| TOGETHER, THAT'S WHAT
THIS FAMILY IS
by Laura Blackwell for Newsday
Westbury- Robert
and Emiline Brewer have been dead for some
years now, but what they build during their lifetime continues to grow and
spread from its pre-Civil War beginnings in rural South Carolina.
In a quiet corner of Cantiague Park Saturday, about 200 third, fourth,
and fifth generation descendants of the original Brewers gathered
from across the country to sing, eat, meet with relations and express
gratitude for what their ancestors began.
Although no one is sure, Robert and Emiline Brewer are thought to have
been ex-slaves who managed to accumulate enough
land in Pageland, S.C., to give to each of their 11 children a homestead.
The children, who were carpenters, bricklayers, farmers and merchants, in
turn, had 75 children of their own. Among these third-generation Brewers
are listed six lawyers, five doctors, four ministers, about 40 teachers
and a number of businessmen. Notable among them are Clifford Johnson, one
of North Carolina's two black judges; Walter B. Nivens, the only black
member of the Board of Elections in Charlotte, N.C., and Arthur Brewer,
manager of a large clothing factory in Pageland owned primarily by family
members.
The fourth generation Brewers, of whom there is no accurate count, also
list doctors, lawyers, architects, an actress, musicians, pharmacists, a
journalists and several businessmen among their numbers. One of them is
Joyce Whitley, the only woman member of the governing board of the Board
of American Planners. With her two brothers, she heads an architectural
and planning firm in Cleveland. Also among the fourth generation are
Russell Ennix, an attorney for the National Association for the
Advancement of Colored People in Nashville. The
fifth generation is for the most part still in school.
Speaking of his ancestors, Lincoln Brewer, a retired New York City Transit
Authority employee, said: "They were builders. They built their own
homes, their own schools, their own church and their own businesses."
In addition, Brewer said that his forebears stressed thrift, discipline,
hard word and family togetherness, adding that they were brave persons
ready to defend their rights in an often-hostile environment.
As an example, Brewer recalled that in the 1920's, Dr. Robert O. Gathings,
a third generation Brewer, had just begun his medical practice in rural
Georgia when the Ku Klux Klan ordered him to head back to South Carolina.
Not knowing what to do, Gathings contacted his uncle Isaiah Brewer,
Lincoln Brewer's father. Within a short time, Isaiah Brewer and two other
relatives arrived in Georgia, armed and ready to protect the young
physician. Lincoln Brewer said, "My father told him South Carolina is
no closer to Heaver or Hell than Georgia, so you stay right were you
are." Gathings took his uncle's advice and continued to practice in
Georgian until he died 30 years later.
About a third of the Brewer family still lives in the South, although
there were family members at the reunion from as far as Oakland,
California. This year's reunion was held by the New York contingent headed
by Thomas Nivens of Westbury, vice president of the Westbury NAACP and a
member of Tri-Community Action Board.
The reunion serves several purposes, said William Atkinson, a contract
compliance specialist with the Department of Health, Education and Welfare
in New York City and a fourth-generation Brewer. "It gives the
family a chance to get together, and it offers a chance for the youngsters
to get a little encouragement. "One of the younger Brewers, attending
his first reunion, admitted that he was "surprised" by the
gathering. "I didn't know there were so many Brewers." Vernon
McFarland, 22 of Hartsville, Ga., said.
Monday, August 9, 1971
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