Remembering the racist murder of Johnnie Mae Chappell in 1964

It was after dark on March 23, 1964, when Johnnie Mae Chappell searched for the wallet she had dropped near the intersection of New Kings Road and Flicker Avenue.

A dark sedan with four white men drove by. A shot fired from the car hit the 35-year-old black mother and midwife.

She died before she could reach a hospital, leaving behind ten children and her husband.

Now a historical marker will serve as a “remembrance of a tragic incident in Jacksonville’s past and an inspiration for a future of peace, equality and justice,” according to a bill approved by the Jacksonville City Council.

The marker will be placed where Chappell fell.

Councilman Rahman Johnson joined Rep. Nick Howland in unanimously approving the bill on Sept. 24, saying he “broke down in tears” when the bill was introduced in committee. He said this was a story he heard as a child growing up in Jacksonville, a killing that “irrevocably” changed the lives of her 10 children.

“Shelton Chappelle is still emotional. “He was only four months old when his mother was murdered,” Johnson said. “I spoke to him earlier this evening and he couldn't make it because he was just emotional. But he supports her and his family so much because her sacrifice will not be in vain because when people see this mark they will remember who she was; they will remember what happened; and we will never allow it again.”

Chappelle's family wrote the words on the marker. Before reading it, Howland thanked Johnson for bringing this “critically important” story to his attention.

“Mrs. Chappelle's story is part of our community's history, part of a terrible past, and only by telling these stories do we learn from them,” Howland said. “And only by learning from them do we become a stronger community.

“Nothing we do here can alleviate the pain and suffering that the Chappelle family has felt over the last 60 years. But this marker will tell the story of Mrs. Johnnie Mae Chappelle.”

According to a PBS.org story about her death, Chappell was shopping on this day 60 years ago when her wallet fell out of a grocery bag. As they and two neighbors looked down New Kings Road, they heard a loud “bang” as a car sped by, according to a Justice Department memo on the case. Chappell grabbed her right side as she said, “I've been shot,” then fell and died shortly afterwards.

Investigators had no leads until a man discovered he was in that speeding car with three other white men, the PBS website says. He said a fellow passenger named JW Rich fired the gun. The men had been driving through town when the gunman said, “Let's get a —–” using a racist expression, PBS said.

As they passed Chappell and the others, Rich shot them and got rid of the gun after they drove away, PBS said. Police found all four men and charged each with murder, but only Rich stood trial. A 2014 Justice Department memo said Rich was convicted of manslaughter and had served nearly a third of his 10-year sentence, according to PBS.

The Civil Rights Memorial Center, a project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, memorialized Chappell on its Facebook page. Her name also appears, along with dozens of others, on a wall at the Southern Poverty Law Center's Civil Rights Memorial Center in Montgomery, Alabama.

Each name is a testament to people who lost their lives to racial violence during America's modern civil rights movement from 1954 to 1968. A portion of New Kings Road near the crime scene was named in Chappell's honor in 2005 after the state legislature approved a bill filed by Senator Tony Hill.

Howland's bill would allocate $10,000 from a Department of Recreation emergency fund for the sign that would honor and honor “the life and untimely death of Mrs. Johnnie Mae Chappell,” the bill states.

“Mrs. Johnnie Mae Chappell was more than just a victim of violence; “She was a devoted wife to Mr. Willie Chappell Sr., a devoted mother of ten children, a hard-working homemaker/midwife, and a proud resident of the Pickettville neighborhood of Jacksonville.” , the sign reads in part, “This marker honors Mrs. Johnnie Mae Chappell, whose children became wards of the state, who were forced to grow up in a system without their mother, and whose lives were interrupted by a racist who, without their Knowing names, pointed his gun and…”pulled the trigger.”

The sign will be placed five miles from another permanent marker commemorating the three victims of a racist mass shooting just over a year ago at a Dollar General store in the New Town community. The City Council unanimously approved the marking in August.

A replica of the marker was displayed on the first anniversary of the shooting as more than 300 people remembered victims Jerrald Gallion, Angela Carr and Anolt “AJ” Laguerre. The crowd took part in a soil gathering ceremony, a tradition created by the Equal Justice Initiative to remember victims of racist violence.