier when she realized that she was not going to get in. I told her something of Dorothy’s background.
I walked around seeing what people were doing and hoping to see Liz, but I did not find her. Carol Stahl told me her views about Dorothy which were not markedly different from Patty’s. She thought the incident may have been good practice for the future. Neither she nor Patty blamed me for what had happened.
When I boarded the bus, I found that someone had eaten the orange I was saving, and it looked as if my wallet had been opened (I had no money in it). Others had lost food. On Chris Lewis’s advice I reported the theft in writing.
A collection was taken by some members of the Council for a fund to give to Jim for work on his teeth, as they had learned he needed it badly and would not take money for himself from the people. I pledged $5.00.
I got to sleep eventually, probably about 11.00. I woke and got up at the rest stop and could not go to sleep again.
We arrived in San Francisco at about 4.00. It was drizzly. I took home Vernell Henderson whose car is in the shop and two others from her apartments.
I arrived at home at 4.45.