Thanks for reading my columns, and as the” Amadeus of Infinite Intellect,” here’s another true story of courage in a time of peril.
It’s a Saturday night January 8, 1994, with temperatures in the upper 30s in the beautiful city of Indianola, Mississippi, where a crowd of patrons and guests gather at the legendary Club Ebony to celebrate the first weekend of the new year. Club Ebony, a legendary juke joint where good-looking guys and great-looking gals came together to jam and have an awesome good time. Over 300 people are in attendance, including a couple from Texas celebrating an anniversary, a young woman just turning 21 and her party posse, and Mary, a young woman I’ve known since my Roller World days in the ‘80s. The best way to describe her to someone would be to say “imagine if Bette Davis had a baby by a Black man.”
There’s a band of cousins from Chicago called “Chicago Boys.” Each one of these former Delta dudes is wearing matching $600 Wilson leather jackets and driving brand new cars. However, one of these Lotharios still has an eye for his ex-girlfriend and it will cause a chain of events worthy of the big screen. One of the Chicago boys makes contact with this ex-girlfriend and her new love interest isn’t taking it too kindly. A verbal altercation begins with the immature mental measuring of private parts, which has interrupted the getting down at the club. Fists are flying left and right and there’s chaos at the club. Tables are turned over, the lights are turned on, the music is turned off and the DJ is demanding order.
The club’s owner, Mrs. Mary F. Shepard, a timeless treasure who never aged and was later known as Mississippi’s Oldest Teenager, calls the Indianola Police Department to stop the violence and destruction of her property and hopefully someone’s going to jail. The combatants and their gangs stop fighting, leave the club and drive away into the night.
Only seconds later “The Cavalry of Carnage and Chaos” arrives, I meant that the IPD arrives. Ten physically-fit, trained soldiers in squad cars pulled up and parked at the club, armed for battle, and patiently walk into the building. However, there’s a dark, lone, shadowy figure staring from across the street, guaranteeing that this incident will not go unnoticed.
To make this messy situation even messier the IPD shift commander arrives. Lt. Charles Smith was an unpredictable law enforcer better known to us as “Bloaty.” The shadowy figure wearing all black walks from across the street and greets the shift commander, to which Lt. Smith replies, “Hey Rodney.” We then both walked into the club behind the 10 other officers. Once inside I noticed no fighting, but crowds of people standing around in awe as if something had happened. The bar still had customers buying drinks, beer, fish plates and burgers. We walked into the dance hall where the lights were on and people were standing around, many happily yelling “Hey Bloaty” to Lt. Smith. There were other people cleaning up the mess that the fight had caused. Then as Lt. Smith and I walked further inside the dance hall, I noticed that the other 10 officers were just walking through the crowd as if looking for someone. They walked from corner to corner. Paying close attention, I witnessed the unthinkable. Each of the officers was holding something in his hand, concealing it. Then I recognized that it was Mace and they were spraying it into a room full of unsuspecting patrons.
I quickly turned to Bloaty to tell him what I saw and shockingly noticed pepper spray in his hand also. I said “Bloaty you don’t have to do that. There’s no one fighting.” Bloaty then said “Rodney, this stuff won’t hurt nobody.” Feeling like I was in the Twilight Zone or I had woken up in a nightmare, I walked out of the club and stood across the street with my hand on my hips and tears in my eyes. Not from the Mace, but from what I had just witnessed.
I’ve always loved my community and when you hurt Indianola you hurt me. I heard a woman screaming loudly from inside the club and people yelling and running out coughing. After hundreds came out, like the captain on a sinking ship, Mrs. Shepard finally came out with a white napkin over her nose and mouth. How could a night on the town turn into a trip to Hell?
A few days later I stood before the Indianola Board of Aldermen and Mayor Hutch Hutcherson. Even though I knew that the IPD had violated Mrs. Shepard’s 14th Amendment rights of equal protection, I only pointed out that the technique used by the IPD was excessive, when they could have just asked patrons to leave. When I got to the board meeting there was an entire audience of police department workers. I remember saying “Wow! All of this for little old me?” when I approached the board and mayor, seeing all the police representing the IPD.
I knew that since the Enterprise-Tocsin was represented, I would get a platform and they would quote both the IPD and me. Since I was fully armed with both the truth and knowledge of the law, the police would have to set themselves up for a violation of the 14th Amendment. By their own words and actions, Mrs. Shepard’s rights were compromised. The police claimed that they witnessed fighting in the club. Yet there were no arrests, no suspects, and no investigation.
Mrs. Shepard was threatened by then-Interim Chief Jack Sessums with a warning of him having the club closed and labeled a public nuisance. Even though the only alderman who seemed to really be concerned was Mr. Riley Rice (a very smart, concerned, good man), I knew that the only thing I could hope for was that the use of Mace would stop being used at the club if IPD was called. I told the aldermen that Club Ebony would one day be praised and celebrated.
Well even though fights still broke out, the IPD never used Mace again at the club and trouble makers started going to jail. Years later the club was honored and celebrated with a historical marker and Mrs. Shepard was dubbed “The Queen of Juke.” Today Club Ebony is going through a million-dollar restoration and is part of the B.B. King Museum properties.
In 2020 I found out what happened to my Roller World friend, Mary. While in the club, she was picking up a cigarette from under her table and was accidently sprayed in the face by one of the police officers. She was the woman that I heard screaming from inside the club. Mary lost sight in one of her eyes and had many surgeries. She died in 2021 from complications of COVID-19. You can actually read the Enterprise-Tocsin’s news story of this chaotic event on the enterprise-tocsin.com website. Just click “archives” and enter “Club Ebony.”
