Be Silent: Introduction

Introduction

Howard Thornton was born and raised in Maumelle, Arkansas to Gary and Irene Thornton. Instead of fleeing to Midwestern cities like Chicago, Detroit or St. Louis, as many Blacks from the greater Little Rock area did during those times, Howard’s parents chose to stay in Pulaski County and oversee a small catfish farm that sat on their land. The owner of the catfish farm, Thomas Boys, leased the land from Gary and paid him a generous portion of the profits for his troubles. To help cut costs, Gary would employ Howard and a few of his nephews to handle the day to day maintenance of the man-made pond where the catfish lived. Gary, a graduate of the Boys Business School of Arkansas, primarily focused on his job as a loan officer at Maumelle Agricultural Bank.

When it was time to harvest and process the catfish for sale, Mr. Boys would send an experienced crew of fishmongers to the Thornton’s farm to lead those projects. Howard, a natural fan of game fishing, was the only one out of him and his cousins that took any interest in the harvesting and processing phase of catfish farming. Therefore, not only was Howard earning some extra dollars, he was also gaining valuable knowledge about the business side of the catfish industry. For instance, one of the business specialties that Howard fell in love with most was logistics. Howard was amazed at how many cities across the United States had such a high demand for catfish.

First, Howard began to make the 30 minute drive to the Little Rock Airport to help load cargo planes with catfish that were bound for places like Boston, Buffalo, Los Angeles, New York City, Philly, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. From there, especially on weekends, school breaks and summers, Howard would take road trips with delivery drivers to destinations such as Dallas, Kansas City, New Orleans, Oklahoma City, St. Louis and Tulsa. On one such trip, he would meet the love of his life.

One weekend, Howard accompanied a younger driver from Lonoke, AR to Chicago where they made a huge delivery to a warehouse in Chinatown on the city’s South Side. Because of Howard’s evolving map reading skills, he and Luther, the driver, were able to arrive in Chicago about an hour earlier than expected. And as Howard learned on other road trips, if you helped the receiver unload the truck, the job would get done faster and the receivers almost always tipped them. Therefore, Howard and Luther had about two hours and fifteen minutes to spare before they had to check into their motel for the night.

As they reentered the delivery truck from the loading dock area, Howard turns to Luther and says, “Hey Luke man, we need to head over to Henry’s Chicken before we go to the motel.”

“Why, what’s so good about Henry’s Chicken? I thought there was a diner in the motel we are staying at?” Luther replied.

“To be honest, I don’t know what’s so good about Henry’s Chicken. It’s average, at best, fried chicken that they slap this Chinese style sauce on.”

“What?” Luther exclaimed. “Come on Howard, you gots to be lying? Ain’t no Black man putting no China-man sauce on no fried chicken!”

“I’m telling you Luke, it’s like a sweet and sour, or sweet and mild sauce they put on the fried chicken. I swear,” Howard said.” He then proceeded to shift the topic by saying, “Look, it’s not about the chicken. Some of the most beautiful women in the City of Chicago like to frequent Henry’s Chicken.”

Luke pondered before saying, “Oh, so you’re trying to take a dip in the lake at the motel later?”

“Exactly mane!” Howard shouted.

“Wait, and Rebel Catfish already paid for two separate rooms?”

“Yes! And since Rebel does so much business with these people, they have a designated parking space for the delivery truck. We can park it, tip the front desk person and come back by 8:00 pm for check-in.”

“And how far is Henry’s from there?”

“Luke, it’s only about a mile, maybe.”

“That ain’t shit for two country niggas like us, especially in a city like Chicago.”

“Exactly, my brother.”

“Ok Howard, I see why they put us together. You a young nigga they trust, and I just got hired. You kinda gained their faith, now I’m the next in line.”

“Precisely. And my daddy has a good relationship with Mr. Boys through the bank and our catfish farm.”

“Hold up, you had some catfish on that load we just dropped off earlier?”

“Possibly. See, Rebel has subcontracted so many small farms to produce catfish throughout the State of Arkansas that once all the fish are harvested and processed, you really don’t know what farm they came from.”

“Shit boy, can’t nobody ever talk that shit like Arkansas is the poorest state in the nation,” Luther gleefully replied.

For a brief moment Howard went silent before saying to Luther in a soft whisper, “We live in the Ozarks, one of the most fertile land masses in this country. The world has yet to see our full potential. We’re almost like Africa. Catfish is just the beginning. Next it’s wine, then real estate, then diamonds, then aerospace and other forms of technology.”

Luther, an avid Spades player, managed to set up a tournament with him and Howard versus two young ladies they met at Henry’s. They played in the breakfast area of the motel’s lobby until 11:27 pm. Howard and Luther had already made an agreement that they’ll both be in their rooms and sleep before midnight.

With the tips he earned from unloading the truck earlier, Howard paid for a taxi to take the two girls home, who turned out to be sisters. Howard kept in touch with one of the sisters and eventually formed a bond with her. She was a year older than Howard and attended Monument University in Baltimore, MD that fall, prompting Howard to enroll at Florida College in nearby Washington, DC a year later.

After graduation, she would move to Lakewood, CA after accepting a nursing position at Navy Trauma Hospital. During his time at Florida College, Howard would continue to work for the Boys family. He was instrumental in lobbying for deregulation of the growing supermarket industry. As a reward for all his hard work, he earned the position of General Manager at the new Boys Farmers Market in Los Angeles, near Pulaski Park.

At the time, Pulaski Park was a predominantly white neighborhood in South Los Angeles. It was zoned in such a way that some areas were considered the city, while other parts would be deemed unincorporated. Either way, Howard would be working less than a mile from where he just purchased a new home that he would share with his new wife. Later, he and the love of his life gave birth to their first child, named Gary after Howard’s father.